Etablissement Hubert Dolbeau

Our Group

Established in February 2020, AIRVANCE Group was formed from the merger of two groups: FRANCE AIR GROUP and the HVAC (Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning) division of the SIG Group plc.

Our history

AIRVANCE Group was born in 2020 from the acquisition by FRANCE AIR Group, a family business founded in 1960 by the Dolbeau family, of the ventilation division of British company SIG Plc. Building on an entrepreneurial history that dates back to 1912 with the creation of “Établissements Hubert Dolbeau et Cie” in Morocco, AIRVANCE Group perpetuates its family values while pursuing its expansion strategy and establishing itself as a European leader firmly oriented towards innovation.

1912
“Établissements Hubert Dolbeau et Cie”, a company importing construction resources (materials, electricity and hydraulics), was founded.
1960
The Dolbeau family founded the Compagnie de l’Air Pulsé in Lyon, which later became FRANCE AIR. Its main line of business consists of air heater distribution.
1976
France Air created a subsidiary to export its products to the Maghreb, Africa and central Europe, which has now become France Air Export.
1988
International expansion with the establishment of France Air Portugal in Lisbon.
1989
The SNAC (Société Normande d’Air Contrôlé) factory in Carentan, Normandy was purchased.
1996
Three generations later, Olivier Dolbeau, the current CEO, took charge of an international Group with over 540 employees to date.
2000
France Air founded les Comptoirs de l’air® and reorganised its sales force in France. Meanwhile, creation of Ouest Ventil, the ventilation division of Ouest Isol, marking the beginning of British group SIG plc’s ventilation activities in France.
2006
SIG plc acquires Saftair Ventilation in France, strengthening its presence in the French market.
2008
SIG plc continues its expansion with the acquisition of Air Trade Centre.
2013
SIG plc acquires SK Sales in England, expanding its presence in the United Kingdom.
2014
Official creation of SIG Air Handling, a division of the British group, and acquisition of Inatherm company in the Netherlands.
2015
Simultaneous development of both groups: France Air creates F. Air Sistemas in Angola and acquires Multivac in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. SIG plc creates the commercial brand SIG Air Handling and acquires HC Groep company in the Netherlands.
2016
Continued growth of both entities: France Air creates F. Air HVAC in Switzerland and acquires Courtois (Savoie) and Airsun (Vaucluse). SIG plc acquires Interland Techniek company in the Netherlands and Profant Lufttechnik in Austria.
2017
A pivotal year for both groups: France Air creates France Air Romania in Bucharest and Laurent Dolbeau, eldest son of Olivier Dolbeau, takes over as CEO of the group, representing the fourth generation of the family at the helm of the company. SIG plc acquires BLH company in Germany.
2019
The British group SIG plc announces the sale of its SIG Air Handling division.
2020
Birth of the AIRVANCE Group, resulting from the merger of the France Air group and the HVAC division of SIG plc group. This strategic merger creates one of the 5 largest players in the European ventilation market for comfort and indoor air quality, while preserving the family values that have made France Air successful for over 60 years.

AIRVANCE Group

This merger of two remarkable entrepreneurial trajectories gave birth in February 2020 to a major player in air treatment and insulation in Europe, combining the agility and long-term vision of a family business with the international dimension of a group present in 15 countries.

Birth of a European leader...

Key figures

AIRVANCE Group continues its growth and establishes itself as one of the 5 largest European players in ventilation for comfort and indoor air quality.

603 M€ turnover

1 931 Employees

25 Subsidiaries

+ 50 Countries covered

Governance

AIRVANCE Group has adopted a modern and balanced governance structure, combining the advantages of a family business with those of an international group.

An organisation structured around three complementary bodies that ensure the group’s sustainability and the effective implementation of its strategy.

Ethics and Compliance

Within AIRVANCE Group, we place ethics and exemplary conduct at the center of all our activities. This involves structuring, framing, and harmonizing our interactions with all stakeholders through 4 documents that guide each of our decisions and actions, thus ensuring the integrity and transparency of our company.

Ethics Code

The ethical code illustrates our way of conducting our activities in accordance with our values and identity. Through clear commitments and rules shared within the Group, it guides our daily actions to contribute to a more sustainable world.

By adhering to this code, we commit to acting with honesty, respect, and fairness towards our employees, customers, and partners. We strive to create a safe, healthy, and sustainable work environment in which everyone can thrive and give their best.

This ethical approach, deeply rooted in our values, strengthens the trust that our stakeholders place in us and consolidates our position as a European leader in ventilation.

Whistleblower Procedure

Transparency is a key value within AIRVANCE Group. This is why we have implemented a whistleblowing procedure, allowing everyone to report, in complete confidentiality, any behavior or situation contrary to our ethical code. This responsible approach helps maintain the integrity of our company and prevent any breach of our principles.

By offering all our stakeholders a secure channel to express their concerns, we create a climate of trust and transparency. Each alert is treated with the utmost seriousness and with respect for confidentiality, thus ensuring the protection of whistleblowers. This procedure demonstrates our commitment to acting ethically and responsibly, thereby strengthening the trust of our customers and partners.

Code of Conduct

We are committed to contributing to a better world, and this is clearly reflected in our Code of Conduct. This essential document, developed in response to the Sapin II law, clarifies the principles already established in our ethical code and defines specific rules to govern relationships with all stakeholders.

We have adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, influence peddling, and conflicts of interest. We expect our employees to report any practice contrary to our principles, relying on our procedure for collecting and processing internal reports.

These provisions apply to the entire AIRVANCE Group and its subsidiaries, as well as to all employees, both internal and external. They also apply to our third parties, mainly suppliers and customers, in the context of our transactions.

Responsible Purchasing Policy

AIRVANCE Group recognizes the crucial importance of a responsible supply chain. This is why we have implemented a responsible purchasing policy, which forms the foundation of our commitment to operational excellence and competitiveness, while remaining faithful to our ethics and our social and environmental responsibilities.

This policy guides our choices towards suppliers who not only meet our criteria for quality, safety, and competitiveness, but who also share our values and are ready to engage in a mutually beneficial relationship. We are committed to integrating these practices into all our operations, a commitment made at the highest level of management and which applies to all our employees, whether directly involved in purchasing or not.

Reference Documents

Download here our 4 documents that structure ethics within the AIRVANCE Group. These documents reflect our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of integrity in all our operations:

pdf

Download the Ethics Code

(PDF - 1.95 Mo)
pdf

Download the code of conduct

(PDF - 3.98 Mo)
pdf

Download the whistleblower procedure

(PDF - 1.62 Mo)
pdf

Download the responsible purchasing policy

(PDF - 10.91 Mo)

Sustainability

The implementation of our “Breathe Together” initiative is an opportunity to identify and promote best practices within each entity of the Group, but also to roll them out to all our employees.
 

Breathe Together

Breathe Together

This is the name of the Sustainability initiative launched by our Airvance Group in 2020 with the aim of bringing together all men and women who wish to share strong values and thus contribute to the company's success.

We see Sustainability initiative as an opportunity to demonstrate the Group’s exemplary internal practices, which are essential for getting our ecosystem on board. We use Sustainability  as a lever to combat individualism and open up the company to its many stakeholders.

The European Economic Community is currently preparing, within the framework of the CSRD, to reform and standardize its Sustainability policy, with the strong involvement of our financial partners in the process. Airvance Group will communicate on these new standards in 2028 with its 2027 reporting. In the meantime, we are continuing to build on our Breathe Together program as part of our continuous improvement process.

Our sustainable