Vassileo builds its external growth from the ground up in Provence

50 jobs created in the region and a logistics platform project

Construction finishing specialist Vassileo, which was formed when two entrepreneurs teamed up in 2020 in Languedoc-Roussillon, is expanding with two external growth operations in Bouches-du-Rhône. After taking over the floor resin company Cobama in April 2021, Vassileo is acquiring Marteau Provence, an expert in exterior facade restoration. The group has received assistance from Provence Promotion and could well continue its external growth via the "Go Between in Provence" program and further invest in the Aix-Marseille Provence Metropolis.

A nod to the Russian painter Kandinsky, Vassileo is a holding company formed in December 2020 on the basis of a friendly business relationship between Jean-Marc Trinquier and Anthony Balester. The thirty-something entrepreneurs, both specialists in finishings, met on a construction site in 2017. Two years later, they began to merge their operations. They created the Vassileo group which brings together six companies in in construction and manufacturing (Libes, Sopesud, Hortiz, Balester/Mapsols, Docks du Lino and Alva Tech) and all the building trades from floor to ceiling!

With nearly 150 mostly public projects per month (hospitals, schools, high schools, administration, public housing, etc.), Vassileo generates €35 million in annual sales and employs 400 people in Perpignan, Béziers, Montpellier and Nîmes.

Feeling cramped in Languedoc-Roussillon, the two businessmen dreamed of external growth along the Mediterranean coast. Their arrival in Provence materialized in spring 2021 with the acquisition of Cobama, in April, then of Marteau Provence in July 2021. "We were extremely well received by the Provence Promotion team. The agency was able to convene the region's partners and contractors. We discovered the particularities of Marseille, where to go and who to meet to develop business relationships. That welcome motivated us to create a large regional division and, within two years, to invest in creating a logistics platform dedicated to directly supplying worksites to reduce our carbon footprint" noted Jean-Marc Trinquier, co-CEO of Vassileo.

50 new hires in Provence

Based in Bouc-Bel-Air near Aix-en-Provence, Cobama is a small business with 10 employees that specializes in the installation of resin floors. At the time of acquisition, the company had just recorded its first million euros in sales, a figure expected to quintuple within five years. Meanwhile, facade renovation and exterior thermal insulation experts Marteau Provence are also poised to benefit from synergies within the group, which is known for its spectacular growth.

It will continue expanding in Aix-Marseille Provence with the support of Provence Promotion, leveraging the bespoke "Go Between in Provence" program and a team dedicated to its future investments.

Vassileo, has local roots and big plans for 2022. "Over the next 12 months, we are going to recruit 40 employees in support functions and about 100 workers, half of them in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur," announced Jean-Marc Trinquier.