Research has been a strategic priority for Colas for many years.
With a portfolio of 153 patents for products used in France and around the world, the group continues to pioneer new road techniques suited to the different needs of an ever-changing global market.
Colas spent €70 million on R&D in 2008, including 60% in France (according to the OECD definition, including organised research, technical laboratory activities, IT and design offices).
The aim of Colas' R&D policy is to anticipate and respond to the needs of public or private transport infrastructure clients, users and local residents in terms of quality, safety, environmental protection and cost. It also seeks to improve existing technologies, design new products and extend the range of services on offer. Colas has an extensive international network of in-house technical staff, expanding continuously as new companies join the group. A driver of innovation, the network has close links with operational divisions and teams in the field.
At its heart, the Campus for Science and Techniques (CST) in Magny-les-Hameaux, to the west of Paris, is the road industry's biggest private research centre and spearheads the group's innovation policy.
Some 50 or so decentralised laboratories and about 100 engineering consultancies work in liaison with the Campus in France and in other countries, contributing to the group's research effort and providing site teams with technical support adapted to the local context.
In all, about 2,000 men and women work in the Colas technical network (45% in mainland France), including 1,000 people in the group's laboratories and over 900 in its engineering consultancies.
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(Updated: April 2009)
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