Interview with Philippe Dehedin, President of Modéal

Batinfo: Can you introduce Modéal?

Philippe Dehedin: Modéal is, above all, a vision: to offer temporary or permanent living quarters and buildings that adapt to different uses, while integrating a virtuous and circular approach. Our solutions are designed to last, to transform, and to support the evolution of society.

In concrete terms, we now have over 400 employees, spread across 7 production sites in France, with our headquarters based in the Vendée region. This 100% French presence makes us the 2nd largest national manufacturer and the leader in mobile units.

Our history is one of continuous growth: in 2015, the creation of the Solfab Modular Construction Group marked a key milestone, followed by the integration of Bodard in 2017, a long-established player in the modular construction market. In 2022, we structured our CSR policy with a dedicated committee and precise monitoring indicators. And in 2025, we are taking another step forward with the launch of Modéal and its brand platform, which embodies our ambitious future goals.

Batinfo: What are your latest news?

Philippe Dehedin: The start of the 2025 academic year was a pivotal moment for us: the Solfab Modular Construction Group became Modéal and unveiled a new brand platform. This evolution embodies our desire to rethink modular construction, to lay the foundations for a reinvented ideal, while remaining true to our original values.

Beyond the visible brand image, it's the tangible benefits provided to clients for their projects. Pooling the expertise of the group's various components allows clients to have a single point of contact for managing all stages of their project, with harmonized and redefined product ranges built around high-performance and customizable standards, and innovations in key areas such as security, thermal comfort, energy efficiency, and energy and water autonomy.

It also involves pooling processes between sites to combine increased capacity with proximity to customers and construction sites.

On the ground, this translates into a multitude of projects in fields as diverse as site accommodation, housing, schools, commerce, and industry, as well as flagship projects that showcase our expertise. Each year, for example, we install 580 m² of modular units to house the organizational spaces for the Monaco Grand Prix: a unique undertaking, since the structures are dismantled, stored, and reused from one edition to the next. More recently, we also took on the challenge of installing a temporary school in Argenteuil in just six weeks following a fire, and even carried out an installation at the summit of the Grands Montets by helicopter in extreme conditions. These achievements perfectly illustrate our agility and our ability to respond to both urgent situations and demanding requirements.

Batinfo: How do you see the future of Modéal?

Philippe Dehedin: With this new brand and consolidated organization, we aim to double our turnover despite a very tight market.

By responding to the major challenges of our time. Scalability, decarbonization, sobriety, agility, quality of life: we want to be a player in concrete and sustainable solutions.

Thanks to the industrialization of our construction methods and our eco-design approaches, we have already helped avoid more than 37.000 tons of CO₂ per year. But we don't intend to stop there. Our ambition is to push the boundaries of innovation even further, designing modular spaces that contribute positively to societal transformations, whether in education, sports, events, or temporary housing.

Modéal aims to be a long-term player, to anticipate the uses of tomorrow and to prove that modularity can be an agile, responsible and desirable response to the challenges of our time.