Clément Fayat, the founder of the eponymous group, left us yesterday, in his 90th year. Corrézien at heart, earthling at heart, self-taught and inspired, he was a visionary entrepreneur all his life. A tireless worker, admired as much as feared, deeply respected by his collaborators and peers for his fair rigour, he built stone by stone the empire we know today – 21,666 employees, 4.6 billion euros of turnover achieved in 2021, in 170 countries around the world – before entrusting the management to his two sons, Jean-Claude and Laurent, a few years ago. A whole life dedicated to his companies and their teams, which he continued to follow with passion after handing over the reins, from his home located in the heart of the Médoc.

Clément Fayat is a pure Corrèze native, born on January 24, 1932, into a modest family – he will like to recall that he often had to share apples and chestnuts with the pigs raised by his parents. He will receive from his father, Paul Fayat, a mason with whom he acquired his first skills, a rigorous education emphasizing the value of work and its quality of execution. Wishing to gain his autonomy as quickly as possible, he left school very early, becoming an apprentice at the age of 15 on the site of the Chastang hydroelectric dam (Corrèze) built on the Dordogne. He joined the city of Libourne after completing his eighteen months of military service: it was in this quiet town located on the outskirts of Bordeaux that he met his future wife Germaine.

An Earthling Deeply Attached to his Roots

Although at the head of an empire present on five continents, Clément Fayat has remained very attached to his earthly origins – “The earth remains stuck to my hooves”, he will readily say. The family home from Libourne now houses the Espace Germaine Fayat – in homage to his wife who died in 2013 – a reception area adjoining the headquarters of the first company he founded in 1957: Fayat Enterprise TP.

It was also out of love for the land that he acquired a prestigious vineyard in 1969, Château La Dominique (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé): a daring choice which was sure to surprise in these renowned wine-growing lands, but which he will never cease to congratulate himself. Today also owner of Château Clément-Pichon (Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois Supérieur) and Château Fayat (Pomerol), he has structured the Group's wine-growing activity within the Vignobles Clément Fayat, regularly praised by international specialist critics. , and whose wine tourism activity continues to expand. Although very present with his teams, he will never leave his home located in the heart of the Médoc for very long.

The Complementarity of Construction & Industry

The adventure of the Fayat group began in 1957 quite naturally with the activity of public works, when Clément Fayat acquired his first backhoe loader and created, with the company Vincent, which then employed him, the Société Nouvelle de Terrassement ( SNT). He is only 25 years old, but already has a solid professional experience of ten years. It will therefore constantly strengthen and broaden the spectrum of its activities, initially on a French scale, then internationally. Fayat now has seven major businesses: public works, foundations, building, metal, energy services, boilermaking and road equipment. A dual activity of industry and construction – including real estate development and operations carried out in public-private partnership – on the basis of which he built the balance and sustainability of his empire. The first acquisition made by Clément Fayat will be that of his employer Vincent (public works), the first founding milestone of the Group's construction activity. The opening to industry will be through the acquisition of the Le Reservoir subsidiary (boilermaking) in 1969. A new stage of diversification was reached in 1977, with the takeover of Castel & Fromaget (metal), of which it will make from 1985 the most modern steel frame manufacturer in France.

The road equipment activity, today the main source of Fayat's export turnover, appeared in 1987, with the acquisition of the French company Ermont, and in 1988, with that of the Italian company Marini. , both designers and producers of asphalt plants. " The family is growing. And I feel the Fayat spirit growing with her”. Visionary, Rigorous, demanding, nurturing the loyalty of his teams, from whom he expects total commitment, Clément Fayat always pursues the same objective: to be the best. The first. For this, he never hesitated to leave the orders if necessary to those whose skills he was able to recognize that he himself lacked: once given, his confidence is, if not unshakable, at least fundamentally anchored. A new milestone was undeniably crossed in 1994, with the takeover of the Ile-de-France group Genest: the operation marked the doubling of the size of the Group, while enriching it with an activity, industrial electricity.

The special foundations business entered the Group that same year (Sefi and Franki). Clément Fayat always pursues the same objective: to be the best. The first. For this, he never hesitated to leave the orders if necessary to those whose skills he was able to recognize that he himself lacked: once given, his confidence is, if not unshakable, at least fundamentally anchored. A new milestone was undeniably crossed in 1994, with the takeover of the Ile-de-France group Genest: the operation marked the doubling of the size of the Group, while enriching it with an activity, industrial electricity. The special foundations business entered the Group that same year (Sefi and Franki). Clément Fayat always pursues the same objective: to be the best. The first. For this, he never hesitated to leave the orders if necessary to those whose skills he was able to recognize that he himself lacked: once given, his confidence is, if not unshakable, at least fundamentally anchored. A

new milestone was undeniably crossed in 1994, with the takeover of the Ile-de-France group Genest: the operation marked the doubling of the size of the Group, while enriching it with an activity, industrial electricity. The special foundations business entered the Group that same year (Sefi and Franki). he never hesitated to leave the controls, if necessary, to those whose skills he was able to recognize that he himself lacked: once given, his confidence is, if not unshakable, at least fundamentally anchored. A new milestone was undeniably crossed in 1994, with the takeover of the Ile-de-France group Genest: the operation marked the doubling of the size of the Group, while enriching it with an activity, industrial electricity. The special foundations business entered the Group that same year (Sefi and Franki). he never hesitated to leave the controls, if necessary, to those whose skills he was able to recognize that he himself lacked: once given, his confidence is, if not unshakable, at least fundamentally anchored. A new milestone was undeniably crossed in 1994, with the takeover of the Ile-de-France group Genest: the operation marked the doubling of the size of the Group, while enriching it with an activity, industrial electricity. The special foundations business entered the Group that same year (Sefi and Franki). while enriching it with an activity, industrial electricity. The special foundations business entered the Group that same year (Sefi and Franki). while enriching it with an activity, industrial electricity. The special foundations business entered the Group that same year (Sefi and Franki).

The International Dimension

With the takeovers of Bec Frères in 2002, Bomag in 2004 and Razel in 2008, it again projects the Group into an unprecedented dimension: contribution of expertise in earthworks and civil engineering as well as in building for the former, addition of subsidiaries on the five continents for the German brand, world leader in the design and production of road machinery, and opening up to the African continent thanks to the third. Cari (construction) in 2010, Terex (acquisition of production lines in the United States and road equipment activities in Brazil) in 2013, Dynapac (strengthening of the strategic position on the global road equipment market) in 2017, Fouchard (climate engineering) and Bardon (building) in 2019, and finally Dulevo (scanning solutions) and NXO (integration and management solutions for digital business flows) in 2021 are the latest national to international operations that have marked a continuous process of external growth, carried out in parallel with the Fayat's internal growth. Thus, after having imposed himself, at less than forty years, to the borders of China, the modest Corrézien having started his entrepreneurial project equipped with a simple backhoe loader, crossed the year 2000 with a group structured worldwide, and became at the dawn of the 21st century, the leading independent French construction group and world leader in road equipment, today present in 170 countries thanks to its 231 subsidiaries. Enough to force the admiration of all, as evidenced by the many tributes paid to him today by employees, entrepreneurs and public figures. Clément Fayat, modest, did he not one day declare: "If you do what you like, you will never work", a sign of the passion that has inhabited him all his life and invited to see always higher.

Autonomy, Commitment, Audacity - Core Values of the Group

Promoted to the rank of Commander of the Order of the Legion of Honor in 2012, the year of his 80th birthday, at the hands of Alain Juppé, then mayor of Bordeaux, Clément Fayat backed his admirable rise to an immutable culture: respect of the three values ​​which are audacity of course, commitment even more, and also autonomy, that which he has always known how to give to his companies, with which he worked in confidence. This is how he was able to grow and consolidate step by step his rich professional family, and gain and establish his legitimacy on the international scene more and more every day: the best illustration of his success is measured by the constantly growing number major projects with which the Fayat name is associated throughout the world.

A Rich Heritage Around the World

The famous yellow diamond intersecting two capital Fs has now become a must in the international landscape. After having worked with the greatest architects, Clément Fayat leaves a legacy to his sons, his collaborators, and to the citizens of the whole world, an impressive track record of prestigious achievements, many of which have received internationally renowned prizes.

Currently a key player in the gigantic Grand Paris project, Fayat is also behind the creation of the Canopée des Halles and the Quai Branly museum, as well as Terminal 2E at Charles de Gaulle international airport. In his historic Aquitaine stronghold and even more so in Bordeaux, many real estate programs and development projects bear his signature, as does the emblematic Stade Matmut Atlantique. The achievements in France, in the public and private sectors, are countless: Manufacture de la Mode in Paris, Campus des Métiers in Nice, Aquatic Center in Valenciennes, Arena in Narbonne, public lighting on the Boulevard Périphérique Nord in Lyon, intelligent management crossroads in Biarritz, management of the Multimodal Exchange Center in Rennes, to name but a few. On the international scene, let us recall the many African sanitation and airport projects finalized and in progress, the famous Tabellout dam in Algeria, the Trois Bassins Viaduct in Reunion or the Fréjus tunnel between France and Italy, the ACTe Memorial in Guadeloupe.

The industrial activity, the spearhead of the Group's internationalization, is particularly driven by the expertise of its brands in the design, production and marketing of road equipment: asphalt plants, feeders, finishers, asphalt rollers, equipment road maintenance machines, milling machines, recyclers and stabilizers, soil compactors, sweeping solutions from Fayat operate on a number of road construction, maintenance and rehabilitation sites on five continents. For exemple, an impressive, perfectly orchestrated ballet of some 136 compactors designed within the Group took part in the construction of Istanbul's international airport. The Group has 24 road equipment production sites spread across the world, in Europe, Asia and the Americas – United States, Brazil, China, India, Turkey, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Italy, France –, with Research and Development departments at the forefront of technologies and the digital and eco-responsible challenges of tomorrow.

A Foundation to Complete His Work

In 2020, Clément Fayat joined his two sons, Jean-Claude and Laurent, to announce the creation of a foundation in his name. Faithful to the values ​​carried by the Group and its leaders for more than sixty years, the Fondation Clément Fayat, a shareholder foundation recognized as being of public utility, intends to contribute to the sustainability of the Group and to preserve its independence, while participating in the meaning given to daily actions. of its collaborators. The three missions it has given itself are perfectly in line with the history of the Group and its values: to fight against neurodegenerative diseases and participate in medical research; train people – especially the most disadvantaged – wishing to enter the construction and public works sector and help people wishing to retrain in another sector; and finally rehabilitating and renovating historical monuments. An ultimate way, all in elegance, to pass the torch and inspire future generations.

“A new horizon is opening up before us, I feel it. And I have confidence because two men carry these values ​​and this desire to succeed in their genes. It's time for big plans. Of the story that continues. And innovative developments,” said Clément Fayat shortly before retiring from business.

This summed up the very beautiful culmination of what was the essence of his life, just as much as his pride, always modest, as a man... and as a father delivering on this occasion a moving tribute to his two sons ready to take the relay, in the continuity of what he had built over sixty years.