The values

As early as 1899, the Federation set about the task of defining a number of shared values which have withstood the test of time over the years, and now underpin the  foundations of the FIF Association as it exists today.

Solidarity

For French Railway Industries, the years 1860-1880 were a period marked by cut-throat foreign, and particularly US competition. At that time too, little interest was shown by Public Authorities for this sector of activities, hence the decision by the industrialists concerned to join forces in May 1899, and this for two reasons:

- Firstly, the renegotiation of a commercial agreement between France and the United States of America because its terms needed re-balancing.

- Next, the determination of  the powers-that-be to relegate rail sector participation in the Paris World Fair to a venue at Porte de Vincennes, away from the Champ-de-Mars site chosen for the other exhibitors.

Thus was born on 4 May 1899 the Federation of Railway and Tramway Equipment Manufacturers.

Defence of trade interests

The Federation from the outset took resolute steps to defend the interests of the Sector.
In 1899, Robert Pinot, the Federation’s General Secretary won the right for railway industrialists to participate in the World Fair at the Champ de Mars. He fought tooth-and-nail with the Trade and Industry Minister to try and secure integration of social clauses in all contracts signed between public communities and private industry.

Although his lobbying efforts were unsuccessful, the obstinacy he displayed on this occasion was to prove a defining moment in that the Federation had thereby showed its readiness to say “No!”. Defence through action: a leitmotiv.

Cohesion

During the ensuing period, the Federation worked on improving the organization and cohesion of the Sector.

- In February 1919, an agreement was signed between the railway companies and the federation to ensure greater regularity in the timing of contract adjudication.

- August 1919 was to mark the setting-up of a joint consultancy agency for the sector (OCEM – Central Office for Rolling Stock Research), tasked with developing forms of standardization for rolling stock through normalization.

- The creation of SNCF in 1937 heralded the emergence of a conscious policy designed to unify the different rolling-stock categories.

The Federation also prioritized efforts aimed at improving Sector cohesion.