France is the fourth largest manufacturer in the world, after the US, Japan and Germany. France’s industrial ranking is largely a result of the historical strength of its aerospace and automobile industries. The twin driving motives for industrial subcontracting - outsourcing and refocusing - were pioneered and continue to be shaped today, by these sectors. Today, France’s industrial success rests on the strength of industrial subcontracting.
There are over 3,500 companies with over 20 employees listed in France in the industrial subcontracting sector. In aggregate, their sales topped €40Bn last year with €1.4Bn of industrial investments.
While subcontracting intervenes in all aspects of industry, there are four sectors that dominate: the automotive, aerospace, naval and rail industries. France boasts several world leaders from automobile equipment suppliers (e.g. Valeo, Faurecia) to aeronautic specialists (Zodiac, Latecoere) and electrical components (Legrand, Schneider).
In turn, these equipment suppliers use their own network of specialists who are chosen on the basis of industrial and technological quality and reliability. While France has its own champions, a growing percentage of subcontractors are non-French. In the aeronautic, naval and rail businesses, half the subcontractors used are foreign. In the automotive sector, about 27% are non-French, although this is probably understated as French subsidiaries of foreign companies are not included.
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France is the fourth largest manufacturer in the world, after the US, Japan and Germany. France’s industrial ranking is largely a result of the historical strength of its aerospace and automobile industries. The twin driving motives for industrial subcontracting - outsourcing and refocusing - were pioneered and continue to be shaped today, by these sectors. Today, France’s industrial success rests on the strength of industrial subcontracting.