Louis Renault
Strategic Concepts & Mechanics
Primary Evidence
"During the some one hundred and forty years over which the Lazard saga unfolds, many fortunes have been built in France. Brilliant industry captains emerged. None survived the test of time. Forgotten, Louis Renault. Squandered, the considerable fortunes of André Citroën or the perfumer François Coty."
"No matter. In April 1933, to take up the challenge posed by Louis Renault, whom Citroën detests and who has just expanded his facilities on the Seguin Island, the French Ford, more confident than ever in his intuitions, goes all-in once again. He decides to demolish Javel and within five months, build the most beautiful car factory on the continent, covering one hundred and twenty thousand square meters."
"In Clermont, the engineers of the company do not want to hear about the “Salmon 200 HP” engines sent by the Ministry of War to equip the Breguet-Michelin. They demand the most powerful and lightest engines possible “to rise quickly, fly long and with certainty.” The only ones matching what the Michelin people want are those manufactured in Billancourt by Louis Renault. Moreover, the planes need to be equipped with bomb launchers and sights capable of carrying four hundred kilos of projectiles with a range of four hundred kilometers. These proposals are finally accepted. Very quickly, André Michelin obtains the demobilization of the engineer responsible for tire manufacturing who is in Auxerre. He will organize, in record time, the production for the Minister of War. Five versions of these Breguet-Michelin will be studied, and two models—equipped with Renault engines—will be mass-produced. When the war ends, seven planes will leave the workshops of Clermont-Ferrand each day. A fantastic pace."
"And since automobile manufacturers—except for Louis Renault, who created an aviation department within his own company—are doing nothing for aviation, since scientists, some clergy, and politicians enjoy disparaging these “extravagant young people who defy gravity,” it’s best to make a big move. Even more spectacular than that of Archdeacon and Deutsch de la Meurthe! The Company, in any case, will perform an excellent operation."