Son of a Breton couple, Pierre RIOU began his entrepreneurial career in 1979, at the age of 26, in a garage located in Pont-Audemer (27). He set up there as a craftsman specializing in painting, insulation and the installation of additional glazing and double glazing.
In 1983, he created the historic factory of his company, VIP (Vitrages Isolants de Pont-Audemer) in Beuzeville. An excellent handyman, he then developed a process to industrialize the manufacture of double glazing, compensating for delays that he considered too long from his supplier at the time. He invented his first machine, which he patented in 1988 and presented at the international glass fair in Düsseldorf. The following year, the European Patent Office in The Hague (Netherlands) designated him as inventor and awarded him a patent for his process. Then, the company grew and began a long series of acquisitions between 2005 and 2012. 17 processing sites in total. The RIOU Glass group is taking shape and becoming the preferred supplier to French carpenters and facade makers.
265 / 5 000 Résultats de traduction Résultat de traduction In 2012, came the year of consecration for Pierre RIOU: he joined forces with Saint-Gobain to take 50% of the shares of a company specializing in the production of flat glass and became the first independent French processor to manufacture it himself its flat glass. RIOU GLASS has more than 40 years of experience with 1000 employees, 14 factories and 100,000 tonnes of flat glass per year.
Pierre and his wife Christiane passed on the family business RIOU GLASS to their children and have been involved in new ambitions with RIOU OCEAN GLASS since 2023. The opening of this new state-of-the-art factory in Mauritius is the start of a new adventure to share its expertise and know-how. Our ambition, “your Comfort in Transparency” by fitting out your interiors as closely as possible to your needs in the Indian Ocean.
3 questions to Pierre RIOU
Based on your background and your entrepreneurial success in Europe, what are the motivations that push a couple of entrepreneurs like you to Mauritius?
First of all, and still today, we have the culture of creating and especially of manufacturing.
This culture is the reflection of an ambition that does not run out of steam, of our desire to surpass ourselves through our innovations and our ability to give meaning to our actions.
We thus cultivate family values on a daily basis with our employees, partners and customers at RIOU OCEAN GLASS: respect for one’s word, perseverance in one’s commitments, solidarity in difficulties and a taste for taking on new challenges…
And it is in Mauritius that we have chosen to take on new ambitions, the African and Indian Ocean market being conducive to innovation and sensitive to our value proposition. We are particularly sensitive to the importance of human relationships, close to our family values.
Why is your field of activity essential to home comfort?
Our vision is based on the promise “Your Comfort in Transparency”. Our innovations are therefore based on excellent glass products that reflect the latest trends, expectations in terms of innovation and respect for our societal commitments.
Our solutions are thus at the crossroads of aesthetics and design, avant-garde creations and the responsibility we have for present generations and those to come.
Habitat is a refuge and we do everything we can to ensure that our glass products meet the challenges of development.
We thus offer an enchanted parenthesis between intimate comfort and openness to the outside world.
How do glassmaking know-how and digital technologies enable us to respond to climate challenges?
In view of our values, our teams are involved in a committed manner in the development of solutions to meet its various challenges.
Thus, our innovations aim to respond to climate issues, in particular thanks to the associated insulation, climate adaptation and energy saving capabilities.
We therefore offer visionary solutions to enable our products to meet these new challenges, in a connected, intelligent and responsible way. We put our expertise and know-how at the service of your expectations in order to meet your most ambitious challenges together. Your Comfort in Transparency.