Bibendum

"In Clermont-Ferrand, the old Carmes workshops and the Estaing storage center, built on the eve of the war, were joined in 1924 by the gigantic Cataroux factory, today still the largest in the group. Outside of France, over the years and protectionist regulations, Bibendum has established itself in Great Britain, in Stoke-on-Trent (1927), opened a spinning mill in Italy (1927), and expanded in Germany in Karlsruhe (1931). It’s a lot."

"On February 7, 1935, the restructuring of the Société Anonyme des Automobiles André Citroën is decided by the liquidation committee. The Bank of France, solicited by the government, provides its assistance. There are two urgencies: filling the three hundred million francs gap in cash flow and negotiating the spreading of the two hundred fifteen million francs of debt. The main creditors — there are two thousand four hundred and fifty in total — gather under the banner of Bibendum, whose austerity and sense of large sums inspire confidence. The banks, delighted to no longer deal with the “great charmer,” reopen the floodgates. One hundred twenty-five million francs flow in. In June, a “squeeze-out” on the capital successively allows it to be reduced to seventy-five million francs and then increased to two hundred ten million."

"The entire organization from one end of the hierarchy to the other is imbued with a somewhat sordid penny-pinching spirit that contributes to Bibendum’s thriving health. Boulanger grants full authority to a spending control body—the dreaded “service des économes”—composed of about twenty inquisitors who constantly clash with the “spendthrift” initiatives of department heads in all areas. Despite the occasional bouts of bad temper caused by the pettiness of these rule-obsessed fanatics, no one would think of challenging the authority of the “Boss”—always capitalized as in Clermont—put in place by the mysterious and distant head office. Nor that of his two deputies, Antoine Brueder, who handles organization and personnel selection, and Pierre Bercot, who is in charge of the firm’s general secretariat, production planning, and financial and commercial management."

"For their purchases of butcher products, deli meats, groceries, bakery, clothing, hardware, etc., the employees of the company are encouraged to go through the cooperative. They can also have their meals at the “Coopé” restaurant. They can receive medical care at the Michelin surgical clinic of Neuf Soleils, the tuberculosis dispensary, the dental clinic, the Chanat rest home, all institutions controlled by Bibendum. The company maintains an entire team of nurses and general practitioners and specialists, from birth to death. From the “birth kit” given to expectant mothers to the formalities with the funeral services. It provides dowries for daughters and helps pay for the sons’ studies. It offers loans to young married couples, breastfeeding bonuses, rewards to those called to serve in the military, and grants repayable advances “in case of difficult situations.” Its social service pays for masses in memory of the deceased."

"François Michelin also knows that he still has much to do to consolidate the foundations of his own house. Everywhere in nearly all the markets that Bibendum has conquered through sheer effort, Bridgestone, the new Japanese tire giant, threatens to establish itself. The Japanese brand supplies half of the Japanese automobile production, which became the world’s largest in 1980 and 1981. In the United States, it quickly delivered to Michelin’s customers at a time when Michelin was out of stock. It plans to purchase the Firestone plant in Nashville, Tennessee, and increase its production capacity to 3,000 truck tires per day in 1983. In Europe, it is laying the groundwork, making contacts, and beginning to supply Scandinavia, Great Britain, and West Germany. It, too, is eyeing Formula 1. The result: a wild growth, as fast or faster than the French group over the past five years, with revenues of three billion dollars in 1980 (nearly seventy percent of which was from tires) achieved with only thirty-one thousand employees, gross self-financing margins of twenty-five percent, and a net profit nearly twice that of Michelin in 1980. Bridgestone, in recent years, has also surpassed General Tire, Uniroyal, BF Goodrich, Continental, Dunlop, and Pirelli to occupy the fourth place worldwide. A formidable challenger."

"Strong clever shedding. Founded in Clermont-Ferrand by Raymond Bergougnan in 1889 — it’s the era of the English cyclist assisted in the courtyard of the Michelin factory — the Bergougnan business developed for half a century without overshadowing its large neighbor, doing what was respectfully said to be “industry as a farmer.” Starting with rubber stamps and then launching into bicycle tires under the brand “Le Gaulois,” it engaged in the manufacture of solid truck tires during World War I, and by 1937, stepping on the heels of Bibendum, who then frowned, it had turned — with an American license — to tires, both for cars and trucks. In Auvergne as well as in Parisian circles, it was whispered that it also held substantial interests in rubber plantations in the Far East."

"He finds himself alongside the Compagnie Générale d’électricité (which holds 17 percent through the Société Générale d’entreprise) and two mysterious Luxembourg companies, General Shopping (15 percent) and the Société pour la finance et l’électricité (4.7 percent). Two screens behind which it will soon be discovered that the Swiss Credit, the faithful ally of Bibendum, is hiding."

"At the armistice, Michelin will be able to boast of having manufactured in its factories and with a female workforce, “one thousand eight hundred eighty-four planes — one hundred forty-seven of which will have been delivered to the American army — eight thousand six hundred bomb launchers and three hundred forty-two thousand bombs of various calibers, twenty-seven thousand seven hundred of which to the American army. Furthermore, Clermont-Ferrand will have manufactured “three hundred thousand rubberized coats, five hundred thousand rubberized gloves, five hundred thousand feed bags, two hundred fifty thousand tents, two hundred thousand sleeping bags.” Bibendum will have earned the appreciation of the “rookies.” An investment for the future."

"As in Egypt, Bibendum had to wait a long time in front of the door before being authorized to enter the Brazilian market. The first contacts with Brasilia date back, it seems, to 1975. In April of that year, two Michelin executives, Jean Bollotte and Daniel Lejeune, were received by Delfin Netto, former Minister of Economy, then Brazilian ambassador to Paris. The group, they said, would like to build five manufacturing plants on the same site. To do so, Michelin would invest one hundred and sixty million dollars and export a notable portion of its production. At that time, Brazil was still experiencing strong growth. “The truck market,” François Michelin would explain to his shareholders a few years later, “is twice as important as in France. Trucks cover a thousand kilometers a day, and tires last three months.” A new Promised Land."

"On his turf, most of the work is done. Bibendum, popular and dynamic, reigns supreme. One by one, he managed to convince car manufacturers to pay more for their tires by guaranteeing them, in return, quality and longevity. Michelin is the number 1 at Renault (which stopped tire manufacturing in 1955), at Peugeot, and of course, still one hundred percent at Citroën. Despite its higher prices and imperial commercial methods — you have to comply with its conditions or risk not being delivered[37](private://read/01jkqdqdgs7t399cyecbezrhj0/#ftn_fn37) — it already represents more than half of replacement sales."

"Technique, nothing but technique, always technique. Engineers are the spoiled children of the house. Bercot has well retained the lessons that succeeded for Bibendum."