Un técnico de trabajos verticales realiza los controles reglamentarios

Apave, a history spanning nearly 160 years of trust

Apave’s history is closely intertwined with that of progress.

For nearly 160 years, Apave has facilitated major technological changes and revolutions by developing expertise to guarantee the safety of people, industrial goods and the environment.

 

Safety is the foundation of progress: without safety, there can be no industrial, human, environmental or digital progress. It is our history and our mission.

Working towards safety

for nearly 160 years

Ernest Zuber
Ernest Zuber

Between the photo of the industrialist Ernest Zuber, vice-president of the SIM (Industrial Company of Mulhouse) who, in 1867, founded Apave, and and that of this young Group Manager of the Tertiary Public Receiving Facilities operating unit, working on the ITER nuclear fusion reactor project, lies a history of nearly 160 years. Our history, but yours too.

Because these 160 years illustrate the technical progress made, the risks associated with it, and the efforts that Apave has made to identify them and help businesses and communities control them. 
At the end of the 19th century, the first steam-powered machines caused many accidents in factories.

Our founder along with other manufacturers decided to create the "Association Alsacienne des Propriétaires d'Appareils à Vapeur" (Alsatian association of steam-powered machine owners). Its objective was to increase safety, avoid the risks of explosion and make energy savings.
It is a history of trust that has thus been built up from these early days of the industrial revolution and has continued throughout Apave’s interventions today.
A history of trust between Apave and its hundreds of thousands of customers in France and around the world. 

Gustave Eiffel chose Apave to participate in the Eiffel Tower project.

Eiffel Tower

Since 1867

The first Industrial Revolution saw the advent of mechanisation and steam-powered machines. Along with progress, it brought with it many changes to the way people work and to the organisation of workshops and new risks emerged.
 
On 10 April 1867, the Vice-President of the Industrial Company of Mulhouse, Ernest Zuber, was working with other Alsatian, but also Basel and Württemberg, industrialists to improve the safety of workers. From this fruitful collaboration the "Association Alsacienne des Propriétaires d'Appareils à Vapeur" (Alsatian association of steam-powered machine owners) was created.

On the Alsatian plain, the textile industry, followed by the finishing and mechanical construction industries, witnessed our engineers make their debut. Apave’s founders were determined to use all the latest technical progress to make their factories safer and more energy efficient.

With the arrival of electricity

Apave expanded its areas of intervention

Thus, true to their founder's adage, “progress is only worthwhile if it does not compromise the lives of individuals”, Apave’s engineers and technicians helped France enter the modern era, by improving the safety of people and property. Over the years, the initial association led to the creation of a dozen others across France. They then gradually regrouped and today form a unified group.

 

After 1945, “the Glorious Thirty” years of France's industrial development saw the emergence of other risk categories, in many areas such as: transport, nuclear power and electronics. Apave, in constant contact with industrial realities, has adapted to the technological changes and the resulting prevention means and methods.

 

 

 

  • 1867
    1867

    On 10 April 1867, Ernest Zuber, vice-president of the Société Industrielle de Mulhouse, worked with other industrialists from Alsace, Basel and Württemberg to improve employee safety.

    Birth of the Alsatian Association of Steam Engine Owners.

  • 1897
    1897

    With the advent of electricity, Apave has created a department dedicated to the inspection of electrical installations. The acronym APAV was enriched with an "E". Apave's engineers and technicians have helped bring France into the modern era by improving the safety of people and property.

  • 1945
    1945

    Glorious Thirties: France's industrial development led to the emergence or accentuation of other families of risks (industrial, transport, nuclear, etc.).

  • 2000
    2000

    Apave goes international.

  • 2011
    2011

    Creation of the Apave Group.

  • 2021
    2021

    The Group launches its new strategic development plan and changes its shareholding structure: PAI Partners joins the Group as a growth partner, and an employee shareholding fund (FCPE) is created.

  • 2022
    2022

    Apave expands into digital risk management: creation of Apave Digital.

  • 2023
    2023

    Apave makes its 18th acquisition in 3 years. Apave Exploitation France and Apave Infrastructures et Construction France are created, marking a new stage in the construction of a more integrated Group.

  • Today
    Today

    Over the decades, Apave has always adapted its expertise, resources and risk prevention methods. Today, Apave is working to ensure that the major developments of our time, such as digitalisation, digital risks and sustainable development, combine performance and safety. Apave is accelerating in two strategic areas: positioning itself as a player in digital confidence and launching a range of "Green & Social" sustainable solutions.

  • 2025
    2025

    In 2025, Apave confirmed its expansion by strengthening its leadership in risk management, its international growth – particularly in North America – and its position in the energy and digital transition markets.

  • Today
    Today

    Continuously supporting transformation

    In the face of the energy, environmental and digital transitions, Apave is constantly adapting its expertise and solutions. Through its Green&Social range, the Group supports decarbonisation, environmental performance, risk management and skills development within organisations.

  • Tomorrow
    Tomorrow

    Each transition, whether industrial, energy, digital, environmental or societal, generates new ways of thinking, acting and living, by changing production and consumption patterns. The new risks that accompany them call for innovative, appropriate responses and a certain vision for the future, while relying on the fundamental expertise that remains essential (electricity, fluid mechanics, materials resistance, radiation, human safety in the workplace, etc.).

  • 1867
    1867

    On 10 April 1867, Ernest Zuber, vice-president of the Société Industrielle de Mulhouse, worked with other industrialists from Alsace, Basel and Württemberg to improve employee safety.

    Birth of the Alsatian Association of Steam Engine Owners.

  • 1897
    1897

    With the advent of electricity, Apave has created a department dedicated to the inspection of electrical installations. The acronym APAV was enriched with an "E". Apave's engineers and technicians have helped bring France into the modern era by improving the safety of people and property.

  • 1945
    1945

    Glorious Thirties: France's industrial development led to the emergence or accentuation of other families of risks (industrial, transport, nuclear, etc.).

  • 2000
    2000

    Apave goes international.

  • 2011
    2011

    Creation of the Apave Group.

  • 2021
    2021

    The Group launches its new strategic development plan and changes its shareholding structure: PAI Partners joins the Group as a growth partner, and an employee shareholding fund (FCPE) is created.

  • 2022
    2022

    Apave expands into digital risk management: creation of Apave Digital.

  • 2023
    2023

    Apave makes its 18th acquisition in 3 years. Apave Exploitation France and Apave Infrastructures et Construction France are created, marking a new stage in the construction of a more integrated Group.

  • Today
    Today

    Over the decades, Apave has always adapted its expertise, resources and risk prevention methods. Today, Apave is working to ensure that the major developments of our time, such as digitalisation, digital risks and sustainable development, combine performance and safety. Apave is accelerating in two strategic areas: positioning itself as a player in digital confidence and launching a range of "Green & Social" sustainable solutions.

  • 2025
    2025

    In 2025, Apave confirmed its expansion by strengthening its leadership in risk management, its international growth – particularly in North America – and its position in the energy and digital transition markets.

  • Today
    Today

    Continuously supporting transformation

    In the face of the energy, environmental and digital transitions, Apave is constantly adapting its expertise and solutions. Through its Green&Social range, the Group supports decarbonisation, environmental performance, risk management and skills development within organisations.

  • Tomorrow
    Tomorrow

    Each transition, whether industrial, energy, digital, environmental or societal, generates new ways of thinking, acting and living, by changing production and consumption patterns. The new risks that accompany them call for innovative, appropriate responses and a certain vision for the future, while relying on the fundamental expertise that remains essential (electricity, fluid mechanics, materials resistance, radiation, human safety in the workplace, etc.).

  • 1867
    1867

    On 10 April 1867, Ernest Zuber, vice-president of the Société Industrielle de Mulhouse, worked with other industrialists from Alsace, Basel and Württemberg to improve employee safety.

    Birth of the Alsatian Association of Steam Engine Owners.

  • 1897
    1897

    With the advent of electricity, Apave has created a department dedicated to the inspection of electrical installations. The acronym APAV was enriched with an "E". Apave's engineers and technicians have helped bring France into the modern era by improving the safety of people and property.

  • 1945
    1945

    Glorious Thirties: France's industrial development led to the emergence or accentuation of other families of risks (industrial, transport, nuclear, etc.).

  • 2000
    2000

    Apave goes international.

  • 2011
    2011

    Creation of the Apave Group.

  • 2021
    2021

    The Group launches its new strategic development plan and changes its shareholding structure: PAI Partners joins the Group as a growth partner, and an employee shareholding fund (FCPE) is created.

  • 2022
    2022

    Apave expands into digital risk management: creation of Apave Digital.

  • 2023
    2023

    Apave makes its 18th acquisition in 3 years. Apave Exploitation France and Apave Infrastructures et Construction France are created, marking a new stage in the construction of a more integrated Group.

  • Today
    Today

    Over the decades, Apave has always adapted its expertise, resources and risk prevention methods. Today, Apave is working to ensure that the major developments of our time, such as digitalisation, digital risks and sustainable development, combine performance and safety. Apave is accelerating in two strategic areas: positioning itself as a player in digital confidence and launching a range of "Green & Social" sustainable solutions.

  • 2025
    2025

    In 2025, Apave confirmed its expansion by strengthening its leadership in risk management, its international growth – particularly in North America – and its position in the energy and digital transition markets.

  • Today
    Today

    Continuously supporting transformation

    In the face of the energy, environmental and digital transitions, Apave is constantly adapting its expertise and solutions. Through its Green&Social range, the Group supports decarbonisation, environmental performance, risk management and skills development within organisations.

  • Tomorrow
    Tomorrow

    Each transition, whether industrial, energy, digital, environmental or societal, generates new ways of thinking, acting and living, by changing production and consumption patterns. The new risks that accompany them call for innovative, appropriate responses and a certain vision for the future, while relying on the fundamental expertise that remains essential (electricity, fluid mechanics, materials resistance, radiation, human safety in the workplace, etc.).

Progress is only worthwhile if it does not compromise the lives of individuals.

Ernest Zuber
Ernest Zuber
Apave'S founder

A history of trust

for nearly 160 years

The men and women of Apave work tirelessly to ensure that the major changes of our time, such as digitization, sustainable development and internationalization, combine performance and safety. 

Our customers can count on our commitment to them, so they can carry out their activities safely and efficiently.