Companies

CFE

Created in 1880

The trans-Iranian railway: the Al-l-Caesar bridge (1937)

CCFE was created in Belgium in 1880, under the impetus of Victor Tercelin-Monjot and Frédéric de la Hault, a Belgian entrepreneur specialised in tramway construction.
The company's initial name (Compagnie Générale de Chemins de Fer Secondaires) reflected its focus on regional railways and tramway systems. Soon management started to concentrate on international development and the company was awarded projects on the trans-Iranian railway. The Belgian Congo also became one of its key markets until the country's independence in 1960. International expansion together with increased diversification enabled CFE to withstand the effects of decolonisation.
In 1981, CFE purchased Entreprises Ed. François et fils, a company founded in 1868, and became the largest construction company in Belgium. Six years later, in 1987, Dumez acquired an interest in CFE, which still had a strong presence in the Benelux, Africa and the Middle East. CFE was notably sustained by its powerful dredging subsidiary, which was called DEME (Dredging Environmental and Maritime Engineering) in 1991. VINCI holds 45.25% in CFE, which remains the leader in the Belgian construction market.