Blog [Interview]
Élise Descours | Vulcan
Business Unit Manager at Vulcain, a company newly established in Côtes d’Armor
A few weeks ago, we spoke with Élise Descours , Business Unit Manager at our partner Vulcain . Through this interview, Élise explains her main missions while painting the portrait of a company that is as efficient as it is human. The Business Unit Manager also discusses the wind farm project in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc.
- Encounter -
Could you introduce yourself?
I am Business Unit Manager at Vulcain and have been part of the group for more than 4 years. More precisely, I am in charge of developing the Vulcain group's activities in offshore engineering and construction. Until now, I have worked a lot for our historic client Technip. Passionate about large-scale projects in which the challenges are significant, I manage a team of 28 consulting engineers and 3 Business Managers. I enjoy managing my teams, contributing to their careers and satisfying my clients , with whom I enjoy having special relationships. Demanding , I give everything to ensure that each actor involved in a project is completely satisfied. Finally, I am particularly attached to performance and results, while promoting flexibility in the execution and outcome of a project.
Can you introduce us to the Vulcain company?
With more than 1,700 employees in France and around the world and a turnover of €160 million in 2019 , our group is a player specializing in consulting and engineering in the energy sector . We deploy strong sectoral expertise (Gas, Renewable, Environment & Processes, Nuclear, Rail, Infrastructure and Life Science) to support the design, construction, implementation and commissioning of our clients' projects.
We are driven by the values of kindness, teamwork, openness to others and the pursuit of performance. Every day, these values drive us and we do our best to boost the careers of our employees by contributing to our clients' exciting projects.
We adapt our service offerings to the needs of our customers and are constantly thinking about new solutions.
Very open, and always in motion, we have generated significant growth over the last 15 years (+ 30% in 2019) and are nonetheless imbued with humility, simplicity and questioning when necessary.
Collaborators
From turnover in 2019
Community leaders
%
Growth in 2019
Technical references
Acquisitions since 2019
Training Academies
New subsidiaries since 2016
How does Vulcain intervene in the park in the bay of Saint-Brieuc?
We have committed for 3 years alongside Ailes Ailes Marines and operate in Construction Management Service . In other words, we support our client in the construction of the project and more particularly in the context of the installation of the wind turbines , the very central service that is the HSE, the Support Service, and the representation role in order to guarantee the conformity of their requirements.
Our objective is to support our client in the successful execution of the project within the scope entrusted to us and to contribute to making it a success.
Our team is currently made up of around ten employees and will soon have the opportunity to create a peak of skills around around forty people.
What more could you tell us about the branch that you are going to open in Lézardrieux?
Who are you going to recruit?
The Lézardrieux branch is both our operational base, to be as close as possible to our customers, and our footprint, as natural as it is essential to our integration into the local landscape and fabric. Thus, our actions with local actors and partners are simpler, more relevant and more effective. Likewise, in the context of our local recruitments, as is already the case for certain positions, we are more impactful and more legitimate. We have recruited and plan to recruit profiles in offshore installation, HSE (Hygiene Safety Environment), administrative support and offshore project management. For each recruitment, we ensure the right balance of our team (skills and soft skills, French expertise and competence, local recruitment) with the objective of completing our commitment with our client. Today, our team is made up of 3 Bretons and others should join us quickly.
Why did you respond to Ailes Marines ’ call for tenders?
Given our expertise in the offshore professions and the ambition that we had set for 2020 in the renewable energy sector, responding to this call for tenders was obvious . We plunged into this consultation with great enthusiasm, pragmatism, and perspective as much as necessary. The robustness and flexibility of our service are major assets. We are therefore supporting our client in carrying out this project and this gives us the opportunity to fully enter into offshore wind power .
What does this contract mean to you?
This contract is fully in line with our Renewable vertical of expertise.
For us, it represents an important shift in offshore wind power with the contribution to the execution of the project itself, faithful to the objective that we had set for ourselves.
Creating jobs, developing the offshore wind in France, and expanding into new projects, this is our ambition.
Ensuring that through this first project, Brittany can become a champion of MRE and that the skills created become lastingly anchored.