Apave, a history of over 150 years of trust
Working towards safety
for over 150 years
Between the photo of the industrialist Ernest Zuber, vice-president of the SIM (Industrial Company of Mulhouse) who, in 1867, founded Apave, and and that of this young Group Manager of the Tertiary Public Receiving Facilities operating unit, working on the ITER nuclear fusion reactor project, lies a history of over 150 years. Our history, but yours too.
Because these 150 years illustrate the technical progress made, the risks associated with it, and the efforts that Apave has made to identify them and help businesses and communities control them.
At the end of the 19th century, the first steam-powered machines caused many accidents in factories.
Our founder along with other manufacturers decided to create the "Association Alsacienne des Propriétaires d'Appareils à Vapeur" (Alsatian association of steam-powered machine owners). Its objective was to increase safety, avoid the risks of explosion and make energy savings.
It is a history of trust that has thus been built up from these early days of the industrial revolution and has continued throughout Apave’s interventions today.
A history of trust between Apave and its hundreds of thousands of customers in France and around the world.
Since 1867
The first Industrial Revolution saw the advent of mechanisation and steam-powered machines. Along with progress, it brought with it many changes to the way people work and to the organisation of workshops and new risks emerged.
On 10 April 1867, the Vice-President of the Industrial Company of Mulhouse, Ernest Zuber, was working with other Alsatian, but also Basel and Württemberg, industrialists to improve the safety of workers. From this fruitful collaboration the "Association Alsacienne des Propriétaires d'Appareils à Vapeur" (Alsatian association of steam-powered machine owners) was created.
On the Alsatian plain, the textile industry, followed by the finishing and mechanical construction industries, witnessed our engineers make their debut. Apave’s founders were determined to use all the latest technical progress to make their factories safer and more energy efficient.
With the arrival of electricity
Apave expanded its areas of intervention
Thus, true to their founder's adage, “progress is only worthwhile if it does not compromise the lives of individuals”, Apave’s engineers and technicians helped France enter the modern era, by improving the safety of people and property. Over the years, the initial association led to the creation of a dozen others across France. They then gradually regrouped and today form a unified group.
After 1945, “the Glorious Thirty” years of France's industrial development saw the emergence of other risk categories, in many areas such as: transport, nuclear power and electronics. Apave, in constant contact with industrial realities, has adapted to the technological changes and the resulting prevention means and methods.
Progress is only worthwhile if it does not compromise the lives of individuals.
A history of trust
for over 150 years
Our customers can count on our commitment to them, so they can carry out their activities safely and efficiently.