mr-buhler

” My wife and I founded DEVEXPORT 30 years ago, just the day before Spain and Portugal  entered the EU Common Market and with the support of friends, we used a variety of skills ranging from industrial export engineering to commodity trading.

As a family company, DEVEXPORT gradually grew through its ability to listen to its foreign customers and French industrial partners. Since inception, Implementing customized financial and commercial solutions to meet the variety of complex situations was a key success factor. The flexibility in execution tied to a creative financial and legal set-up led us to build strong commercial positions, which were, in time, easily diversified.

Opting to export towards third party countries from 4 continents, we chose a strategy of a « fleet of junks » rather than the « aircraft carrier »’s one. The handiness and reactivity of small specialized companies fits better with the reality of the field and management of risks. Apart from a few participations in independent subsidiaries, the DEVEXPORT Group now has 35 employees within 3 commercial companies and its offices in foreign countries, managed by the family holding company « Devexport Services & Finances ». « DEVEXPORT » mainly works with Europe and Americas, « SOCOFEP» is specialized on China and North Africa and « PALMADIS » focuses on commodity trading.

Apart from Cuba, China, Venezuela, Algeria and Morocco where the activity is constant and diversified, we also work with Mexico, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, India, Sri-Lanka, Italia, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Poland, the Netherlands, Austria …

The majority of goods exported are industrial equipment and French origin substructures but also include wrappings and raw materials in a variety of the sectors: energy, pharmaceutical, rail infrastructure, food processing, mines, hydraulics. Our activity of trader or export agent is recognized and appreciated by a large number of SME’s, mid cap’s and some big French companies, as well as by a large number of customers and providers from the different countries I mentioned.”

Fabien BUHLER
Chairman

History

  • 1985 : DEVEXPORT is founded by Fabien BUHLER and Sylvie GOZARD.
  • 1987 : DEVEXPORT already has a large number of customers in glass wrappings for the West Indies and Algeria.
  • 1988 : Signature of the first « Barter » with the Cuban Foreign Trade ; it will be followed by the signature of about 30 others frame agreements with the Cuban companies covering about 500 Million Euros of franco-cubans exchanges.
  • 1990 : Creation of SOCOFEP to develop synergies with Spanish and Portuguese shareholders ; the holding company will buy up its shares in 1998.
  • 1995 / Cuba : Creation of the DEVEXPORT branch in La Havana. The activity is diversifying towards all the branches of the Cuban economy.
  • 1997 / Chine : Purchase of a French company established in China and trade-in of its office in Beijing by SOCOFEP being operated for 40 years.
  • 1997 : Creation of the « DEVEXPORT SERVICES & FINANCES » holding for financial engineering of the Group.
  • 1999 : A set of contracts for Alstom, SNCF, ETDE (Bouygues), Schneider, signed with Cuba by DEVEXPORT illustrates the ability to work with large multinationals.
  • 2001 : Perrine BUHLER joins the company as a Development Manager.
  • 2006 / Venezuela : Opening of a representative office in Caracas. DEVEXPORT is selected as the official provider of the Caracas Metro.
  • 2010 : DEVEXPORT SERVICES & FINANCES is converted to a Limited Company with a Supervisory Board and a Board of Directors ; Perrine BUHLER is appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Chief Executive Officer of the subsidiaries of the Group.
  • 2013 : SOCOFEP diversifies its sales in Morocco, which becomes one of its 3 main countries customers, and also diversify its sourcing.
  • 2015 : Successful substitution of Alstom-Power, acquired by General Electric, by the implementation of structuring contracts with industrial leaders of the energy sector. The Secretary Emmanuel Macron indicated in Committee of economic affairs on the 11th of March 2015  that ” the French company Devexport who insures for about fifteen years the supply of equipments and materials for the thermal power plant of Matanzas should coordinate the activities of maintenance after June 30th, at the head of a consortium of companies “.