The battle of giants around the takeover of Suez by Veolia has eclipsed the development of Saur, France’s number 3 in water management. The group, which achieved 1.7 billion euros in turnover in 2021 and employs 12,000 people, wants to distinguish itself from its powerful competitors in France, where the movement to remunicipalise water – in a pioneering country in its privatization in the 19and century with Générale and Lyonnaise des eaux – has accelerated since the election of environmental mayors in several major cities in 2020.
Its executive chairman, Patrick Blethon, decided in January to create a department responsible for better meeting the specific needs of municipal authorities. SAUR will thus develop in a new market segment to provide local authorities with services such as equipment and maintenance work, network digitization, customer data management, resource protection and and composting waste…
“I think that we should not oppose public service authorities and delegations, we must work hand in hand to improve customer service and our operational performance”, explains Mr. Blethon. Especially in rural areas or in small towns, favorite areas of Saur since its creation in Angoulême in 1933 under the name of Urban and Rural Development Company. It is in these territories that she says she wants to play “proximity and transparency” regarding costs and customer data.
Resource conservation
Another strategic axis: the preservation of the resource, an increasingly strong demand from local authorities. In France, recalls Mr. Blethon, 20% to 25% of water is lost, due to misuse but especially leaks in the pipes. “We seek less to be remunerated on the volumes of water than on the services enabling us to save consumption”, he summarizes. Through his “water transition plan”the group also wants “differentiate more by technology than by size”.
International development is another priority. “We are moving from a Franco-French group with 95% of the result made in France to a French group which makes 40% internationally”, said Mr. Blethon. The global demand for sanitation, for example, will increase by 40% by 2040. In recent years, the group has developed in particular in Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Italy, Spain and recently in Portugal. with the acquisition of Aquapor, announced in January 2021.
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