Chargeurs
Chargeurs is a French company that was founded in 1872 as the shipping company Chargeurs Réunis and today works in the areas of foils and textiles . The company is listed on the CAC Small .
history
The company was founded in Le Havre in 1872/1886 as Compagnie Française de Navigation à Vapeur Chargeurs Réunis . In 1888 the company was renamed Compagnie Maritime des Chargeurs Réunis . Starting from the base port of Le Havre, the shipping area extended from West Africa, over the South American east coast to the United States. In 1891 the company already had 35 ships with which 470,000 tons of cargo and 13,600 passengers were transported annually. In 1916 Chargeurs Réunis took over the majority stake in the competitor Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique , which operated a passenger liner service from Bordeaux to the ports of the South American east coast on behalf of France and with state-owned ships.
About a decade later, in 1927, the shipping company Chargeurs Réunis became dependent on its part through a hostile takeover by the Fabre family. Léon Cyprien Fabre and his partner Alexis Baptifaut held the presidency of the Chargeurs Réunis. After Chargeurs Réunis' failed attempt to take over the aviation company Aéropostale , the rival company Aéromaritime was founded in 1933, which initially operated mail flights between Cotonou and Niamey from July 7, 1935 and then expanded its operations to all of West Africa . In 1937 Chargeurs Réunis was separated from the parent company Fabre .
After the Second World War , the Chargeurs Réunis, now led by Francis Cyprien Fabre, reduced its fleet to around 15 units. From 1964 to 1976, Chargeurs Réunis acquired a number of other French shipping companies, including Fabre, Fraissinet, Société Générale de Transport Maritimes , Compagnie de Navigation Paquet (CNP) and Union Navale. 1979 Chargeurs Réunis diversified its business fields. The shipping company, which has now grown to become the third largest European shipping company, operated 64 ships (40 of its own and 24 in collaboration with Delmas-Vieljeux ). This applies to container, ro-ro and bulk cargo shipping (including gas transport), passenger shipping and the operation of port agencies. In the aviation business it was initially with 63 percent (in 1990 with 82.9 percent) in the airline Union de Transports Aériens (UTA). The UTH division operated 17 international hotels.
From January 1980, the company began, under the management of Jérôme Seydoux, to dismantle the “Chargeurs Réunis” and to sell their parts. By 1990, the entire ship fleet had been sold and the UTA sold to Air France . The shipping company, which traded under the name Chargeurs SA from 1988, existed until around 2000 and was then deleted from the commercial register. As chargeurs, the company is now active in the areas of surface protection (protective films), technical textiles and raw material processing.