Tokyo--Schneider Electric and Toshiba Corporation have recently signed a general agreement for cooperative development and production of competitive, compact, low-cost high voltage equipment.

This agreement covers joint development and production of high-voltage products, and builds on earlier agreements between the companies including product development, manufacturing and sales in the industrial control and low voltage electrical distribution sectors.

It also covers commercial co-operation, including the ability to deliver joint proposals on contracts, putting to use the complementary product and services offered by both partners.

This agreement, which will enable Schneider Electric and Toshiba to strengthen their position in the high voltage market, does not exclude other potential partnership agreements.

This latest agreement is part of the policy of business co-operation that Schneider Electric and Toshiba launched over ten years ago, and it positions the companies to expand their business as market picks up in coming years.

Schneider Electric is a leader in electrical distribution, industrial control and automation, serving customers in 130 countries. Schneider Electric has over 61,000 employees in the world and an annual turnover of FRF 50 billion (euro 7.6 billion).
Its High Voltage activity - a wholly owned subsidiary of Schneider Electric- has a turnover of FRF 2.6 billion (euro 39 million) with 2,800 employees and activities in France, Italy, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.

Toshiba Corporation is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products, and power systems. The company's integration of these wide-ranging capabilities assures its position as an innovator in advanced components, products, and systems. Toshiba has 198,000 employees worldwide, and annual sales of over FRF 220 billion in consolidated base.