Artelia is a French design firm specializing in engineering, project management, and consultancy. Launched in 2010, Artelia is active building construction, water, energy, environment, industry, maritime operations, transportation, urban development, and multi-site projects. The group also participates in public-private partnership. Artelia is ranked 83rd among international design firms. History Coteba was founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Compagnie Générale des Eaux. It was known as one of the leading French companies specializing in project management of large-scale building construction projects. Coteba expanded its activities to include engineering, transportation and major urban infrastructure. Coteba was also known for managing multi-site projects for international clients. In 1995, Coteba became part of Nexity. In 2003, Coteba's management and specialized funds Crédit Mutuel-CIC and Crédit Agricole acquired Coteba from Nexity. In 2006, Coteba acquired, for an undisclosed price, the engineering departments of Thales Engineering & Consutlting (THEC), which specialize in infrastructure, building construction—in particular hospitals—and industrial processes. Coteba recruited an additional 300 workers, an increase of 40% of its 700 staff size at the time. In 2007, Coteba's entire share capital was taken over by its management. Between 2003 and 2007, Coteba's staff size doubled. Sogreah Sogreah was founded in 1923 when the Laboratoire Dauphinois d’Hydraulique was built in Grenoble. In 1955, the laboratory renamed itself Société Grenobloise d’Etudes et d’Applications Hydrauliques (Sogreah). Sogreah specialised in design studies and construction projects in the field of hydraulics. It has a hydraulics physical scale model laboratory, a shiphandling training centre, and a range of numerical models. In 1958, the company moved into rural engineering, irrigation, water supplies and sewerage systems. Sogreah also operated in the water, energy, the environment and urban development sectors. It participated in the design of the tidal power station on the River Rance in France and developed the tetrapod, a concrete breakwater armouring block. In 1967, Sogreah became part of the Alstom group, which subsequently became Alcatel. On 31 December 1998, Sogreah become an independently held company via a MBO, after which its staff size tripled to over 1200 employees. Merger In July 2009, a merger between Coteba and Sogreah was announced. At the end of 2009, a memorandum of agreement was signed by the two firms defining their merger into a holding company named Artelia. In 2011, the merger was completed. Artelia Artelia's development since its foundation has consisted of internal and external growth. Between 2010 and 2013, 12 companies