traded as euronext lr industry electrical equipment founded 1904 1 by fr d ric legrand headquarters limoges france key people gilles schnepp chairman and ceo products switches electrical connectors and other circuit components circuit breakers electrical cabinets conduits and other cable management products revenue 4.499 billion 2014 2 operating income 757.6 million 2010 3 profit 418.3 million 2010 3 total assets 6.065 billion end 2010 3 total equity 2.736 billion end 2010 3 number of employees 36 000 end 2014 3 website www.legrand.com legrand is a french industrial group historically based in limoges in the limousin region . in terms of sales the firm is a world leader in products and systems for electrical installations and information networks . in 2011 legrand was the largest globally for switches and sockets with 20 % of the global market and it was also globally largest in cable management 15 % of the global market generating 75 % of its turnover internationally . the company is market leader in at least one of its main areas of business in 27 countries . it ranks second in india for sales of switches and sockets and ranks first for miniature circuit breakers mcbs and distribution boards dbs . the group is also expanding its product range with regards to sustainable development and energy saving technologies and also has developed new products for photovoltaic installations and lighting control . contents 1 history 2 stock market 3 management 4 main competitors 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit the company s origins date back to 1865 when a limoges porcelain in france s limousin region workshop was set up on the route to lyon originally making porcelain dishes . in 1904 the company was taken over by fr d ric legrand who gave his name to the company . in 1919 the company entered into partnership with jean mondot an artisan from limoges who had started in exideuil a small factory making electric switches using porcelain and boxwood . manufacturing subsequently gradually diversified into electrical equipment . at that time before the appearance of plastic porcelain was the best available insulating material . in 1949 following a factory fire the decision was made to concentrate exclusively on electrical wiring devices switches and sockets . the company very quickly extended its range to cover protection products fuse holders and circuit breakers etc. cable management products trunking and mini trunking emergency lighting etc. since then legrand has made 120 targeted acquisitions all around the world thus becoming a large diversified maker of electrical wiring devices with more than 150 000 product items . as of 2006 it has bases in 70 countries and sales in 180 countries . some notable dates 4 1966 first subsidiary outside france established in belgium . 1977 development continues outside europe with the takeover of pial in brazil . 1984 first subsidiary in the united states with pass & seymour . 1989 acquisition of bticino the italian largest electrical equipment manufacurer . 1996 legrand strengthens its presence in emerging countries with the acquisitions of fael in poland luminex in colombia and mds in india and wattstopper in the united states . 1998 acquisition of ortronics an american leader in structured cabling and vdi . 2000 acquisition of wiremold in the united states doubling the group s size there as well as horton controls an american lighting controls company merged into wattstopper brand and quintela and tegui in spain . 2005 acquisition of icm group kz and cablofil brands world leader in wire mesh cable trays . 2006 acquisition of the electrical wiring devices division of tcl china no. 1 in china and shidean chinese leader in audio and video door entry systems . acquisition of vantage controls american lighting control specialist . 2007 acquisition of hpm no. 2 in electrical wiring devices in australia and kontaktor the leading russian manufacturer of power circuit breakers . in the same year legrand took over macse the mexican leader in cable trays ustec american specialist in residential networks tcl wuxi chinese specialist in modular circuit breakers and alpes technologies annecy france specialist in energy compensation and measurement . 2008 acquisition of pw industries an american cable tray specialist ; hdl the no. 1 in brazil in residential access control entry phones ; estap the turkish leader in vdi voice data image enclosures and electrak uk specialist in ground laid cable trays . 2009 legrand is severely affected by the economic crisis . the group sees a 15.6 % fall in its turnover to 3.6 billion . the group still manages to maintain its operating margin at 17.6 % as against 17.7 % in 2008 . a return to growth is forecast for the second half of 2010 2010 the company returns to growth . sales are up by 8.7 % operating income leaps by 35.5 % and net income by 44.3 % to 418.3 million . the group s operating margin reaches previously unseen levels 20.2 % . 5 creation of the ev plug alliance between legrand schneider electric and scame italy to create a common dominant standard in europe for electric vehicle charging systems . resumption of the acquisitions strategy with the takeover of inform in turkey leader in ups and of indo asian switchgear in india specialist in modular circuit breakers . december 2010 takeover of the italian company meta system energy specialist in ups . 2011 takeover of the us company electrorack specialist in vdi voice data image enclosures and intervox syst mes french leader in assisted living for dependent persons . in april legrand strengthens its position in emerging markets and the energy security market with the acquisition of sms brazil s no. 1 in ups . in may the takeover of the american company middle atlantic products map 520 employees and sales of 107 million a company specialising in digital infrastructures enclosures for audio and video applications enables legrand to strengthen its offering in this niche to customers in the hotel and conference centre market . in the last 12 months legrand has made seven acquisitions totalling additional sales of 300 million . november 2011 moving too prestons new south wales with hpm 2014 in march legrand signed a definitive agreement to acquire lastar inc. a moraine ohio cabling and connectivity products supplier who in 2013 reported more than 140 million in revenue and has nearly 1 000 total employees across nine locations throughout the u.s. europe and asia . brands falling under the lastar umbrella are the quiktron and cables to go which became c2g in 2012 . french company to buy moraine firm stock market edit 1970 listed on the paris stock exchange for the first time . 2001 friendly share exchange acquisition offer made by schneider electric for legrand . this was vetoed by the european commission due to the risk of distortion of competition . as the exchange of shares had already taken place schneider was obliged to resell all legrand stock . 2003 purchase of the entire share capital by the investment funds kohlberg kravis roberts kkr and wendel investissement . legrand is withdrawn from the quoted market . 2006 return to the stock market with 20 % of the capital or 57.7 million new shares for an additional capital of 1 billion . kkr and wendel investissement remain majority shareholders each holding 30 % of shares while 16 % are held by minority shareholders and 5 % by management and employees . at the end of 2006 the minority shareholders banks and institutions sell their holding via an accelerated private institutional placement thereby taking traded shares to 35 % of the capital and increasing the share s liquidity . 2007 legrand welcomes thierry de la tour d artaise ceo of groupe seb and g rard lamarche cfo of groupe suez to its board of directors . 2008 end of the shareholder pact between kkr and wendel investissement . rumours of a possible takeover of legrand by a competitor siemens abb or general electric abound . in april 2008 kkr and wendel investissement decide to renew their shareholder pact until 2012 . takeover of numeric ups in 2012 . management edit fran ois grappotte born in 1936 in reims ceo from 1983 to 2006 honorary chairman of the board of directors since 2006 . gilles schnepp born in 1958 in lyon ceo since 2006 joined the company in 1989 with a degree in business studies ex vice president of the american merchant bank merrill lynch france . main competitors edit hager schneider electric abb femi cz kelvolt see also edit industry home automation switchgear references edit 1 legrand website facts and figures 2014 pdf . legrand . retrieved 12 february 2014 . a b c d e annual results 2010 pdf . legrand . retrieved 12 february 2011 . http www.legrandgroup.com en history 12508.html forte hausse des r sultats 2010 de legrand optimisme pour 2011 . reuters . 10 february 2011 . external links edit official website french company to buy moraine firm v t e cac 40 companies of france 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