A family business

A family run business

HEXAOM is run since the beginning by members of the Vandromme family.

• 1^st generation from 1874 to 1919 with Hippolyte Prout
• 2^nd generation from 1919 to 1952 with Raphaël and Emilien Prout, the sons of Hippolyte Prout
• 3^rd generation from 1952 to 1985 with Jean Vandromme, Raphaël Prout’s son-in-law
• 4^th generation from 1984 to this day with Patrick and Philippe Vandromme, the sons of Jean Vandromme
• 5^th generation
  • from 2005 to 2022, Eric, Loïc and Antoine, Patrick and Philippe Vandromme’s sons, join group management,
  • since June 1^st, 2022 they have taken over the operational management of the group. Loïc as Chief Executive Officer and Eric and Antoine as deputy Chief Executive Officers.

Hippolyte Prout, carpenter and lumberjack

It all started with Hippolyte Prout, great-grandfather of Patrick and Philippe Vandromme.

After having trained as carpenter from the age of 12, in 1874 at the age of 20, he created his own sawmill and lumberjack business in Saint Germain du Corbeis lieudit la Belle Charpente. By developing the Prout sawmill he laid the foundations of the company that has become HEXAOM, historically the Maisons France Confort Group.

Raphaël and Emilien, Prout Brothers

In May 1919, the Prout brothers, Raphaël and Emilien, sons of Hippolyte, took over and created the company “Etablissements Prout Frères”, and turned the activity towards sawmill, parquet flooring, carpentry and construction frames.

Alongside the traditional sawmill and wholesale trading activities, they sold pads, beams, joists, toeboards, boards… and then specialised in the manufacturing of oak, fir, beech and chestnut flooring. By developing this activity, they already approached the building business.

Jean Vandromme, launches the caravan and house building businesses

In 1953, Jean Vandromme, son-in-law of Raphaël Prout, then at the head of the company, turns it towards supply merchandising (wood and wood derivatives) et develops the caravan activity.

As soon as 1956 in parallel with the caravan manufacturing business, Jean Vandromme concentrated the business on building wooden frame houses. Then in 1958, after caravans and wooden frame houses, Jean Vandromme wanted to build sturdy houses, and launched the new core business: home building.

Patrick Vandromme, company growth

In 1984, Patrick Vandromme became chairman of the company after 10 years alongside his father. His brother Philippe joined him a few years later as deputy chairman.

Having moved from building 300 houses a year in the 1980’s to 2,000 in the year 2000, Patrick Vandromme listed the company on the stock market giving it the impulse to become the leader in home building a few years later.

It’s in 2010 that the group invested in the renovation business for home owners with the acquisition of Rénovert. This activity has grown strongly since with the acquisitions of the brands Illico Travaux and Camif Habitat in 2015 and l’Atelier des Compagnons in 2017.

A family business currently represented by two generations

Since 1919, five generations of the same family have led the company to what is now HEXAOM.

Each generation has been attentive to the surrounding world and has reacted constructively and nimbly to the influence of the economic, political, sociological and technological factors of their time.

Each generation followed in the wake of the previous generation with steadfastness and stamina, thus confirming over the years the exclusive expertise of the group in the conception-coordination of building throughout the French territory.

We are proud of the human values and the entrepreneurial qualities developed by our predecessors in the last 100 years.

Every day, we pass on this legacy to our teams to make our business grow with spirit, strength and durability.

A unique story of family entrepreneurship characterized by its stability in a complex market sector.

Today, HEXAOM is a group that federates 2,100 woman and men working within 32 companies and around 49 brands.

100 years

Founded in 1919, HEXAOM, historically Maisons France Confort, celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 2019. It is unusual for a company to celebrate such an anniversary. We are lucky to have come through so many years still as a family business and still going strong.

To sustain its development, attract and train its teams and perpetuate its business, the group engaged a large-scale renovation of its historical headquarters in Alençon (61) between 2017 and 2019.

A long tradition of reliability

On the occasion of our 100^th anniversary, we have retraced our history, our trades, our development, the news and future of the Group in a book.

You can view this book online on this page.

Since June 2022, a company represented by the 5^th generation !

Between 2005 to 2022, two generations have worked hand in hand to make the company and its teams grow. Since June 1^st, 2022, the 4^th generation has handed over the operational management to the 5^th generation. With their long-standing experience and their ambition, the executive committee and the operating committee continue to take part in the development and the diversification of our company.