Content area
Abstract
Coyne et Bellier, a firm of consulting engineers incorporated in 1947, is the outcome of a technical achievement in the hydroelectric development of the Dordogne river which was initiated in 1928. It was strongly shaped by the character and fame of its founder, André Coyne, a prominent designer. This small company (hardly a hundred engineers in 2000) emerged very quickly among the best at international level, as early as the beginning of the 1960s, with the design of dams of outstanding dimensions, in Africa and North America. The references and competences of the company were enlarged or extended to fields related to various aspects of hydro-engineering. High technical expertise, particularly valued in the team, included measurement and computing, directed by a stable management. Other activities such as tunnels, cavities, nuclear power plants were developed as a matter of consequence of technical abilities of the firm. Commercial links to keep the trust and loyalty of clients were supported by dialogue, technical exchange and technological transfer. [PUB ABSTRACT]