What Cabinet Merlin does

Cabinet Merlin (Groupe Merlin) is a Lyon-headquartered, family-owned environmental engineering and consulting group founded in 1922 by Marc Merlin and now held through HCM – Holding Cabinet MERLIN, with Pierre Merlin as Chairman. The group operates as a multi-disciplinary engineering platform comprising Cabinet Merlin plus 12 other engineering companies, organized around five core domains: water and sanitation (production, treatment, networks, desalination, hydraulics), waste treatment and recovery, energy and decarbonation (including patented biomass and CO2 measurement innovations), urban development and transport infrastructure, and digital services covering BIM and fiber optic deployment. It serves primarily French public-sector clients (~85% of directed works) plus international development agencies, with 40 offices across 8 French regions and 6 international offices spanning Africa, the Middle East, French Guyana, and Asia; international contributes 16% of revenue.

The group monetizes through professional services fees on maîtrise d'œuvre (master contractor) and AMO (assistance to project owner) mandates, delivered via multi-year project cycles that move from feasibility through construction supervision, with no disclosed productized pricing. Underlying technology includes the Websis digital construction site management platform, BIM workflows with partners Bimsky and Axxone, and proprietary measurement patents: MASSBIO2 (biogenic vs fossil CO2 quantification), CoperDiox (13 dioxin/furan congener quantification, mandatory in French incineration since 2010), and a CO2 source contribution measurement patent. In 2024 the group reported €86M of turnover while directing €1.8B of construction works annually, with a workforce of 725 (65% engineers) and steady intake of 50-60 new collaborators per year to support both domestic and international mandates.

Name

Cabinet Merlin

Legal name

Groupe Merlin

Website

https://cabinet-merlin.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Groupe Merlin is a 100-year-old, family-owned environmental engineering consultancy headquartered in Lyon, France, delivering multi-disciplinary water, waste, energy, urban development, and transport infrastructure engineering services primarily to public sector clients in France and Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Engineering Consulting

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Construction Management & Delivery (EPCM/CMAR/Design-Build Oversight) (EUANALAE)

Keywords

• Environmental engineering
• Water infrastructure
• Wastewater treatment
• Urban development consulting
• Public works engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineering and Consulting Services: Professional services revenue from master contracting (maître d'œuvre) mandates, assistance to project owners (AMO), feasibility studies, technical design, and construction supervision across environmental infrastructure projects. Revenue is project-based with multi-year engagement cycles typical for infrastructure projects.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cabinet Merlin is a French consulting and engineering firm that designs, studies, and supervises environmental infrastructure projects. Its core services span drinking water, wastewater, waste management, energy, urban planning, and transport infrastructure for public-sector clients. The firm also develops patented treatment technologies (e.g., MASSBIO2, CoperDiox) that it deploys within the projects it designs.

Product overview

Cabinet Merlin (Groupe Merlin) is a family-owned engineering and consultancy firm with over 100 years of experience, operating as a multi-disciplinary group comprising Cabinet Merlin and 12 other engineering companies. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of engineering services organized around five core domains: Water (drinking water infrastructure, wastewater treatment, hydraulics), Waste Management (treatment and recovery), Energy (biomass, cogeneration, decarbonation including patented MASSBIO2 and CoperDiox technologies), Urban Development (transport infrastructure, roads, urban planning), and Digital Services (BIM, fiber optic deployment, and the proprietary Websis digital construction management platform). The company also provides specialized advisory services in public services expertise and land services. The group's engineering services cover the full project lifecycle from feasibility studies through construction supervision, with strong emphasis on environmental protection and sustainable development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MASSBIO2: A CO2 measuring device/patent that measures the biogenic and fossil CO2 content in waste combustion to determine the real greenhouse gas impact of installations and the renewable share in energy produced.
• CoperDiox

Products and services

• Water Infrastructure Engineering
• Wastewater Treatment Engineering
• Waste Management Consulting
• Energy Infrastructure Consulting
• Urban Development Consulting
• Transport Infrastructure Engineering

Quantifiable outcome

• 300+ million m³/year of water managed from source to tap
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AfWASA (African Water and Sanitation Association)coreOthersGroupe Merlin is a member of AfWASA, the African Water and Sanitation Association, providing visibility and networking within the African water and sanitation sector. This membership supports the company's international development activities across African markets.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Egis: Major French engineering group with deep water, urban, transport, and energy infrastructure practices; comparable in service breadth and public-sector client mix, though larger and partially Caisse des Dépôts-owned.
• Setec Group: French independent engineering consultancy with water, environment, transport, and urban development practices; comparable in independent French ownership and multidisciplinary environmental infrastructure focus.
• Burgeap: French environmental and water engineering consultancy specializing in hydraulics, water treatment, and environmental studies; comparable in French-headquartered environmental engineering focus and public-sector client base.
• Safege (Suez subsidiary): French engineering consultancy specialized in water, environment, and urban infrastructure; directly comparable on water network design, hydraulics, and public-sector maître d'œuvre mandates in France and internationally.
• Artelia: French independent engineering group covering water, energy, environment, urban development, and transport — directly comparable in multidisciplinary environmental engineering scope and French-headquartered independent ownership model.

Broad incumbents

• Tractebel (Engie): Global engineering consultancy owned by Engie with strong water, energy, and environmental infrastructure practices; overlaps directly with Cabinet Merlin's water/energy portfolio but operates at much larger scale.
• Arcadis NV: Dutch-listed design and engineering consultancy with strong water, environment, and resilience practices; overlaps with Cabinet Merlin's environmental infrastructure work but at significantly larger global scale.
• Stantec: Canadian-listed engineering consultancy with a leading water and environmental infrastructure practice; comparable on water/wastewater master planning and design, though publicly listed and globally diversified.
• Suez Consulting: Engineering and consulting arm of Suez with water and environmental infrastructure expertise; overlaps with Cabinet Merlin's water/wastewater design and supervision work but is part of a larger environmental services conglomerate.
• WSP Global: Global engineering consultancy with a major environment and water practice; comparable on environmental infrastructure services though much larger and listed, with deeper international footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInfr.linkedin.com/company/cabinet-merlin

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cabinet Merlin