Ask most Trinbagonians to name French construction companies with global operations and the answer is likely to be Vinci, which was the contractor on the Uriah Butler/Churchill Roosevelt Interchange, and Bouygues, the company that built the waterfront complex in Port-of-Spain, which includes the Hyatt Regency hotel.
But there is a third French construction giant that has operated in T&T for years, but is less well known–even among some people in the local construction industry.
The company's name is Eiffage and it was established in 1992 as a result of a merger of four French companies, including three whose legacies go back to the 19th century.
Eiffage used to known as Eiffel after its founder, Gustave Eiffel, the designer and builder of the famed Eiffel Tower in Paris. Up to today, Eiffel is part of the Eiffage group and the French company's representative in Trinidad, Steven Anderson, operates under the name Eiffel (Trinidad).
Speaking to the Business Guardian at the end of last month at the company's headquarters in Velizy-Villacoublay, a south-western suburb of Paris, Eiffage executive director Arnaud De Villepin said the company has about 66,000 employees and generated �14 billion in revenues in 2015.
While it has mostly focused on Europe, Eiffage has a strong presence in west Africa–in both French and English-speaking countries and throughout the western hemisphere.
The engineering company has four main divisions: construction, civil works, energy installations and concessions.
Giving an example of a concession, De Villepin said Eiffage constructed the Millau bridge in France–which connects two mountains and is one of the highest bridges in the world–and operates a 75-year concession that involves the collection of tolls.
It has the balance sheet, expertise and structure to finance, design, build, equip, operate and maintain buildings, engineering structures, facilities and infrastructure, said De Villepin, who is an electro-mechanical engineer.
Asked why given its size and legacy, Eiffage is not as well known in T&T as its larger competitors, Vinci and Bouygues, De Villepin said the company focussed on Europe during its first ten years of existence.
"During that period, Vinci and Bouygues, went into the international market. It was two different strategies by the three groups. But for the last four years, we are trying to push the company abroad because the European market is not as strong as it used to be," said De Villepin.
He said about 15 years ago, the company bid for a bridges project in T&T but because of its strategy at the time, the company "did not put all of its efforts" in getting the contract. That contract was eventually won by Vinci, which tendered to build concrete bridges, while Eiffage bid for steel bridges.
"Today, we are changing our strategy so that while we still focus on Europe, we are also trying to develop our international business, supported by our competencies and difference."
On the issue of the company's competencies, De Villepin said in its civil works division, Eiffage has the ability to construct modular, pre-designed, pre-fabricated bridges, called Unibridge, on which the group holds a patent.
De Villepin said: "The advantage of our Unibridge is that it is produced in a workshop, and not on site like a concrete bridge. This means that the time of erection at the site is very short as the bridge is transported by container and installed at the site."
He said the installation time of a Unibridge is much quicker than for a concrete bridge. For an overpass, the Unibridge can be installed within a month, compared to a year that a similar concrete bridge might take, he said. The speedier erection of the Unibridge, which he compared to a Lego set, means a significant reduction in traffic diversion.
The company received a subcontract to install two rural bridges at Goodman Trace in Penal in 2012, with its client being local general contractor, Jusamco.
The company delivered two Unibridges, both 11.4 meters spans with two lanes, and a pedestrian/cyclist lane with the first installation taking seven hours and the second five hours.
De Villepin said the company had submitted a tender under a programme of the previous People's Partnership administration to replace 109 rural bridges in Trinidad and Tobago in 2013.
That project has not yet got off the ground.
He said the lack of feedback is "not unusual but it's not normal."
Describing Eiffage as the largest steel construction company in Europe, the construction executive said the company has the capacity to replace all of T&T's bridges, some of which are falling apart.
"The company has significant industrial capacity, but I am talking about bridges because in Trinidad and Tobago, it would be a good start as the country has this need for bridges and we have a good product that corresponds to the country's need," De Villepin said.
Asked about the recent success of Chinese companies in winning construction contracts in T&T, De Villepin noted that the Chinese government supports its contractors, many of which are state owned, with financing for their clients.
He said: "We can propose finance. Our first project in 2013 was not financed but we have made some proposals for the overpasses at Curepe and D'Abadie that include financing by French banks, which may be, depending on the size of the project, guaranteed by the French government.
"We can propose a package that includes financing. It depends on the demand of the client. It's not an issue."
Asked why he thought Eiffage had not been as successful in T&T as it has been in other countries, De Villepin said: "What we have proposed in Trinidad and Tobago is steel bridges.
"We have not proposed other types of projects such as concrete bridges, road construction and electrical installation for the energy sector."
Why not?
"Trinidad and Tobago was not in the target by Eiffage for construction or energy. Our strategy for the country was to enter the market through steel bridges and then as soon as we are located in the country and have started work, we can go for bigger contracts in civil works or in construction." said De Villepin.
He said the company is not able to bid on all of the projects throughout the world and therefore must be selective in how it allocates its resources.