Type Private Headquarters France Founded 1964 | Industry Manufacturing Number of employees < 600 (31/12/2016) | |
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Key people Nicolas Bouygues (Chairman of the Board), Bruno Bouygues (President & CEO) Products Arc Welding Equipment, Collision Repair Equipment, Battery Service Equipment Revenue 72 million EUR (31/12/2016) Profiles | ||
Founded in 1964, in Laval, GYS is a French family-owned industrial group that engineers and manufactures three portfolios of products:
- Arc Welding Equipment : (Arc welder / TIG welder / MIG welder / Plasma Cutter)
- Automotive Body Repair Equipment : (Spot welder / Dent puller / MIG welder / Lifting equipment / Rivetting equipment)
- Battery Service Equipment : (Battery charger / Battery starter / Booster / Jumper cables)
Although GYS is headquartered in Laval, Mayenne – about 280 km west of Paris – the industrial group has R&D centers, factories and commercial subsidiaries in France, Germany, UK, Italy, India and China.
Group history
1964: In France, in 1963, EDF decided to change the electrical voltage from 110 V to 230 V. Mr. Stephany created GYS in 1964 with the purpose of manufacturing auto-transformers on behalf of EDF for the west part of France.
1970: In the early 1970s, GYS expanded its product range with car battery chargers. The company first engineered and manufactured car battery chargers in 6 V, then in 6 V/12 V and finally in 6 V/12 V/24 V. In the late 1970s, an additional product expansion is realized with the manufacturing of GYS' first welding machine.
1980–1996: Over 16 years, the company GYS is bought by two industrial holdings. During the same period, the company expanded its portfolio of welding products.
1997: GYS is acquired by the current management. The company had at the time a strong local brand in France for its battery charger range. The sale of welding products was more confidential and mostly concentrated in agricultural and automotive markets.
1997–2001: After the acquisition, significant investments are quickly made to modernize the historical French factory. Simultaneously, the management decided to expand the transformer-based welding machines range with the manufacturing of GYS first inverter electrode welding machine.
2001–2004: The company continues to invest in R&D to expand its inverter welding range to TIG/Plasma and MIG as well as its battery charger catalogue. During the same period, the management decided to expand the company product range with a third product range: automotive body repair spot welding products. Significant investments are made to continue to expand the French factory to match growing demand.
2004–Today: During this period, the group expands its three product families and decides to accelerate its international expansion with the opening of international subsidiaries.