Draft:HEF Group
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Comment: In preparing this draft, I disclose that AI assistance was used as follows: As visible through the article's editing history, the information present on this article was added little by little, translated from the french page (not with AI translation) and modified to fit english wikipedia standards. I did not use AI Stickeepaper (talk) 08:54, 21 October 2026 (UTC)
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This draft has been resubmitted and is currently awaiting re-review. |  |
- Comment: In preparing this draft, I disclose that AI assistance was used as follows: No AI, mostly just translation and optimisation from the french wiki page with the occasional word search on google translate. Stickeepaper (talk) 13:57, 20 October 2026 (UTC)
 | This is a draft article. It is a work in progress open to editing by anyone. Please ensure core content policies are met before publishing it as a live Wikipedia article. Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL Last edited by Stickeepaper (talk | contribs) 21 days ago. (Update)
This draft has been submitted and is currently awaiting review. |
| HEF Groupe | |
|---|---|
| Type | Simplified joint-stock company (SAS) |
| Industry | Surface engineering |
| Founded | 1953 |
| Founder | Jacques Jean Caubet |
| Headquarters | |
| Key people | Georges Cros (former longtime director), Prost Fabrice, Forand Gilbert, Pupier Christophe, Delorme Herve, Ploton Laurent, Germain Chantal |
| Products | Nitriding, PVD/PECVD coatings, bearings and friction components, contract surface treatment services, ultrafast laser processing, functionalized powders |
| (€327.8 million in 2025.[1]) | |
Number of employees | Around 3,150 employees (2021)[2] |
| Subsidiaries | TS Techniques Surfaces, IREIS Research institute in surface engineering, HEF Durferrit, HEF PHOTONICS |
| Website | |
HEF Group is a private surface engineering company, founded in 1953 by Jacques-Jean-Caubet. It was founded in the city of Saint-Chamond near Saint-Étienne (France) in the Loire department[3]. In 2025, the group operates in 23 countries in Europe, North America, South America and Asia.
Since 1973, HEF is employee-owned, with 75% distributed among employees while the remaining shares are held by the founding family[4][5].
Product focus
[edit]HEF Group's activities revolve around products and services such as :
- Surface finishing in ionic liquid ;
- PVD and PECVD vacuum deposition technologies ;
- The manufacturing of mechanical components such as bushings, pins and joints intended for industrial applications ;
- Tribology and surface degradation mechanisms (wear, friction, corrosion and more) ;
- Hydrogen technologies (fuel cell[6]) since 2024[7] ;
- Photonics (lasers, optical filters) since 2023[8] .
The group develops and sells surface coating services through processes such as nitriding or vacuum deposition[9].
HEF manufactures friction components, notably metal and composite bushings, and serve industries such as mobility, energy production, manufacturing and aeronautics[10][11].
Acquisitions
[edit]As part of its strategy to extend its field of activity, HEF Group has acquired various companies.
In the friction components sector, the group acquired companies such as ACM Composite Bearings from the United Kingdom in 2024 and Drie-D from the Netherlands in 2026[12].
Beginning in 2021, HEF expanded into the photonics industry through acquisitions[13], and now owns the following French companies:
- Fichou (2021) [14], a company creating key components for the army in France, reason for which the French Ministry of the Armed Forces vetoed against the purchase of the company by an Indian business, leading HEF to be the final buyer [15];
- Kerdry (2021), a company created in 2003 by two former engineers at Orange, specialized in optical and metallic treatments[16] ;
- Acerde (October 2021), a company specialized in rotating anodes and X-rays[17];
- Neyco (21 July 2022), renowned for its know-how in vacuum technologies[18] .
And the following American companies:
- Abrisa Technologies (2021)[19][20], a specialist in optical thin film coatings and fabricated technical glass solutions[21] ;
- The Telic Company (2025), a company specialized in metal deposition and etching[22] .
In 2024, the group invested €40 million into developing a new plant dedicated to the development of surface treatments for fuel cells, with the intention of providing an alternative to materials such as gold and platinum[23][24].
- ↑ https://mesinfos.fr/42160-andrezieux-boutheon/le-groupe-hef-renforce-sa-presence-en-amerique-du-nord-avec-une-nouvelle-acquisition-336930.html
- ↑ https://www.brefeco.com/actualite/chimie/une-nouvelle-usine-stephanoise-pour-hef
- ↑ "HEF GROUPE | Fabricant Intrants de culture | Directindustry". www.directindustry.fr. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ "HEF, ingénierie des matériaux de surface et traitement de surface". HEF (in French). Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "HEF Group Acquires Abrisa Technologies". Abrisa Technologies. 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "A Saint-Etienne, HEF investit dans la production de matériaux pour piles à combustible". L'Usine Nouvelle (in French). Retrieved 2026-10-14.
- ↑ "Saint-Etienne. Cette entreprise crée une usine unique au monde : 100 emplois prévus". actu.fr (in French). 2024-02-15. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
- ↑ "Une nouvelle usine stéphanoise pour HEF". www.brefeco.com (in French). 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
- ↑ "HEF GROUPE". Hydrogen and Carbon Capture Technology World Expo 2026. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "HEF PEL Bushings". Agriculture XPRT (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "PEL 4.0" (PDF).
- ↑ "Dealmaker | HEF Groupe acquires DRIE-D Group". www.dealmaker.nl. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "Le ligérien HEF accélère sa diversification en reprenant des PME en Bretagne et en région parisienne - Le Journal des Entreprises". www.lejournaldesentreprises.com (in French). 2021-06-15. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ Lagneau, Laurent (2021-05-19). "Le fonds d'investissement du ministère des Armées se désengage de Fichou, spécialiste de l'optique de haute précision". Zone Militaire (in French). Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ portail-ie (2021-05-21). "Fichou, spécialiste de l'optique militaire demeure française". Portail de l'IE (in French). Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "HEF becomes a major actor in the fields of photonics and defense".
- ↑ "Startup ACERDE Anodes légères tournantes pour tubes à rayons X". www.myfrenchstartup.com (in French). Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "Cession de NEYCO au groupe HEF | DELSOL Avocats" (in French). Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "Abrisa Technologies Joins HEF Photonics Business Unit". www.photonicsonline.com. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "Le ligérien HEF accélère sa diversification en reprenant des PME en Bretagne et en région parisienne - Le Journal des Entreprises". www.lejournaldesentreprises.com (in French). 2021-06-15. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "Hef Group M&A Activity: 1 Transaction | Mergr". mergr.com. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "HEF Groupe annonce le rachat de la société TELIC by HEF GROUPEDirectIndustry". trends.directindustry.fr (in French). Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "Hydrogène : le groupe HEF contraint de revoir sa copie faute d'un marché suffisant". www.latribune.fr (in French). 2026-05-06. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
- ↑ "Plaques bipolaires : fabrication avancée, usinage CNC et revêtements de surface pour les piles à combustible de nouvelle génération". Shenzhen Tuofa Technology Co., Ltd. (in French). Retrieved 2026-10-20.
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