Valeo’s story began in 1923 in a workshop in Saint-Owen, outside Paris, France. Ninety years later, the history of Valeo, one of the world’s leading suppliers of automotive products to 33 countries and partners with global automakers, is linked to a workshop set up by Saint-Ouen’s Eugène Buisson, France’s representative for Ferodo brake linings, to produce its own friction materials. .

In 1932, the company expanded its activities to the production of clutches and sold its products on the SAFF Paris Stock Exchange. On the eve of World War II, the company had almost all the patents related to couplings.

During the war, in the Battle of Falaise in 1944, Normandy factories were partially destroyed, and Saint-Owen workshops (brake linings and couplings) were severely damaged during the Paris Liberation. In the 1950s, the company modernized and expanded beyond the Paris region, building new factories, especially in Normandy (friction materials) and Amiens (couplings).

In 1962, the company also specialized in air conditioning at its factory in Nogent-le-Rothrou, France, and thus acquired a new line of work. During the 1960s, the company expanded in Europe, working closely with French and Italian customers. New plants and factories were established in Spain and Italy.

Finally, in 1980, the Valeo brand, a new name and unified brand, was founded. To unite its brands and human resources, the company announced its merger at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on May 28, 1980 under the name Valeo (Latin for “I’m Good”). The group, which has been increasing production in the same year with plants in the United States and Mexico, now has production bases in many countries around the world, including Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Turkey and Japan.

In 2005, Valeo acquired Johnson Controls’ engine electronics division, an innovation that allowed the company to step up power unit efficiency operations for cleaner, more efficient and more economical vehicles. Since 2014, the group has introduced a new identity as a full-fledged technological innovation company and joined the CAC40 blue chip index. Thomson was included in Reuters’ Top Global Innovator 2015 list to recognize his new status. Today, Valeo is a world leader in providing one-third of all vehicles in the world in electrical systems.

Active Group, the official distributor of the Valeo group of companies in Azerbaijan, is an example of high technology, quality and reliability, which is about 100 years old.