Our group

Who are we?

The Frans Bonhomme Group is the leading multi-channel distributor of materials and solutions for networks and infrastructures. Thanks to the complementary expertise of its employees, the Group offers its customers–from Independent Contractors to Key Accounts–a unique range of products and services, and exceptional proximity with over 400 sales outlets in France and Spain.

Our values

Responsability

Our commitment in terms of health & safety and environmental risk prevention is an integral part of our corporate social responsibility policy. Our principles, standards and best practices enable us to move forward and integrate a continuous improvement approach. Our goal: 0 accidents and a solid, long-term guarantee of good working conditions.

Commitment

Our teams show strong loyalty and commitment to the Group. This positive dynamic enables our employees to enjoy professional fulfilment and enhances the quality of our products and services, allowing us to reach or exceed objectives. Another facet of this value is our social commitment whose actions focus on equality, fighting discrimination, diversity of talents, and hiring and retaining disabled persons.

Respect

We believe that respecting our employees, customers and partners is essential for building a long-term relationship, which is why we expect our teams to demonstrate respect at all times.

Customer-centricity

The success of our Group depends on the satisfaction of our customers. We want to offer them a level of service that is unique on the market, based on our dense nationwide network, digital resources and knowledgeable teams that provide expert advice, in close proximity to their worksites.

Our commitments

The Frans Bonhomme Group signed the UN Global Compact in 2011. Each year, we renew our commitments, guaranteeing principled and ethically responsible behaviour.

See report CSR

We invariably address issues beyond these commitments: ensuring quality of life in the workplace, promoting employee skill development and encouraging social dialogue are the foundations of our Human Resource and Corporate Social Responsibility Policies.

Our CSR policy is built on four pillars which incorporate the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact:

Be a responsible player in Construction and Civil engineering

Develop and offer a relevant offer of quality products, environmentally-friendly and high societal value

Put Human Resources in the forefront

Ensure a healthy, secure work environment, conducive to the development and professional well-being of everyone

Controlling and reducing our environmental footprint

Continuously reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment by responsibly managing our resource consumption (water, energy and waste)

Promoting ethics in business with responsible business practices

Adopt and encourage an exemplary individual and collective behaviour aimed at promoting responsible practices with our ecosystem

Our key figures

The leading multi-channel distributor of materials and solutions for networks and infrastructures

Over 2 500

employees in France and Spain, including over 550 sales reps in the field and in our offices

Over 400

sales outlets in France and Spain

Over 300

partner suppliers

Over 500

utility vehicles and lorries up to 32 tonnes to provide delivery to customer worksites

Over 100 000

customers

40 000

different products

Our history

1935

Mr. Frans Bonhomme opened his first building materials depot in Tours: the Etablissement F. Bonhomme. His goal was to provide a wide range of building materials for his customers in local construction businesses.

1955

20 years later, the company experienced its first pivotal moment with the decision to specialize in networks. While visiting a trade show in Milano, Mr. Bonhomme discovered how plastic was being used for pipes and connectors which up until then had been made exclusively out of metal. A visionary with an innovation-driven entrepreneurial mindset, Mr. Bonhomme understood the advantages of this process for the construction business. He acquired the exclusive import license for this material in France. Easy to use, boasting valuable properties, this new material attracted great interest and was an immediate success.

1965

The Blanzy Ouest company bought shares in Frans Bonhomme, marking the company’s second turning point, providing it with the means to expand nationwide. The Gennevilliers site opened in 1966, followed by Toulouse, Rouen, Belfort and Dijon.

1993

The company continued to grow, opening its 100th site.

2003

Over this 10-year period, the number of company sites doubled. Boasting exceptional and continuous growth, it opened over thirty sales outlets certain years.

2005

Frans Bonhomme expanded its business beyond French borders with its SOT subsidiaries in Catalonia and MFB in the rest of Spain.

2015

The company celebrated its 80th anniversary. Center Bridges Partners and Angelo Gordon investment funds became the main shareholders of the Frans Bonhomme Group in a context of an increasingly competitive and weakening sector. This new investment enabled the Group to reposition itself on solid ground and take advantage of improved market conditions.

2019

This year, the Frans Bonhomme Group entered the third phase of its history, becoming a major player on a market in the throes of significant change. In December 2019, the Group bought Distribution de Matériaux pour les Travaux Publics (D.M.T.P), subsidiary of the Saint Gobain Distribution Bâtiment France Group. Founded in 2008, D.M.T.P is specialised in the sale of building materials for Public Works. Bringing our two companies together highlights the extremely complimentary nature of our businesses, providing a structural response to client-driven market evolutions. The Frans Bonhomme Group has consolidated its leadership status, and is boosting growth in line with its strategic plan, thanks namely to its network of over 400 sales outlets in France.