Death of Clément FAYAT
6 July 2022Clément FAYAT, founder of the FAYAT Group, died on July 03, 2022, at the age of 90. The funeral will take place on Thursday, July 7, 2022 at 2:30 pm in the Church of Notre Dame Cypressat in Bordeaux (33100).
Clément Fayat was born on January 24, 1932 in a modest family whose father was a mason. He left his family at a very early age and became an apprentice on the construction site of the hydroelectric dam of Chastang (Corrèze) built on the Dordogne.
He moved to the city of Libourne after completing his eighteen months of military service: it was in this quiet town on the outskirts of Bordeaux that he met his future wife Germaine (who passed away in 2013). He created a Germaine Fayat space adjacent to his first company headquarters.
The Fayat Group
It was in Libourne that he began building his group. At the age of 25, he joined forces with the local public works company Vincent in 1957 to found the Société de terrassement (SNT).
He quickly bought out the Vincent company and founded the construction activity of the Fayat Group. He then acquired the subsidiary Le réservoir (boiler making) in 1969, then Castel & Fromaget, which in 1975 became the first and most modern steelwork group in France.
In 1987 he bought the French company Ermont and in 1988 the Italian company Marini, both of which designed and produced asphalt plants. These acquisitions enabled him to establish himself on the export market.
In 1994, he took over the Genest group: he doubled the size of his group by adding new businesses: industrial electricity and special foundations (Sefi, Franki).
In 2002, he bought Bec Frères, in 2004 Bomag and in 2008 Razel. He then brought to the group expertise in earthmoving and civil engineering, gained a foothold on five continents in the design and production of road machinery and opened up the African market for tunnels.
Between 2013 and 2021, the group strengthened its position in the road and construction sectors through the acquisition of various subsidiaries.
It thus develops activities in different and complementary directions. Its Group now has seven main business lines: public works, foundations, construction, metal, energy services, boiler making and road equipment.
In 2021, the Group, which started with just “a backhoe”, will have a turnover of 4.6 billion euros, 2,166 employees, 231 subsidiaries and a presence in 170 countries.
The Fayat spirit
The special character of the group is due to the exceptional personality of Clément Fayat: a visionary, rigorous, he demands loyalty from his teams and total commitment with a single goal: to be the best. He delegates to his assistants the skills that he recognizes in them and that he does not have himself. He gives his trust without denying it.
The Group’s values are: autonomy, commitment and boldness. Autonomy is what it gives to its subsidiaries, commitment is what it asks of its employees, and the audacity to keep moving forward, which is characterized by the constant growth of projects with which its name is associated. To name but a few: Canopée des Halles, Musée du Quai Branly, Stade Matmut Atlantique, Centre aquatique de Valenciennes, Arena de Narbonne, Tabellout dam in Algeria, Viaduc des trois bassins in La Réunion and the Fréjus tunnel between France and Italy.
The Fayat spirit is also that of the earth: his passion for wine led to the purchase in 1969 of Château La Dominique, a Grand Cru Classé in Saint-Emilion, whose cellar was designed by Jean Nouvel. Then came Château Clément-Pichon, recently recognized as a Cru Bourgeois supérieur du Haut-Médoc, and several Pomérol vineyards united in 2009 under the name Château Fayat. No festivity, and in particular on the Fayat stands at the AFTES Congresses, can take place without hearing the characteristic sound of a bottle of his vintages being uncorked!
A legacy he ensured the continuity of
He bequeathed this immense heritage to his two sons: the first independent French construction group and a world leader in road equipment and the 4th largest French player in the construction industry behind Vinci, Bouygues and Eiffage.
In 2012, he was promoted to the rank of Commander of the Legion of Honor, at the age of 80, by Alain Juppé, in recognition of his work.
When he retired from business, he confided: ‘A new horizon is opening before us, I feel it. And I am confident, because two men carry in their genes these values and this will to succeed. This is the time of great projects. Time for history to continue. And innovative developments’. In 2011, Jean-Claude took over the management of the wines within the group and the presidency of the Group, while Laurent became Managing Director in 2013.
Finally, in 2020, Clément Fayat joined forces with his two sons to create the Fayat Foundation. Faithful to the values that the group and its managers have held for more than sixty years, the Clément Fayat Foundation, a shareholder Foundation recognized as being of public interest, intends to contribute to the long-term survival of the group and to preserve its independence, while contributing to the meaning given to the daily actions of its employees. It has given itself three missions:
- To fight against neurodegenerative diseases by participating in medical research
- To train the most underprivileged people
- To rehabilitate and renovate historical monuments.
The AFTES presents its sincere condolences to the Fayat family and to all the teams of the Group, in particular, those involved in the tunnel projects.
Photo: Clément Fayat with his two sons, Jean-Claude and Laurent [Credit: FAYAT].
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