Artelia
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Engineering, consultancy |
| Predecessor | Coteba, Sogreah |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Paris , France |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Project management, design services |
| Website | www |
Artelia is a French engineering and consultancy firm that focuses on project management and design services. Since its inception in 2010, Artelia has delivered expertise across sectors such as building construction, water management, energy, environmental projects, industry, maritime activities, transportation, urban planning, and multi-site developments. The company is also involved in public-private partnership initiatives. Globally, Artelia is ranked 83rd among design firms.
History
Coteba was founded in 1961 as a branch of Compagnie Générale des Eaux and quickly became a prominent French project management company specializing in large-scale building projects. Over time, it diversified into engineering disciplines including transportation and major urban infrastructures while managing projects across multiple international locations.
In 1995, Coteba became part of Nexity. In 2003, its leadership team, supported by investment funds from Crédit Mutuel, CIC, and Crédit Agricole, purchased Coteba from Nexity. The company expanded further in 2006 by acquiring the engineering division of Thales Engineering & Consulting (THEC), which specialized in infrastructure, hospital construction, and industrial process engineering. This acquisition increased the workforce by approximately 300 employees—a 40% rise from its previous count of 700. By 2007, Coteba’s management had fully acquired the firm. Between 2003 and 2007, the company’s staff size doubled.
Sogreah
Originating in 1923 as the Laboratoire Dauphinois d’Hydraulique based in Grenoble, the firm rebranded to Société Grenobloise d’Etudes et d’Applications Hydrauliques (Sogreah) in 1955. Sogreah specialized in hydraulic engineering studies and construction projects supported by facilities such as a physical hydraulics scale model laboratory, a shiphandling training center, and computational hydraulic models. By 1958, its operations expanded to include rural engineering, irrigation systems, water supply networks, and sewage infrastructure. The company also worked extensively within water management, energy production, environmental projects, and urban development sectors. Among its notable achievements were contributions to the tidal power plant on the River Rance and the innovation of the tetrapod concrete breakwater block. In 1967, Sogreah became part of the Alstom group (later Alcatel). On December 31, 1998, it regained independence through a management buy-out (MBO), which saw its workforce triple to over 1,200 employees.
Merger
In July 2009, Coteba and Sogreah revealed plans to merge. By late 2009, they formalized an agreement to establish a holding entity called Artelia. The merger concluded in 2011, forming one of France’s foremost independent engineering groups.
Artelia
Artelia’s expansion approach has combined organic growth with strategic acquisitions. From 2010 to 2013, twelve companies integrated into the group. Early in 2010, Artelia welcomed Sodeg—a consultancy specializing in building engineering for healthcare facilities as well as industrial, educational, cultural, and leisure establishments.
In April 2011, Artelia acquired Spretec, an engineering firm focused on structural mechanics. This was followed by the acquisition of Détente Consultants in May 2011—a tourism consultancy.
In 2012 alone, six acquisitions added approximately 200 employees and generated €23 million in annual revenue. These included GECC AICC, RL Consultant, and Ingetech—experts in institutional kitchen design within France’s Rhône-Alpes region—and UK-based Appleyards providing project management and consultancy for construction and infrastructure projects. Additional acquisitions encompassed Sotec (specializing in water management, environment, and urban development), DPG Plan in São Paulo (engineering, architecture, project management), Copramex (coastal environment studies and polluted soil remediation), and Haskoning France (polluted site rehabilitation and sustainable resource use).
In April 2013, Artelia enhanced its presence in building construction and industrial facility sectors through acquiring ICADE’s engineering departments—Arcoba, Gestec, and Setrhi-Setae—establishing itself as the leading French building engineering firm. The group further broadened its infrastructure engineering capabilities by acquiring Secoa and Quadric—civil engineering structure specialists.
In July 2015, two Artelia business units were barred from participating in World Bank projects following allegations of fraudulent conduct during operations in China. This sanction resulted from Artelia’s admission of wrongdoing.
Organisation
Artelia is structured into nine distinct business divisions:
- Bâtiments Ile-de-France
- Bâtiments régions & équipements
- Mobilités & infrastructures
- Villes & territoires
- Europe & Retail
- Asie, Inde, Amérique
- Eau & Afrique Moyen-Orient
- Industrie
- MOE (Denmark)
The company operates through 55 offices within France and maintains a presence across 40 countries worldwide. In 2019, revenues generated from international operations represented 36% of the group's overall turnover.
Notable projects
Among the recent key projects undertaken by Artelia are:
- Grenfell Tower, London: Artelia oversaw the refurbishment of this 24-storey residential building. The 2017 fire, associated with combustible cladding applied during renovation, tragically caused 72 deaths.
- Expansion of the Safran facility in Gennevilliers, France: The firm handled design and construction oversight for the site enlargement, which included asbestos abatement and modernization of production areas.
- Forum des Halles, Paris: Artelia is responsible for project management and coordination in the comprehensive redevelopment of this central urban transit hub serving approximately 750,000 passengers daily.
- Grand Paris Express, Paris metropolitan area: Supporting Société du Grand Paris and STIF in constructing four new automated metro lines and related extensions, comprising nearly 200 kilometers and 75 stations scheduled for completion by 2030.
- Renovation work on the hôtel de Crillon, located at Place de la Concorde, Paris (ongoing since 2012).
- Nickel mining project in Goro, New Caledonia: Collaborating with Vale Inco Nouvelle-Calédonie since 2010 on the development of an open-pit nickel mine.
- Hydroelectric development in Boureya, Guinea: Engineering an earthfill dam measuring 60 meters in height and 1.5 kilometers in length to support a 160 MW power station, including the installation of transmission lines extending over 120 kilometers.
- Calais Port 2015, France: Delivering engineering expertise for a new harbor basin spanning 60 hectares, featuring a 3.6-kilometer breakwater, reclamation zones, and a service harbor.
- Drinking water infrastructure in Muscat Governorate, Oman: Overseeing construction activities commissioned by the Public Authority for Electricity and Water.
- Collaboration with Royal Dutch Shell: Managing capital investment initiatives within Shell’s fuel distribution network across eleven primarily European nations under a renewed three-year contract.
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