Companies

CBC

Created in 1982

The head office of insurance company PFA (Préservatrice Foncière d'Assurance) in La Défense, west of Paris

CBC (Campenon Bernard Construction) was founded in 1982 by two former Bouygues managers, Henri Becq et Gilbert Simonet, with the support of parent company Campenon Bernard, which wanted to develop building activities. CBC began by bringing together Campenon Bernard's construction subsidiaries, then developed real estate activities and moved into international markets. This policy immediately paid off, and by the end of the 1980s, CBC was among the five leading French companies in the sector.
CBC has three main features: thanks to its research and real estate divisions, it counts as many managers and technicians as workers; it played a pioneering role in Europe, especially in former Czechoslovakia, where it acquired a foothold as early as 1986 (with the hotel forum in Bratislava); lastly, CBC often works with prominent architects, like Richard Meier, who designed the Canal+ head office building, and Ricardo Bofill, responsible for the Swift head office building in Belgium. In 1997, CBC's activities were merged with SGE's other construction businesses within Campenon Bernard.