Thinet

Created in 1905

Picture with legend
An office building in La Défense

Thinet was founded in 1905 in Saint-Romain-le-Puy, a small town of the Loire region. The founder, Antoine Thinet, developed a strong regional business base, which later enabled the company to expand nationwide, as of 1936, under the founder's son, Marcel Thinet. The latter implemented two principles of modern management: site planning and industrialisation. Under his leadership, Thinet moved to Paris and built several subsidised housing projects in the Saint-Denis and Suresnes suburbs. It also worked on the Achères water treatment plant and opened an office in Abidjan.
In 1965, Thinet became an SGE subsidiary to increase its financial clout. It's performance was excellent until the early 1980s, when it encountered serious financial problems. SGE decided to keep only the activities in southern France and to integrate them to Sogea.