Founded in 1929 to exploit a new Cold Asphalt paving technique, Colas has become a leader in the construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure.

Colas in brief:

Business

Roads account for around 80% of the group's sales and can be broken down into two areas.
 

Construction and maintenance of roads, motorways, airport runways, port, industrial and logistics platforms, urban development, reserved lanes for public transport, cycle paths, recreational facilities, etc.

Upstream, production and recycling of construction materials (aggregates, emulsions, asphalt mix, ready-mix concrete), used for the group's own projects or sold to third parties via its network of 670 quarries and gravel pits, 140 emulsion plants and 600 asphalt plants. The Group also operates in the production, storage, transformation and distribution of bitumen via two bitumen production plants and a network of depots.

Colas has operations in road-related specialty activities: safety, roadmarkings; waterproofing, pipes, mains and civil engineering; building (construction and demolition); railway works (including tramways and subways); and services and concessions. The group is thus in a position to offer its public and private-sector clients an extensive range of products and services. 
 

Geographical locations

The group's solid business platform in France has enabled Colas to gradually expand into international markets, first Africa and the Indian Ocean in the 1930s, followed by North America in the early 1960s, then in most of Europe, and in Asia over the last 20 years. In 2010, France accounted for 58% of sales, North America for 19%, Europe excluding France for 15% and Africa/Indian Ocean/Asia for 8%. 

Corporate strategy

Colas’ profitable and sustainable growth strategy aims to meet present-day world requirements in terms of mobility, urbanisation and environmental challenges.

It focuses on strengthening and extending the geographic footprint of its network, controlling materials and resources (aggregates, bitumen, etc.) necessary for its activities; branching out to road-related speciality activities; expanding into complex offers (concessions, PPPs); carrying out large-scale projects in addition to conventional small-sized road projects; developing an offering of innovative products and services that meet socially responsible requirements (warm-mix asphalts, plant-based binders, cold-in-place recycling, noise-reducing mixes, etc.). 
 

Network organisation

Colas consists of an international network of 60 regional or national subsidiaries, with a strong local foothold (800 profit centres that enjoy great independence and close relations with clients and contracting authorities, and 1,400 production sites). This decentralised, flexible and responsive organisation is adapted to market expectations.
 

People

Colas employs  62,886 people world-wide. The main thrusts of the group's human resources policy are recruitment based on diversity (5,000 new employees taken on in 2011), training (Colas Campus and Colas University), safety (accident prevention on worksites and on the road), mobility and internal promotion, and decentralised management based on respect and trust. 

(Updated: February 2012)