History

1880-1989: more than a century of expertise

The Group’s history began in 1858 with Ferdinand de Lessep founding the Compagnie universelle du canal de Suez. The company’s aim was to finance a state-of-the-art project to link the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean.

Since then, many key dates have marked its history:

• 1880: establishment of Société Lyonnaise des Eaux
• 1919: setting up of Société Industrielle des Transports Automobiles (SITA), to meet the waste collection needs of the City of Paris
• 1939: setting up of Degrémont a water treatment company in Paris
• 1948: Degrémont builds Egypt’s first drinking water treatment plant
• 1960: SITA rapidly expands thanks to numerous contracts in the Paris suburbs
• 1975: the first reverse osmosis desalination plant is built in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• 1989: SITA begins operations in Malaysia, then expands to Hong Kong

1997: building a unique economic and ethical model

• 1997: Lyonnaise des Eaux merges with Compagnie Financière de Suez, creating Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux.  Water management operations in France are grouped into a single business line.
• 2002: SUEZ’s Environment operations (water management, waste management, energy) are grouped into a single business line. The SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT Group is created.
• 2008: Initial Public Offering (IPO) of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT as a result of the merger of SUEZ and Gaz de France, creating a world leader exclusively dedicated to water and waste management services.
• 2010: the Group takes control of Agbar,a water industry player operating in Spain and internationally. This acquisition will allow the Group to acquire additional positions in fast-growing markets, primarily in Europe.