What insight led to the creation of your company 25 years ago?
Dominique Lyonnet (D.L.): It started with our father’s vision, as he was active in the construction sector in France. Very early on, he identified a mismatch between supply and demand: rapidly growing demand for fast, cost-effective and efficient steel structures, faced with an offer that was complex, difficult to understand and hard to industrialize.
Vincent Lyonnet (V.L.): The idea was to move from a craft-based approach to a product-based model. To design standardized buildings, mass-produced, easy to transport and simple to assemble. This allowed us to democratize a product that had previously been reserved for technical profiles, making it accessible to a much broader audience.
We designed buildings that are easy to assemble, conceived from the outset to be shipped anywhere in the world.
How would you describe your business today?
V.L.: We design and market steel kit buildings that are accessible even to non-specialists. The objective is to simplify visualization, understanding and decision-making.
D.L.: This simplicity is built on very high standards: limiting the number of components, reducing the risk of errors and optimizing transportation. That is what enables us to ship worldwide with a high level of reliability, including to very remote markets.
What have been the main drivers of your growth?
D.L.: We can identify two major turning points. The first concerns the product itself, through standardization. The second relates to commercialization. As early as 2009, we invested in digital technology with a dedicated e-commerce platform, now known as batimentsmoinschers.com.
V.L.: It transformed our business model. The catalog became permanently accessible, without relying on a field sales force, and enabled us to immediately reach a much wider market beyond our natural territory.
We are merchants of technical products, not technicians doing business.
Did your international expansion come naturally from the start?
V.L.: No. We had to convince customers remotely, reassure them and prove our credibility. The first customers were pioneers, and they played a major role in establishing trust.
D.L.: Selling remotely requires absolute rigor. An incomplete building can bring an entire construction site to a standstill. We therefore developed a highly robust supply chain, capable of managing complex road and maritime logistics flows, with constant high standards.
V.L.: We are merchants of technical products, not technicians doing business. Every constraint — whether geographical, climatic or regulatory — becomes an opportunity to learn.
What role has Luxembourg played in this journey?
V.L.: It is our foundation. This is where we structured our teams and expertise, with more than one hundred employees.
D.L.: Even though the domestic market is limited, the environment encourages an international outlook. Digital technology enabled us to grow while maintaining strong roots here.
Why become Steel Shed today?
V.L.: Steel Shed is becoming the parent brand, carrying our vision and ecosystem: batimentsmoinschers.com, tolesmoinscheres.com and the new Steel Shed for Business brand.
D.L.: The goal is to better structure our activities and address more demanding market segments more effectively. Our new brand, Steel Shed for Business, in particular, is aimed at key accounts, with a level of support tailored to their needs.
How do you see the coming years?
V.L.: Our ambition is to continue our international expansion and strengthen our position in more structured market segments. We are aiming to double our revenue within the next few years, but the challenge goes beyond numbers.
D.L.: What drives us — our purpose — is to “build your future.” After 25 years, we do not see our achievements as an end point. We remain in motion. And that momentum is only accelerating.
Key Milestones
2001 > Group founded
2009 > Launch of the batimentsmoinschers.com brand
2017 > NextStage joins the company’s capital structure
2022 > First 100% e-commerce sale
2026 > Company’s 25th anniversary and launch of Steel Shed for Business
For a different approach to construction, contact the Steel Shed teams