# Ponticelli Frères

Ponticelli Frères is a French assembly, boilermaking, and machining company founded in 1921 by three brothers from Italy: Céleste, Bonfils, and Lazare Ponticelli. Founded in Paris, the headquarters remain in Paris (13th arrondissement) at Place des Alpes [fr]. However, its central manufacturing plant is located in Émerainville (Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France) on the Malnoue site. Today, the company focuses on providing industrial services to clients in the oil and gas, energy, chemistry, pharmaceutical, and steel sectors.

## History

The company was founded on November 5, 1921, by three Italian brothers, who were veterans of the Great War. The idea of the company started with all the brothers, post-war, working as masons at chimney cleaning and repair sites. The oldest brother, Céleste, had the idea to pool the brother's money together to help immigrate their family to France. Once in France, the company's first real job was the removal and replacement of a chimney in a famous clothing store, Belle Jardinière, without creating a mess in the storefront. They completed this job by working through the roof of the store efficiently, leading to a large payment for their work.
The company acquired its first headquarters in 1930 at 69 Avenue d'Ivry in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Work continued on chimneys in large buildings and factories, leading to the company's specialization in lifting and assembly. Further expansion occurred into heavier equipment and across France, notably in oil refineries, such as Port Jérôme (currently operated by ExxonMobil in Port-Jérôme-sur-Seine), La Mède refinery (Berre-L'Etang), and Frontignan (bombed during the Second World War). The Second World War slowed business considerably, causing the company to enter a state of vegetation in order to survive the economic hardship.
Post-war, recovery was slow until 1950, with the support of the Marshall Plan, when France's industrial sector was revitalized, particularly in the oil refining sector. Despite this, Céleste still struggled to replenish the company's account in order to be able to make bids on industrial projects. Under the management of Roger Large, an engineer with experience from Shell, and Céleste's son-in-law, Ponticelli began working in the industrial piping business for oil refineries. During 1950, Ponticelli moved near Dunkirk to help construct the BP oil refinery being built there (which closed in 2015) by fabrication, assembly, and lifting of piping systems. After that contract, Ponticelli continued in the direction of contracting work for oil refineries. This resulted in the establishment of local divisions, such as the one in Fos-sur-Mer, and the renewed trust of companies such as Shell, Caltex, and Esso. They also completed work on the Ambès Thermal Power Plant (demolished in 2012) for the EDF and the disassembly of the transporter bridge for the city of Nantes in 1958.
In 1967, René Ponticelli, son of Bonfils, took over control of the family company after having worked for ten years as a construction engineer. The company also began branching out internationally, starting with Algeria. In the early 1970s, during the first energy crisis, the French government began changing policy on energy independence, leading to the development of offshore oil rigs (in the North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Gulf of Guinea) to secure oil independence and the construction of nuclear power plants, headed by the EDF. Ponticelli completed projects in both sectors during this time, leading the company to create more regional offices to help better serve projects. These regional offices also helped to serve completed projects, such as oil refineries, during times of maintenance operations or during major shutdowns (also referred to as turnarounds). Moving towards the 1990s, more projects became plant modernization projects rather than new constructions.
From the 1990s onwards, the industrial sector in France had become mature, meaning most new projects being contracted out were related to routine maintenance, major projects (such as a new tower construction for oil refineries), and turnaround support. However, internationally, Ponticelli continued with new construction projects in countries such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. This also led to the creation of international divisions, such as Ponticelli Nigeria in 1997, Ponticelli Angola in 2005, and the completion of contract work for the Rosa Off-Shore Platform in 2006 in Angola.

## Revenue

Operating in France and internationally, notably through subsidiaries in Angola, Gabon, and Nigeria, the company employs 6,000 workers worldwide, 3,500 of whom work in France. This results in an annual revenue of €1,240,000,000 (US$1,340,773,098) (2023).

### Revenue by market

* Upstream Oil & Gas: 53%
* Downstream Oil & Gas: 24%
* Power Generation: 15%
* Other Industries: 8%