FB Procédés celebrates its 30th anniversary! - Claude Martin

After Fernand Barré - the founder of FB Procédés - we meet Claude Martin, who had the onerous task (or privilege) of assembling our brand's first bar screens. Before retiring a few years ago, he was the emblematic manager of the Martin and Mart'Inox companies, from which our bar screens - and our entire product range - have been exclusively manufactured since the mid-80s.

Hello Claude, according to Fernand, you were the second man in FB Procédés history. Can you tell us how you met?

I met Fernand through Vendée Epuration and a certain Marco Rivière, whom I'd known for a very long time, and who made lift stations. He was working with SNEP, a company where Fernand was head of the design office. We hit it off right away. I remember him coming into our workshops with his pipe to see what we were doing and how we were doing it.

So you were the first to form and assemble an FB bar screen. Do you remember the early days of this collaboration?

That's right. When Fernand started out on his own, he asked me if I could see myself working for him. At the time, I was in partnership with my brother Joseph. After discussing it together, we said to Fernand: "No problem, we'll follow you!

We started from scratch. Everything had to be done. Fernand's first plans, I don't know if you realize, were sketches scribbled on the backs of calendars. So I found myself assembling the first bar screens, the first prototypes in fact.

We'd test it, and sometimes it wouldn't work, so we'd have to cut and re-weld.

Fernand would go back to his calculations and sketches, then we'd start again.

The start of a wonderful adventure?

To tell the truth, when we started out, we made one a month. Which wasn't too bad.

I remember Fernand turning up at the workshop one day, announcing that he'd just sold a telescopic bar screen. Basically, the bar screen wasn't supposed to protrude from the ground when stationary, but only when in operation. As I recall, it worked practically the first time. Again, these were sketches on a piece of paper.

We fumbled around a bit, but it made perfect sense. Even if sometimes the tone rose gently. I remember telling him a few times: "Fernand, you're shitting me! It worked better earlier". But I didn't count the hours, because I was well aware that it was in everyone's interest.

So you were fully committed to the initial project, and the sequel won't make you regret it?

Completely. I'm very proud of the success of FB Procédés. One of the reasons is that I think the Martin company has made its contribution.

Imagine, I attended the very first FB Procédés trade show, where we shared a stand with a pump salesman whose name escapes me. We had a bar screen in operation on the stand. We cranked the "jaw" up and down. This attracted quite a few curious onlookers, and we were really pleased to be able to present such a product. A great opportunity for a young company like FB to make a name for itself.

So your company grew up at the same time as FB Procédés?

Yes, by the way, that's right. In 1991, I bought out my brother's share and set up Mart'Inox with a specific workshop for assembling and processing stainless steel parts. I think this has been good for everyone, including FB Procédés.

And then, over the years, we organized ourselves accordingly and moved forward hand in hand with FB Procédés. For example, we've always set aside a dedicated area in our workshops to prepare and wire each bar screen, and a specific test pit to try them out before each shipment.

Could Fernand's departure and Patrick Dupré's arrival have weakened the collaboration between the two companies?

Not at all, insofar as I'd also known Patrick for quite a few years. So, when he took over from Fernand, we immediately trusted each other. You should know that when Fernand was in charge of SNEP's design office, Patrick had worked there for a few years, and we'd worked on a few projects together.

Patrick was a true successor to Fernand, and made a major contribution to the development of FB Procédés. He brought a rigorous approach, and was a stickler for perfection in the operation of each bar screen. Fernand, on the other hand, was happy as long as it worked.