About Nexans

Nexans, French electrical cable manufacturer

Our group, one of the flagships of French industry, is also a global player in the cable industry. Our 25,000 employees in 38 countries work every day to bring energy to life. For more than a century, we have been providing our customers with cabling solutions and services in four main business areas:

• Buildings & Territories (Smart Grids, E-mobility, Building Equipment)
• High Voltage & Major Projects (High Voltage onshore, Submarine Interconnections, Offshore Wind Farms)
• Telecommunication & Data (Telecommunication networks, Data centres, Corporate LAN cabling solutions)
• Industry & Solutions (Transport, Advanced Nuclear and Medical Technologies, Renewable Energies)

In a constantly changing world where everything is moving faster and faster, we cannot imagine living without electricity: electricity gives life to our objects, our modes of transport and our communications.

All our cables are manufactured in France in our various factories throughout the country.

Our story

The first insulated cables
Our story begins around the same time as Edison's invention of the incandescent light bulb in 1879 in the USA. That same year, François Borel, a Swiss engineer, invented a new cable manufacturing process, which consisted of producing insulated cables under a lead sheath. This new process made it possible to place the cables underground, whereas they had previously been fixed overhead by poles. The cables have less electrical loss and can deliver much higher voltages.

A gigantic construction site
To produce these cables, François Borel joined forces with an industrial entrepreneur, Edouard Berthoud. Together, they founded a cable manufacturing plant to meet the demand of the Forces Motrices du Rhône company. This company wanted to equip the upper Rhône at Jonage to supply the city of Lyon with electricity. As this project required a lot of resources, they bought land in Gerland and founded the Société Française des Câbles Electriques.

An ever-increasing demand
Between 1905 and 1911, high-voltage cables were developed: the 50,000-volt direct current cable was invented in 1906, the three-phase 40,000-volt cable in 1908, and the 65,000-volt cable in 1911. In the first half of the 20th century, we supported the growing demand for electricity. After a takeover by the Compagnie Générale d'Electricité in 1912, our group took the name Câbles de Lyon in 1925.

In 1917, we owned nearly 40,000 m², and we adopted the name Compagnie Générale des Câbles de Lyon. We became a branch of the C.G.E. (Compagnie Générale d'Electricité) in 1925. Thus, we are the pioneers of the insulated conductor industry, and we intend to continue innovating.

In 1986, Câbles de Lyon joined the Alcatel group to become Alcatel-Câble. Then, with the advent of the telephone network, telecommunications grew in importance. The third industrial revolution, the Internet, required ever more powerful installations and ever more innovative cables.

The year 2001 marks an important turning point for us. It is the beginning of our existence as a Nexans entity. We separate from Alcatel and take flight. A new chapter is opening up for us.

Our future

The need for electrification is ever increasing : 25% estimated growth in energy demand by 2040; 43 megacities with more than 10 million inhabitants by 2030, 30% of the global vehicle fleet will be electric by 2040.

However, in France, there are still 2/3 of electrical installations that do not comply with at least one of the six regulatory safety points that aim to protect against electric shocks by direct or indirect contact, burns, fires and explosions of electrical origin.

We, the French cable leader, aim to meet this very high demand for electrification, and ensure the decency of homes in France. Innovation is part of our DNA, we are committed to finding solutions for you, the electricians.

We are now facing a new challenge: building a sustainable world for all. We intend to be a major player in this new challenge of global electrification.