Société de Construction des Batignolles
Encyclopedia
The Société de Construction des Batignolles was a civil engineering company of France created in 1871 as a public limited company from the 1846 limited partnership of Ernest Gouin et Cie.. Initially founded to construct locomotives, the company produced the first iron bridge in France, and moved away from mechanical to civil engineering projects in France, North Africa, Europe, and in East Asia and South America.

In 1968 the company merged with the electrical engineering company SPIE to form Spie Batignolles
Spie Batignolles
Spie Batignolles is a French construction company based in Neuilly-sur-Seine. The company provides building and infrastructure construction in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.-Company history:...

. After being briefly owned by the AMEC
AMEC
AMEC plc is a global consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is focused on the oil and gas, minerals and metals, renewable energy, environment and infrastructure sectors and has offices in 40 countries worldwide...

 group (2003) the civil engineering construction activities were split and sold. As of 2011, Spie Batignolles SA is the effective successor of the company.

Ernest Gouin et Cie.

On 18 February 1847, Ernest Goüin
Ernest Goüin
Ernest Goüin was a French civil engineer and industrialist.In 1846 he founded Ernest Goüin & Cie. ; the company initially built locomotives, and diversified into bridge building and railway construction projects.His name is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.-Biography:Born on 20...

, having gained experience in England on the manufacture of locomotives and machine tools whilst acting on behalf of the Chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans
Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans
The Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans was an early French railway company.It merged with the Chemin de Fer du Midi to form the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans et du Midi in 1934...

, founded the company Ernest Gouin et Cie. With the financial backing of several bankers, including James de Rothschild, the company was launched with total capital of 750,000 Francs. One of the primary reasons for the company's creation was to manufacturer locomotives for the newly formed Chemin de Fer du Nord
Chemin de Fer du Nord
Chemin de Fer du Nord , often referred to simply as the Nord company, was a rail transport company created in September 1845, in Paris, France. It was owned by among others de Rothschild Frères of France, N M Rothschild & Sons of London, England, Hottinger, Laffitte and Blount...

 (1845); initially the company focused on locomotive manufacture.

The company introduced the first Crampton locomotive
Crampton locomotive
A Crampton locomotive is a type of steam locomotive designed by Thomas Russell Crampton and built by various firms from 1846. The main British builders were Tulk and Ley and Robert Stephenson and Company....

 into France, and gained orders from the not only the Chemin de Fer du Nord
Chemin de Fer du Nord
Chemin de Fer du Nord , often referred to simply as the Nord company, was a rail transport company created in September 1845, in Paris, France. It was owned by among others de Rothschild Frères of France, N M Rothschild & Sons of London, England, Hottinger, Laffitte and Blount...

, but also the Paris Orléans
Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans
The Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans was an early French railway company.It merged with the Chemin de Fer du Midi to form the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans et du Midi in 1934...

 and the Paris Lyon railways. A financial crisis (as well as the 1848 revolution
French Revolution of 1848
The 1848 Revolution in France was one of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe. In France, the February revolution ended the Orleans monarchy and led to the creation of the French Second Republic. The February Revolution was really the belated second phase of the Revolution of 1830...

) caused recession, and a drop in locomotive orders, spurring the company to diversify. One new product was production of spinning machines. Another was iron bridge manufacture, and in 1852 the company constructed France's first iron bridge. The structure, built of the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...

 at Asnières
Asnières
Asnières is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Asnières, Eure, in the Eure département* Asnières-en-Bessin, in the Calvados département* Asnières-en-Montagne, in the Côte-d'Or département...

 had a total length of 160 metres (524.9 ft). Despite erratic orders the company expanded rapidly; by 1856 a second share issue doubled the capital of the company, the same year the company's revenue was 7 million francs. In 1855 the company's factory was enlarged to accommodate the construction of iron bridges. Further orders for iron bridges came from France, and abroad, giving the company work for several years, and steady growth. To compensate for the uncertainties in the locomotive building business, the company began production of steam engines, as well as shipbuilding – acquiring a large shipyard in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....

, and became a supplier to the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

.

Experience with the building of iron bridges led to it undertaking related work, including the construction of foundations, and masonry. In 1862 the company entered the railway line construction field. It worked with the Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del Norte de España constructing a 25 km (15.5 mi) section of a line across the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

 which included many earthworks and tunnels. Railway works were also undertaken in Italy (on the Naples-Foggia line), and in Russia and Poland; including a bridge over the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....

.

On 1 January 1872 the company was converted to a joint stock company, the Société de Construction des Batignolles.

Société de Construction des Batignolles

Conversion to a public company, the Société de Construction des Batignolles (SCB), in 1872 allowed the company to raise capital. By 1880 over 5 million francs of shares had been issued. The new company was to continue the work of Ernest Gouin et Cie.; shipbuilding, bridges and other civil engineering works, and machine and locomotive building. Ernest Goüin died in 1885, to be succeeded by his son Jules as chairman of the company.

With most mainline railways in Europe complete by the 1870s, the group's search for contracts became increasingly international. By the 1880s civil engineering was becoming the core business. The company undertook some large railway construction projects such as the construction of the line from Bône
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...

 to Guelma
Guelma
Guelma is the capital of Guelma Province and Guelma District, located in northeastern Algeria, about 65 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast...

 in Algeria, and the line from Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

 to Saint-Louis, Senegal
Saint-Louis, Senegal
Saint-Louis, or Ndar as it is called in Wolof, is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 km north of Senegal's capital city Dakar, it has a population officially estimated at 176,000 in 2005. Saint-Louis...

. These were operated as concessions by subsidiaries of the SCB. By 1913 the company had fourteen subsidiary companies located throughout the world running railways. The company also constructed canals for irrigation, ports and harbours, and water and sewerage systems. Profits from concessions in north Africa, in particular Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

, were high (over 25% in the 1890s), and allowed expansion without share issues or loans.

The First World War caused a halt to international civil engineering contracts, except for a line in Greece of significance to military supply. The plant in the Avenue de Clichy produced armoured cars, gun carriages, bombs, trench mortars and other war material. The peace brought opportunities for rebuilding; including a potential demand for new locomotives. In 1917 a locomotive construction company, the Compagnie générale de construction de locomotives (Batignolles-Châtillon) in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....

 was formed by the SCB and the Société des forges de Châtillon-Commentry-Neuves-Maisons
Société des forges de Châtillon-Commentry-Neuves-Maisons
The Compagnie anonyme de Châtillon et Commentry was a French steelmaking company, formed as a limited company in 1862 from the Société Bouguéret, Martenot et Cie., a creation from the combination of several french iron makers in 1846....

. In 1928 SCB closed its factory on the Avenue de Clichy in Paris, transferring locomotive and other manufacturing to the Nantes subsidiary.

After the divestment of metal manufacturing to 'Batignolles-Châtillon' most of the company's sales were overseas; one-third came from French colonies, and two-thirds from other countries, much from eastern Europe. In the interwar years the company undertook several major projects including the construction of the Port of Gdynia
Port of Gdynia
Port of Gdynia – the Polish seaport located on the western coast of Gdańsk Bay Baltic sea in Gdynia. Founded in 1926. In 2008 it was #2 in containers on the Baltic sea.- Trans-shipments :* 1924 - 10,000 tons* 1929 - 2,923,000 tons* 1938 - 8,700,000 tons...

, and ports in Madagascar and Djibouti, the Congo-Ocean Railway
Congo-Ocean Railway
The Congo–Ocean Railway links the Atlantic port of Pointe-Noire with Brazzaville, a distance of 502 kilometres...

 (Chemin de fer Congo-Océan), and began work on a dam near Sansanding
Sansanding
Sansanding is a small town and commune in the Cercle of Ségou in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali. The town is on the left bank of the River Niger about 50 km downstream of Ségou.-References:...

 on the Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

. The construction of the Chemin de fer Congo-Océan caused a scandal as it used essentially forced labour, with a very heavy cost in life—up to 20% of the workforce in some parts.

In the years preceding the Second World War, after the 7 July 1938 law relating to industrial mobilisation in war, the SCB obtained several contracts from the French state, such as fortification constructions and armament factory constructions. The subsidiary 'Batignolles-Châtillon' also received numerous orders and expanded its factory, not only for locomotive production but also for the ministries of war. After the beginning of the war and during the German military occupation many overseas projects were halted, and work in France was much reduced. Under pressure from the Nazis, Ernest Goüin (CEO) agreed to help with the construction of the Atlantic Wall
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...

, for which he was imprisoned after the Liberation of France. He was released and returned to the position of CEO in October 1946.

The immediate postwar period was a prosperous one for SCB, the Monnet Plan
Monnet Plan
The Monnet plan was proposed by French civil servant Jean Monnet after the end of World War II. It was a reconstruction plan for France that proposed giving France control over the German coal and steel areas of the Ruhr area and Saar and using these resources to bring France to 150% of pre-war...

 allocated 50% of expenditure on civil engineering projects. Works included reconstruction of the Port of Le Havre
Port of Le Havre
The Port of Le Havre, Port Autonome du Havre, is the Port and port authority of the Normandy city of Le Havre, France.The port of Le Havre consists of a series of canal-like docks, the Canal de Tancarville and the Grand Canal du Havre, that connect Le Havre to the Seine, close to the Pont de...

, dams for EDF
EDF
- Military :* Elmendorf Air Force Base, a United States Air Force Base in Alaska* Estonian Defence Forces, military of the Republic of Estonia* European Defence Force, an international military force by the European Council- Organizations :...

, including the 2000GWh Barrage de Donzère-Mondragon. In Algeria the Barrage de Foum-el-Gherza was constructed. In French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...

 through FIDES, and CAIFOM, (and in association with Schneider SA through a limited liability joint venture SCTP.) the company returned to pre-war success, such as with the extension of the port in Doula
Doula
A Doula is someone who provides non-medical support to women and their families during labour and childbirth, and also the postpartum period. The term can also be used to describe other supportive roles for other life events such as abortion, death and more....

 and the 1830 metres (6,003.9 ft) long bridge over the Wouri
Wouri
Wouri may refer to:* Wouri , a division of the Littoral Province in Cameroon* Wouri River, a river in Cameroon* Wouri Bridge, a major port of Cameroon...

, in Cameroon. Additionally SCB agents began to seek potential contracts in South America and the Middle East; this led to work such as the extension of the port in Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...

, Ecuador. In South Africa the company's skill in building hyperbolic cooling towers brought orders for the subsidiary African Batignolles Construction Ltd..

By 1950 profits were not sufficient at 2.5% to cover the need for capital investments. It was the barrage in Edfina (near Metoubes
Metoubes
Metoubes is town in the northern Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate of Egypt....

, Egypt) that put SCB into financial deficit: The dam, built on the Rosetta canal was originally to be built by the Czech firm 'Hrabb Lozowski'. They were unable to complete the financial arrangements and the contract was passed to a 50/50 venture between SCB and the Netherlandsche Maatschappij Voor Haven. The Czech firm's costings turned out to be underestimates, and the attempts to re-negotiate the terms failed, additionally the unreliability of manpower due to the First Arab-Israeli war caused problems, as did poor Franco-Egyptian relations. The contract turned to litigation, but the case bogged down and by 1950 the company had already required major loans from the Crédit National d'Escompte and the Crédit Lyonnais
Crédit Lyonnais
Crédit Lyonnais is a historic French bank. In the early 1990s it was the largest French bank, majority state-owned at that point. Crédit Lyonnais was the subject of poor management during that period which almost led to its bankruptcy in 1993...

banks. The losses were large and the company used a share issue to raise capital. On 6 May 1954 the Empain group through its holding SPIE acquired a 20% stake in the company.

After the problems in Egypt the company focused on medium-sized projects, seeking a reliable income stream, and was involved in works on the River Rhine between Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

 and Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

. To compensate for the loss of markets due to French decolonisation the company became more involved in Latin America, and South Africa, and was contracted to build an airport in Indonesia ("Project Waru" : Juanda International Airport
Juanda International Airport
Juanda International Airport , is an airport located in Sidoarjo, a small town near Surabaya, East Java. This airport serves Surabaya and surrounding areas. Juanda International Airport is operated by PT Angkasa Pura I. The airport takes its name after Djuanda Kartawidjaja, the last Prime Minister...

). The company income grew modestly in the late 1950s. In 1962 Jean-Edouard Empain
Édouard-Jean Empain
Baron Édouard-Jean Empain is a French-Belgian industrialist, mostly known by the general public for his kidnapping in 1978.Between 1969 and 1981, Baron Empain was CEO of the Schneider group....

 became a director of the company. The company returned to large scale projects in an attempt to improve its profitability and the company also started to undertake building and property development projects. The company was still experiencing financial problems; in 1967 operating income was negative. In 1967 was decided to merge the company with the engineering company SPIE. The merger took place in 1968 forming SPIE Batignolles
Spie Batignolles
Spie Batignolles is a French construction company based in Neuilly-sur-Seine. The company provides building and infrastructure construction in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.-Company history:...

.

Legacy

The company was part of Spie Batignolles
Spie Batignolles
Spie Batignolles is a French construction company based in Neuilly-sur-Seine. The company provides building and infrastructure construction in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.-Company history:...

; owned by the Schneider group until 1997, when it was divested as part of an AMEC
AMEC
AMEC plc is a global consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is focused on the oil and gas, minerals and metals, renewable energy, environment and infrastructure sectors and has offices in 40 countries worldwide...

 leveraged management buyout. The company became Spie SA with three divisions – Spie Batignolles became the name of the construction division. The SPIE group was acquired by AMEC
AMEC
AMEC plc is a global consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is focused on the oil and gas, minerals and metals, renewable energy, environment and infrastructure sectors and has offices in 40 countries worldwide...

 in 2003 the construction division was acquired in September 2003 by the management and Barclays Private Equity Finance, by 2005 the company sought to sell the other SPIE assets. The electrical engineering, and rail divisions were sold separately between 2006 and 2007.

Spie Batignolles continues to undertake civil engineering construction work.

Sources

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