History of the company
More than a human adventure, the DERICHEBOURG Group is the history of a family at the service of humankind and the environment over three generations.
A pioneer spirit at the service of the environment
Early 1950s: the Derichebourg adventure was scarcely beginning...
Guy Derichebourg, a former mechanic, then working for himself, criss-crossed the Paris region at the wheel of his little van. His trade? Scrap metal merchant. Travelling alone, he offered his services to private individuals by clearing their scrap, clearing out their cellars...
13 october 1956: metal collection became organised
Founding of a new company, the Compagnie Française des Ferrailles (C.F.F.) by Jean Dufayet and Marcel Robert, directors of the Dufayet Robert metal recovery company, André Tapiau, the owner of several recovery companies located in the Paris region and of a factory producing lead shot by the gravitation method in Toulouse, and André and Jacques Ribier, directors of the Société métallurgique des Docks in Saint-Ouen.
1957 - 1963: the recycling market takes shape and develops
The C.F.F. makes a series of acquisitions, which contribute to the expansion of its activities. After scrap metal, it now becomes active in the non-ferrous metals and crude iron industries After the Paris Region it develops throughout almost all of France. And positions itself on all the key recycling markets.
23 april 1963: the c.f.f. makes its entry onto the paris stock market
27 july 1966: the shredding method, a major innovation
The Minister for Industry, Raymond Marcellin, inaugurates the first shredder in operation in France, and one of the first to operate in Europe (shredding capacity: 500 vehicles per day). This technology becomes one of the major development axes for the development of the C.F.F., supported in November 1969 by the commissioning of a second shredder at Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu, near Lyon.
1968: birth of a global environmental and service operator
An internal re-organisation gave rise to a new entity - Novafer- bringing together a very large number of work sites and companies, which were evolving within C.F.F.'s direct purview. Novafer comprised scrap metal, non-ferrous metal, steel products, steel services and lead shot divisions. To these activities Novafer added new ones, very far-removed from the original tasks of the Group: a cleaning, maintenance and dust removal division, another division specialising in the provision of (temporary) industrial labour, and a green spaces, parks and gardens division.
A holding company - the Compagnie Européenne de Gestion, d’Analyse et de Programmation, or CEGAP - constituted the cornerstone of the Group as a whole, a group which has become a leader in France and one of the foremost in Europe - in the recovery and recycling sector.
End of the 1960s: after the private individuals Derichebourg attacks the corporate market
Derichebourg, which had become a small family business with the involvement of Guy Derichebourg's son, Daniel, took a further step in its development by launching itself onto a new and booming market: the recovery of corporate waste.
The mid-1970s: winning strategy and international success
To recycle production scrap the C.F.F. establishes itself in the very heart of the steelworks in order to treat the residues from the blast furnaces and steel mills.
1975 : In the port of Portsmouth in the USA, the C.F.F. founds the Portsmouth Metals Export Company, a work site devoted to providing scrap metal to factories in Europe.
1973: a solid, mature group poised to launch itself into new challenges
The C.F.F., which already had 30 subsidiaries, more than 800 members of staff and was achieving a turnover of 850 million francs, acquired a holding in a small steel mill at Bonnières-sur-Seine specialising in the production of rebar.
1982-1983: weathering the crisis
In one of the most difficult economic contexts for the profession, the C.F.F. undertakes an essential reform, vital for the future: the decentralisation of its scrap metal activities. By bringing the company closer to the natural waste production basins five major subsidiaries covering the whole of France are created: Purmet (South-east), Sudfer (South-west), AFM, Pulfer (Normandy and Paris Region), Norsider (North) and Sicafrance (East).
1987: a decisive acquisition
The C.F.F. takes over Métalinor, a subsidiary of Usinor-Sacilor. This acquisition represents a giant leap forward for the C.F.F., doubling its turnover (3.6 billion francs as against the previous 1.8 billion), increasing its fleet of shredders and consolidating its French network, close to major zones of waste emissions.
Beginning of the 1990s: its leadership becomes world-wide
The C.F.F. becomes the world-wide leader in the shredding sector. During the same period, the Company develops a major export activity for its scrap metals - to India, Turkey and Egypt, in particular - and engages in international scrap metal negotiation for South-east Asia and Latin America. Since then, the international aspect has been a major axis in the development of the Group.
Derichebourg: a family business now essential
At the end of a period of development conducted all flags flying, the company has some 500 trucks, employs 800 persons in the whole of France and achieves a turnover of in the order of 500 million francs.
1991: launching of the new "d2r" concept
Decontamination-Re-use-Recycling - on the Saint-Pierre de Chandieu shredding site in partnership with the PSA Group and the cement manufacturer, Vicat. Upstream of the shredder the C.F.F. is responsible, together with the automobile group, for the decontamination and dismantling of vehicles, a treatment centre having been created downstream with Vicat for the conversion of polymers into granules, which can be used as alternative fuels by the cement workers.
- 1992 : a new D2R centre is created at Athis-Mons with the Renault Group. In one year it was to decontaminate no fewer than 40,000 vehicles.
- 1992 : the C.F.F. buys the first shredder to have been commissioned anywhere in the world, in 1958, that of Proler in Houston.
1993: Derichebourg, stakeholder and pioneer in the emerging circular economy
The recovery industry becomes a reality. The C.F.F. plays a very important role in signing the framework agreement on the reprocessing of end-of-life vehicles (ELV), signed between the Minister of the Environment, the Minister for Industry and the various operators involved in the life-cycle of vehicles. The C.F.F. delivers its commitment that very year by creating the Eco-Vhu Company, tasked with collection and decontamination of vehicles upstream of the shredding process, either directly or indirectly by way of subcontracting. Since it was founded Eco-VHU has signed contracts with dealers in the major automobile brands represented in France, notably PSA, Renault, BMW, Fiat and Mercedes.
1994: the DERICHEBOURG company is acquired by the American waste management group
Mr Daniel Derichebourg thus becomes a member of the executive board and a shareholder in the group's American subsidiary. In the same year he is contacted by the c.f.f., which is in need of investors and a new lease of life. He acquires a holding in the c.f.f.
1995: a group of repute in France and in the world
The C.F.F. achieves a turnover of 6 billion francs and employs 1750 persons. The Group establishes itself in Mexico.
September 1996: new strategic directions and a second wind
Mr Daniel Derichebourg becomes the majority shareholder in the Group and drives forward a vast restructuring plan: intensification of purchasing at source, multiplication of the means of removal, redrawing of the regions nearest the suppliers.
2000-2004: affirmation of a strong identity - an international group at the service of the environment
Services, recycling and recovery, international: these are the strategic axes of the C.F.F., which has become one of the world leaders in the market for recycling of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The C.F.F. has established itself as an international group at the service of the environment, present in the areas of recycling and recovery of capital and consumer goods at the end of their life and of recovered material, together with urban cleanliness and the management of industrial and household waste.
Early 2000: the C.F.F. becomes CFF Recycling
2005: rapid growth
The Group achieves a turnover of 1.7 billion euros, with rapid growth from the beginning of the decade and employs more than 3,000 persons. The tonnages processed never cease to increase, going from 4.6 million metric tons in 1997 to more than 6 million metric tons in 2005.
- 3 january 2005 : CFF Recycling and Penauille Polyservices announce the signature of an agreement for the creation of a major stakeholder in the Services to Industries, with a turnover of more than 3 billion euros.
- 3 july 2006 : Daniel Derichebourg is appointed to the chairmanship of the Penauille Polyservices Group
18 July 2007: creation of a global operator in the fields of the environment and services to the environment by companies and local authorities
The DERICHEBOURG Group was created on 18 July 2007 from the merger of the CFF Recycling Group and the Penauille Polyservices Group, both chaired by Mr Daniel Derichebourg. A major stakeholder, of international standing, the Group now established itself as a global operator in the fields of the environment and services to the environment by companies and local authorities though its recycling and recovery activities, as well as through the fields of cleanliness, safety, energy and temporary employment.
December 2009: the group inaugurates a new refrigerator recycling plant at marignane
January 2010: DERICHEBOURG Environnement wins major electrical and electronic waste recycling markets
15 february 2011: the group takes full responsibility for its leadership
DERICHEBOURG joins FEDERE, the Federation of Recycling Companies.
A strategic decision, which allowed the Group to position itself in relation to the major legislative challenges in the industry.
7 june 2012: making innovation an engine for growth
DERICHEBOURG AQUA acquires the business assets of the Loïra Company and thus becomes the proprietor of several patents throughout the world. The best known of these – Loïlyse – makes possible in particular the destruction of xenobiotics (pesticides, medicinal products, hormones, etc.). For a cleaner world.
4 March 2014: DERICHEBOURG develops at the heart of the Indian Ocean
The Group becomes the new partner for the local authorities on the Island of La Réunion.
DERICHEBOURG OCEAN INDIEN is the fruit of the meeting of two family-owned groups, which share the same values, the MOOLAND Transport Group, an expert in passenger transport and a long-standing partner of the local authorities on the Island of La Réunion, and the DERICHEBOURG GROUP, a multi-sector expert in the fields of services to companies and to local authorities.
8 June 2015: DERICHEBOURG environment wins the trust of the capital of Morocco
The capital of Morocco has entrusted the collection of its domestic waste to the DERICHEBOURG Group.
This seven-year contract represents turnover of 40 million euros during the term of the agreement. It is the fruit of an innovative, effective range of services, by means of employing an intelligent management solution for the container fleet and the information technology monitoring of the collection operations.
2 November 2015: the group crosses the Atlantic and establishes itself in Canada
DERICHEBOURG CANADA ENVIRONNEMENT, a new subsidiary of the Group created in March 2015, wins two contracts for the collection of domestic waste in Montreal.
7 September 2015: European growth continues in Portugal
Derichebourg Multiservices consolidates its presence in Portugal by buying SAFIRA. Founded in 2000 SAFIRA is a major stakeholder in cleaning service markets. With 5,000 members of staff and turnover of more than €30 million in 2014, SAFIRA is one of the leading operators in cleaning services in Portugal. By means of this acquisition DERICHEBOURG Multiservices has consolidated its presence in Portugal and in Europe, thus guaranteeing very close proximity to its customers.
December 2015: DERICHEBOURG, an official partner of cop 21 in Paris
By placing its core business at the service of a global cause - the fight against global warming - the Derichebourg Group not only demonstrates the exemplary character of its know-how in waste management and cleanliness, but also the strength of its commitment to a circular economy, of which it is one of the pioneers and in which it is today a leading stakeholder.
On 4 January 2016, DERICHEBOURG announces the acquisition of the Galloo Group of six recycling (collection and treatment), ferrous and non-ferrous metals centres located in Île-de-France (Bonneuil sur Marne, Ivry, Châtillon, Nanterre, Saint-Pierre-les-Nemours), and in Eure-et-Loir (Gellainville), and of the business assets of Almetal Paris.
On 11 January 2016, Derichebourg announces the acquisition of the SLG Recycling Group.
The SLG Recycling Group specialises in the recycling of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and the processing of waste from industry and trade. It operates 22 recycling centres, principally located in the Centre Region and Brittany.
On 2 June 2016
The DERICHEBOURG Group announces the acquisition by its subsidiary, Derichebourg Propreté, of the cleaning and associated services company, the Alter Services Group, which makes a turnover of €17 million and employs some 1,000 members of staff.
On 21 July 2016
DERICHEBOURG announces the purchase of the metal recycling company, the Bartin Recycling Group, a subsidiary of Veolia. Bartin Recycling is located on some twenty sites throughout France, recycles up to 450,000 metric tons of metal per year and employs 300 members of staff.
In 2018, The company opens DERICHEBOURG FM, a new subsidiary specialising in facility management and consolidates its position with several acquisitions and re-organisations in the cleaning sectors.
In 2019, DERICHEBOURG Environnement takes over Lyrsa, the Spanish leader in the recycling of metal waste.
Lyrsa processes almost one million metric tons of metal waste every year, including some 160,000 metric tons of non-ferrous metals, earning a turnover of €427 million. Lyrsa employs some 600 members of staff.
DERICHEBOURG Multiservices continues its policy of development on the Iberian Peninsula with the acquisition of Grupo Net, a cleaning company earning a turnover of €30 million and employing 4,000 members of staff.
In 2020, DERICHEBOURG Multiservices relocates its registered office and moves into the Tour Derichebourg tower block in Créteil, formerly the property of the Pernod Group and known as La Pernoderie.
In 2021, the DERICHEBOURG Group takes over its competitor, Ecore, which is the most significant external growth operation of its history in services to the environment.
In May 2022, the DERICHEBOURG Group becomes the major shareholder in the Elior Group by acquiring 20% of the company's capital.