In the Rhône-Alpes region, the Journal des Entreprises published the latest rankings on customer relations. The Human Consulting Group, commissioned to conduct this survey, launched a "mystery" study among the fifty top companies in the Rhône-Alpes region, which they examined in minute detail. For each company, seven telephone tests (with as many scenarios) were conducted, as well as one email test, one letter test and a number of other evaluations on the website (in particular related to criteria such as availability and performance). Prezioso ranked 14th in this challenge! A great result, especially as there was no preparation.

Since August 2012, and once again this year, we are conducting a painting campaign on behalf of Total E&P Gabon. This massive maintenance operation for offshore structures falls within the major integrity works performed by the Total group. Our part of the operations relates to six platforms in the Grondin and Torpille oilfields.
We have deployed teams with dozens employees of eight different nationalities: Gabonese, Congolese, Cameroonian, Beninese, Senegalese, Togolese, Ivorian and French. Operations are permanent: 7/24.

For the first time in its history, the Prezioso-Technilor group has just received an order from Yemen LNG (via Total E&P Yemen). The project relates to maintenance operations for the emergency generators (EDG) and gas turbine generators (GTG) which, after five years of operations, are highly corroded. Our activities will cover more than six months and thousands of square metres to be treated.

Prezioso-Technilor has put a manufacturing unit dedicated to pre-insulation in place on its Petite-Synthe site in Dunkerque, France. The Urban Community of Dunkerque wished to participate in this endeavour in the form of a subsidy. Therefore, on the basis of a partnership, it is helping us support local economic development.

On 28 November 2012, Prezioso Angola sent a large delegation to actively participate in an HSE workshop organised by Total group's Technical Division/Works Engineering Division (DT/ITV). This workshop related directly to work permit issues, the importance of the permit and the different approaches and methodologies used by a number of contractors and subcontractors. Our team participated actively in this day of presentations and reflection, demonstrating our group's leadership in safety and taking the time to explain and analyse our approach and involvement in this topic in Angola.

It had been spoken of for a long time. It's now official: Prezioso Congo is leaving its historical Boscongo yard for a new site based in the industrial zone recently created at Pointe Noire.

Promar Shipping Services SA provides specialist offshore maintenance and support vessels across the globe, as well as fast crew boats for carrying passengers to and from offshore platforms. Our branches in Brittany are currently insulating and painting 20 of these crew boats for Promar, at the site of our customer OCEA. Interestingly, Promar is one of the companies that supplies vessels to us in West Africa; as such it is highly likely that, at some point in the future, Prezioso staff will use these vessels that we are helping to build here.

Prezioso-Technilor designs and installs protection systems that meet the demanding requirements of offshore structure maintenance in all four corners of the globe... indeed, wherever the need arises. With several decades of experience in this field, we took the decision to promote our expertise, formalise the services that we offer and demonstrate the logical way in which our activities are organised, reflecting the needs expressed by our customers. These customers are now aware (if they weren't already) that our work is grouped into five major areas: construction projects; integration and hook-up; maintenance and routine repairs; turnkey offshore campaign management solutions; and full renovation projects. The message is clear. The task now is to pass it on...

The latest edition of the Flamanville EPR internal magazine "Life on the Worksite" features a full-length article on the group led by Prezioso-Technilor. The article discusses one of the group's good practices, relating to identification of the anti-pollution kits that our staff have introduced for this project. The idea emerged during a tripartite safety inspection. The principle behind this idea is simple yet highly effective: "In order to differentiate between the anti-pollution kits and paint pots, we decided to place the words "anti-pollution kit" on the pots, along with the company's contact details." This makes it easier to identify the kits on site and take rapid action in the event of a pollution problem.

WIACO (World Insulation & Acoustic Congress) is a congress that provides a forum for discussing new innovations and practices in the insulation sector.  The tenth edition of the congress took place in Paris in September. This year's theme was "Insulation: our contribution to a sustainable world". Prezioso had the opportunity to contribute to various conferences and technical committee sessions on a range of different themes such as energy efficiency in industrial maintenance and examples of best practice in thermal and acoustic insulation.

The 28th “Espace Collectivités” (Local Authorities) trade fair was held at the Le Bourget exhibition centre from 13 to 15 September 2012. This fair, dedicated to elected local authority representatives and technicians, has become a crossroads for public opinion. It has, moreover, acquired a recognised dimension, with visitor numbers rising steadily. Once again this year Prezioso-Technilor attended the event which is a privileged forum in terms both of commercial relations and its friendly atmosphere.

Prezioso-Technilor carries out building work for prestigious international organisations. These organisations include CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), geographically overlapping France and Switzerland, and for which our group has a maintenance contract including the painting of offices and the renovation of drop ceilings. The ITU (International Telecommunication Union) is also one of our clients in this specific clientele segment. We carry out paintwork and adhesive floor coating work. These specific works show that the Prezioso-Technilor group is able to adapt to all types of issues when it comes to maintaining structures and buildings.

09/2012: Caribbean comeback!

Persistence and long-term support of our customers always pay off, and this is how Prezioso has made its return to the Caribbean. From the end of this summer, we will be working on Island Energy Systems projects for end customer EDF over a period of 18 months. These projects involve improving the performance and reducing the environmental impact of two new thermal power stations. We will be working on these projects on behalf of Eiffage TP in Guadeloupe and MAN Diesel & Turbo in Martinique.

All industrial companies – regardless of their sector or location – are facing a need to drive down costs and mitigate their impact on the environment. The EIIF (European Industrial Insulation Foundation) was created to promote industrial insulation as a way of meeting these interdependent demands.
In order to achieve this goal, the EIIF has developed a communication strategy aimed not just at industry, but also at a wider target audience including governments. As part of its strategy, the EIIF focuses on highlighting the environmental benefits of industrial insulation and the rapid return on investment gained when industrial insulation is used. For these reasons, Prezioso-Technilor has made a decision to join this not-for-profit organisation. It offers an excellent opportunity to promote one of our key business areas and its benefits for our customers.

On the Flamanville construction site, based on the safety issues, a quiz was proposed to all employees present. Only five participants replied correctly to the 10 questions. These included one worker of the joint venture led by Prezioso-Technilor. He received his award at the meeting of the CISSCT (Inter-company Safety, Health and Working Conditions Committee) along with the four other prize-winners in the presence of all the worksite prevention staff and managers.

- Cinven is a leading European buyout firm focused on building world-class European companies. - Established in 1977, the firm invests in six key sectors: Business Services, Financial Services, Industrials, Consumer, and Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT).
- Cinven has a dedicated Business Services team which has invested €7 billion over the course of Cinven’s history.
- Cinven has offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Hong Kong and Luxembourg. Cinven Capital Management (V) General Partner Limited is authorised and regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. Cinven Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the FSA.
- Cinven acquires successful high quality companies. Using proven value creation strategies, we work closely with these companies, helping them to grow and develop. Cinven takes a responsible approach towards its portfolio companies, their employees, suppliers, local communities, the environment and society.

The hookup of the USAN FPSO, located off the coast of Nigeria, was completed on 28 June. After a six-month campaign, work is finally complete. The Prezioso I.P.E.S. teams have made a significant contribution in terms of access, installing over 350 tonnes of scaffolding and carrying out inspection operations by means of rope access. Our teams also carried out complex passivation operations (treatment of stainless steels). Bravo to them for having brilliantly succeeded in this challenge!

06/2012: VCA and ISO 9001 renewal audits

Our recent VCA/P - V5.1 audit produced some satisfying findings, as no non-compliances were reported and the auditor recommended that the company's certification be renewed for three years. The ISO 9001:2008 audit was also largely a success: the company's certification was renewed for three years as well.

06/2012: Prezioso Emdad: the first entity within the Group to achieve three certifications:
ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001

Our Abu Dhabi subsidiary Prezioso Emdad has just successfully passed an audit and, as a result, has been awarded triple certification: ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 and BS OHSAS 18001:2007. This is a true red letter day for the Group as it is the first time that one of our entities has been simultaneously awarded three such important certifications. This success marks a significant step in our Middle East operations, with the effort, commitment and professionalism of our local teams deserving special mention.

06/2012: Renovation of the La Mulatière SNCF viaduct

Prezioso-Technilor will be renovating the upper section of the La Mulatière SNCF viaduct – a structure over 180m long and with a surface area of 10,000m². The work will begin in June and will last for four busy months. We will work day and night, with train services shutting down between 11pm and 5am. The viaduct is located close to the La Mulatière flyover (A7 motorway), which we are also working on (see Pi no.6). The work conducted on these structures will be visible to huge numbers of people during the traditional "Traversée de Lyon" outdoor summer event... and Prezioso will be in the spotlight too!

The tenth “Careers in Africa” fair was held from 18 to 20 May in the four corners of the globe, including Houston, Lisbon and London, the city where the Prezioso group was represented. What is the ambition of this fair? To give an international perspective to local recruitment problems for Africa. As, if we look in detail at the ten world economies with the highest growth rates, seven of them are indeed sub-Saharan. Hence the benefit for Prezioso of attending this trade fair which, historically, has enabled over 500 companies to recruit almost 7,000 professionals in 45 African countries over 10 years. This year in London 32 exhibiting groups had interviews with the best candidates of African origin (principally Angolan and Nigerian). A total of 1,500 people attended over the three days. A very constructive event according tou our HR managers: “the candidates did not have local or expatriate candidate profiles. The profile was that of “inpatriates”, rather, in other words persons who wish to return to their country of origin to contribute added value acquired during their studies or professional experiences abroad. A real success!”.

05/2012: Prezioso helped to fill the Casa França-Brasil for Christian Boltanski's first exhibition in Brazil,
which runs from 17 May to 8 July 2012

Here at Prezioso, we never miss an opportunity to showcase our expertise, something that our Brazilian team knows well. They transported, customised and assembled Christian Boltanski's CHANCE exhibition at the Casa França-Brasil, in Rio, on 17 May. The exhibition was originally part of the French pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. Prezioso Brazil, through its subsidiary Alpitec, worked directly with the artist to install the exhibition. One of the biggest challenges was assembling the main sculpture, which weighs 24 tonnes and had to be put up using Layher scaffolding! We wanted to thank our Brazilian industrial climbers for their hard work which continues to raise the Group's profile in the Americas. Our industrial scaffolding structure is unrivalled not only for its technical performance, but also for the fact that it can be integrated seamlessly into a neoclassical building to create a truly unique and dramatic work of art.

05/2012: Prezioso making our mark at the Cyclatom 2012 trade fair

On 23 and 24 May, the inaugural Cyclatom trade fair brought together some 200 suppliers and service providers from the atomic industry at the Cité de la Mer in Cherbourg, France. Following in the footsteps of the Nukléa trade fair held in 2011, the event not only gave us the opportunity to meet contractors, suppliers and colleagues, but also to network with prospective customers and emphasise our strong position, involvement and expertise in the highly demanding nuclear industry.

04/2012: Prezioso-Technilor, winner in the 2011 "Trophées Sécurité" gas infrastructure site safety awards

The French professional health and safety organisation OPPBTP, along with gas companies GRT Gaz and Elengy, hosted their 11th Trophées Sécurité (safety awards) on 19 April. The awards recognise companies for their work in preventative on-site safety in the gas infrastructure industry. A number of criteria were taken into consideration, such as safety organisation, the role of supervisors, the quality of health and safety plans, the on-site treatment of employees, the motivation of security personnel, and, finally, the actual implementation of safety measures.
Prezioso-Technilor was recognised for the safety measures implemented during renovation work at its methane terminal at Montoir-de-Bretagne in western France. This involved a number of Prezioso’s areas of expertise, such as scaffolding assembly, cryogenic insulation, UHP blasting and painting. This project was carried out in conjunction with several of the Group's branches and finished first in the Elengy Industrial Installations category. This award gives positive recognition not only to the work carried out by our teams throughout the nine months on site, but also to our safety processes and their implementation on the ground.

04/2012: A89 motorway: three tunnels or nothing!

Prezioso-Technilorhas received a major coating work order for three tunnels on the new A89 motorway (east) between Balbigny and La Tour-de-Salvagny, near Lyon (France). The order covers the Violay, Chalosset and La Bussière tunnels. The work began in March 2012, with VHP (Very High Pressure) blasting operations and the application of smoothing coatings over a surface area of 100,000m². The work is scheduled to continue throughout the summer.

04/2012: Total Abu Al Bukhoosh (ABK) maintenance contract in Abu Dhabi

Prezioso Emdad's maintenance contract with Total ABK in the United Arab Emirates has officially started. The project is scheduled to last for three years, with around 20 Prezioso operators currently working on blasting, painting and scaffolding operations.

03/2012: EDF Flamanville: Prezioso-Technilor, founding member of the F10 committee

The first electricity produced by the Flamanville EPR will be sold by EDF in 2016. In preparation, the energy company has decided to introduce a new site organisational structure to improve its industrial expertise. Given the scale of the work involved in France's first EPR, EDF has decided to add an additional element to its organisational structure, creating the F10 Committee featuring the company's main partners. This committee, which is intended to improve on-site coordination, features the nine companies working on the site. Prezioso-Technilor is one of the members of this committee, demonstrating recognition of our expertise, our importance to the project and our ability to improve processes at a site where work is especially complex due to the presence of multiple contractors.

03/2012: Ropetec Congo recognised by Total for its inspection work on the NKP barge

On 16th March, the Total group held a prestigious HSE award ceremony in Pointe Noire. Our partner, Ropetec, won an award for its inspection work on the NKP barge. The award was presented by Pascal Meyer, Head of the HSE Division at Total E&P Congo, and highlights the skill and expertise of Ropetec staff in working with rope in confined, access-restricted environments and spaces. The project – which lasted for 116 days – was completed without a single accident.

03/2012: Prezioso participates in the construction of prestigious buildings: the latest: the Louis Vuitton Foundation

In 2006, Bernard Arnault unveiled plans for the "Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation)" whose ambition was "to showcase art and France throughout the world". Located in the 16th arrondissement in Paris, on the edge of the Jardin d'Acclimatation, the Fondation Louis Vuitton will host a contemporary art centre of great prestige. The project was designed by the Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, the same man who designed the innovative structure of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. And Prezioso is definitely involved in this project! The French group is in charge of work on the steel structure, described as a veritable masterpiece weighing over 900 tons and measuring nearly 27,000 m², covered by twelve large sheets of glass! In this prestigious building, intumescent paint work (to protect the frames from fire), and also touch-up work on the metal structures are carried out.

03/2012: La Mulatière flyover (Lyon, France)

Our Lyons agency (based in Chassieu, Rhône) specializing in coatings has been awarded a contract for the work on the "Mulatière bridge". The structure on the A7 motorway crosses the Saone, when leaving Lyon to the south. It measures 200 meters long and 18 wide. The work to be done concerns decontamination of the support by removing the old paint, surface preparation and application of an anti-corrosion complex. Repairs to the concrete surface and various other repairs to metal equipment will also have to be carried out. In all, there are 22,000 m² of surface area to be treated over 18 months, using suspended scaffolding beneath the structure and requiring the creation of at least 18 confined spaces.

01/2012: Gate terminal named "LNG Project of the Year"

The gasification terminal completed in September 2011 by Techint and Sener won the award for the " LNG Project of the Year" in January. According to the jury that awarded the prize, "the Gate terminal will secure gas supply and allow new gas suppliers to enter the European market." In general, the "LNG Project of the Year" is awarded to innovative and dynamic companies that have been able to contribute significantly to the LNG sector. And we were part of those teams. So, congratulations again to all Prezioso staff on the Gate project who have enabled us to win the "contractor of the month" title on three occasions.

01/2012: AREVA entrusts 200 electromagnetic units to the St Maurice (France) workshop

The Saint Maurice l'Exil workshop is carrying out the painting of 200 electromagnetic units for AREVA, (these are the units that are used to raise or lower the uranium rods in nuclear reactors). An extremely stringent level of quality is required by AREVA for the painting of these small parts, given their criticality and their need to last for a long period, within the reactors. To meet the requirements of the project (a high rate of production, level of cleanliness - no inclusions or dust in the paint), we created a special workshop, with the following features: a vertical paint booth, turntable trolleys (for a more regular coating), and tooling for the protection of unpainted areas. The selection of processes and materials were extremely important in this project.