Artelia

Artelia is a French design firm specializing in engineering, project management, and consultancy. Launched in 2010, Artelia has nine core markets: building construction, water, energy, environment, industry, maritime operations, transportation, urban development, and multi-site projects. The group also participates in turn-key projects and public-private partnership. Artelia is ranked 83rd among international design firms.^[2]

History

Coteba

Coteba was founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Compagnie Générale des Eaux.^[3] Known as one of the leading French companies specializing in project management of large-scale building construction projects Coteba expanded its activities to include engineering and, later, transportation^[4] and major urban infrastructure. Coteba was also known for assisting key international clients with the management of multi-site projects all around the world.^[5] In 1995, Coteba became part of Nexity. In 2003, Coteba’s management and two specialized funds, Crédit Mutuel-CIC and Crédit Agricole, acquired Coteba from Nexity.^[3] In 2006, Coteba acquired, for an undisclosed price, the engineering departments of Thales Engineering & Consutlting (THEC). These departments specialize in infrastructure, building construction in particular hospitals, and industrial processes. Additionally, 300 new employees joined Coteba, an increase of 40% of its 700 staff size at the time.^[6][7][8] In 2007, Coteba’s entire share capital was taken over by its management.^[9] Between 2003 and 2007, Coteba’s staff size doubled^[9]

Sogreah

The history of Sogreah dates back to 1923 when the Laboratoire Dauphinois d’Hydraulique was built in Grenoble. In 1955, the laboratory took on the name of Société Grenobloise d’Etudes et d’Applications Hydrauliques (Sogreah).^[10] From its origins, Sogreah has specialised in design studies and construction projects in the field of hydraulics. It boasts a hydraulics physical scale model laboratory, a shiphandling training centre, and a range of numerial models. In 1958, the company developed its activity in the areas of rural engineering, irrigation, water supplies and sewerage systems.^[10] Sogreah became a world-class engineering company, operating in the areas of water, energy, the environment and urban development. It participated in the design of the tidal power station on the River Rance^[10] in France and developed the tetrapod, a concrete breakwater armouring block. In 1967, Sogreah became part of the Alstom group, which subsequently became Alcatel.^[10] On 31 December 1998, Sogreah become an independently held company via a MBO,^[10] further to which its staff size tripled to reach over 1200 employees.

Merger

In July 2009, the merger between Coteba and Sogreah was announced.^[11] At the end of 2009, a memorandum of agreement was signed by the two firms defining the steps of their joining together into a holding company named Artelia.^[12][13] In 2011, the final step of the merger consisted in implementing an operational organisation based around four activity sectors.

Artelia

Whilst organic growth has been a key lever in Artelia’s development since its foundation, external growth has also played an important role. Between 2010 and 2013, 12 companies joined the group. At the beginning of 2010, Sodeg, a building engineering consultancy specialising in healthcare, industrial, educational, cultural and leisure facilities, was the first to join the group as it was being founded.^[14] In April 2011, Artelia acquired Spretec,^[15] an engineering firm specialising in structural mechanics, and in May 2011, Détente Consultants, a consultancy firm specialising in tourism.^[16] In 2012, the group completed six acquisitions, thereby benefiting from the skills of 200 new employees and extra turnover representing €23 million for a complete financial year. It first acquired the technical design firms GECC AICC, RL Consultant and Ingetech, building construction specialists in the Rhône-Alpes region of France who have specific expertise in the design of institutional kitchens. In March 2012, Artelia acquired Appleyards,^[17] based in the UK, which provides project management and consultancy services for construction and infrastructure projects on behalf of public or private sector clients, with specific experience in the field of education. In April 2012, the group acquired Sotec,^[18] a former subsidiary of the Systra group, specialising in the fields of water, the environment and urban development. In May 2012, Artelia acquired DPG Plan^[19] in Brazil, a company based in São Paulo specialising in engineering, architecture and project management in the fields of construction (industrial facilities, logistics, office buildings) and infrastructure (ports, water, sanitation). In September 2012, Artelia acquired Copramex,^[20] which specialises in coastal environment studies around the Mediterranean Sea and in polluted soil remediation. In November 2012, the group acquired Haskoning France,^[21] which specialises in polluted site and soil rehabilitation, industrial risks and sustainable management of natural resources.

At the beginning of April 2013, Artelia acquired ICADE’s engineering department, made up of Arcoba, Gestec and Setrhi-Setae,^[22] thereby strengthening its Building Construction & Industrial Facilities sector and making it the French leader in the field. The same year, the group consolidated the range of its infrastructure engineering services by acquiring Secoa^[23] and Quadric,^[24] specialists in civil engineering structures (bridges, viaducts, etc.).

Organisation

Since January 2011, Artelia’s operational organisation consists of four "activity sectors", three working in France and abroad on an export basis, and a fourth which groups together all the legal structures of the international network. In 2012 a legal organisation was rolled out to reflect this operational structure. Since then four companies held entirely by the Artelia holding company manage the group’s four sectors and have adopted "Artelia" as their common name:

• Artelia Bâtiment & Industrie (Building Construction & Industrial Facilities)
• Artelia Eau & Environnement (Water & Environment)
• Artelia Ville & Transport (Urban Development & Transportation)
• Artelia International

The group acts on behalf of clients in both the private sector (industrial players, developers, investors, construction firms, banks, insurance companies, etc.) and the public sector (government departments, local authorities, public establishments, international funding agencies, etc.).

It has a network of 35 branch offices in France and 40 offices in 35 countries around the world. In 2012 the international turnover, generated through export sales by teams based in France and directly through its international subsidiaries, represented 33% of the group total.

Artelia has developed a specific approach to Quality, Health & Safety, and the Environment (QHSE) as well as to risk management. SMART, the group’s integrated management system, has ensured the renewal and/or extension of the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications for the group’s entities and sites.

Notable Projects

Following is a selection of recent, notable projects led by Artelia in France and on the international market:

• Extension of Safran site in Gennevilliers, France: Safran has unique know-how in the field of forging, casting and the machining of aircraft parts, built up over a period of more than 50 years. Artelia was chosen at the end of a long process to provide design and construction supervision services for the extension, asbestos removal operations and rehabilitation of the production workshops, laboratories and offices.
• Forum des Halles^[25] in Paris, France: Created 30 years ago, Les Halles is an underground urban development monument in the heart of Paris. It is also the principal gateway to the city, handling 750,000 people a day. An extensive, ambitious redevelopment scheme is currently underway to improve its operation and accessibility, open it up and integrate it more effectively into the urban environment. Artelia is providing project management and general coordination services for this project.
• Grand Paris Express^[26] in the Paris region, France: The Grand Paris Express project involves the construction of four new driverless metro lines and the extension of certain existing ones. Nearly 200 km of new lines and 75 stations are to be built by the year 2030. Artelia is assisting the Société du Grand Paris and STIF with this project.
• Renovation of the hôtel de Crillon in Paris, France: Since 2012 Artelia has been in charge of the renovation works of the prestigious Crillon Hotel on Place de la Concorde in Paris.
• Nickel Mine in Goro, New Caledonia: Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie, a subsidiary of the Vale mining group, is developing an opencast nickel mine at Goro. Since 2010, Artelia has carried out various assignments to assist Vale with this development.
• Hydropower project in Boureya, Guinea: Artelia submitted the studies and preliminary design of the Boureya hydropower complex in Guinea to the Senegal River Basin Development Authority (OMVS). The earthfill dam will be 60 m high and 1.5 km long, and will supply a 160 MW power plant providing electricity to 120 km of transmission lines.
• Calais Port 2015 in Calais, France: Artelia is providing engineering services for the Calais 2015 project managed by the Nord-Pas-de-Calais regional authorities. The project includes the creation of a new 60 ha harbour basin sheltered by a 3.6 km long breakwater, a 100 ha reclamation area and a service harbour for tugs.
• Drinking water networks in the Muscat Governorate, Oman: PAEW, the Public Authority for Electricity and Water, has awarded Artelia Oman a contract to supervise the construction of the drinking water networks in the Governorate of Muscat, which has a million inhabitants spread over 3,500 km².
• Shell and its service station network: Shell renewed its partnership agreement with Artelia International for a further three years. This involves managing investments in its fuel distribution network (creation, renovation, dismantling, miscellaneous programmes). The new contract concerns 11 countries, mainly in Europe, and includes extremely stringent health, safety and environment requirements at all sites.

Notes and references

Bibliography

• Anne Dalmasso, SOGRÉAH (Société Grenobloise d’Études et d’Applications Hydrauliques) : du laboratoire à l’ingénierie indépendante (1923 – 2010), Entreprises et histoire, 2013/2, N°71, p. 23 - 38

External links

• Official website