NEO® selected at the Grande Exposition du Fabriqué en France 2025

The Grande Exposition du Fabriqué en France is back in 2025. Initiated by the President of the Republic, this annual event celebrates companies, craftspeople, producers and manufacturers who are fully committed to French manufacturing.

The products presented are rigorously selected by a national jury composed of experts in the field, namely institutional and economic stakeholders involved in French public life. They are also pre-checked by customs services to verify their French origin.

A recognition for the water industry

As a new feature for this edition, a specific selection of strategic products and services for the nation, manufactured by the industrial sectors of the Conseil national de l'industrie, will be exhibited. It is in this capacity that the NEO® drinking fountain was selected to represent the strategic "Water" sector.

An innovation born from a French alliance

The NEO® drinking fountain was born from the alliance of Veolia, a professional water services provider, and BAYARD®, a French manufacturer of fountain fittings and inventor of the drinking fountain in 1901. Aware of the new challenges facing territories, namely universal access to water, the fight against urban heat islands, and water use sobriety, Veolia and BAYARD came together in 2019 to imagine and design a connected fountain capable of meeting these new challenges. This cast iron urban furniture drinking fountain has been entirely designed and is manufactured in France, in the Rhône.

Design, engineering, foundry, machining, coating, assembly: this alliance is built on the unique expertise of BAYARD and its local partners to design and produce in France a durable product serving all territories.

With a French value chain of over 90%, this drinking fountain is a strong response to the need for responsible public procurement by our public authorities in support of the ecological transition and the vitality of territories.

Three features on a single terminal, NEO® SMART reinvents access to water:

1. Misting to combat urban heat islands and potential street pooling risks during heatwaves.
2. Water bottle filling to provide walkers, runners and cyclists with convenient access to water in the city.
3. An inverted jet allowing people without a container to drink from the fountain hygienically without contact.

NEO^® SMART addresses environmental and societal challenges:

• Water-efficient

This drinking fountain allows all distributed water volumes to be configured: misting duration, inverted jet duration, tap flow rate. Connected via a SIM card, local authorities can monitor consumption volumes remotely on a dedicated platform. They can also receive maintenance alerts when the terminal encounters a technical issue. As an option, water infiltration into the ground can be provided through paving made from shells.

• Accessible to all, even in winter

At a height of 120 cm, it is more accessible to people with reduced mobility as the tap is at wheelchair height. The frost-free feature also allows essential and fundamental needs to be met for homeless people, whose only water point may sometimes be in the street. Public fountains are generally closed in winter to prevent equipment from freezing.

• With an elegant design: NEO® reinvents the codes of a familiar urban object

By calling on the design agency DA Associés, BAYARD® and Veolia chose to maintain a silhouette continuity with the traditional fountain while giving it a modern touch. NEO® is available in 6 colours to be visible and customisable by local authorities. NEO® accompanies the redefinition of public spaces linked to the development of active mobility.

About the companies

About BAYARD

A committed French industrial player since 1881, BAYARD® offers all stakeholders in the water sector a wide range of products and services for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of water networks. The company, whose manufacturing plant and registered office are based in Meyzieu (69), is committed to sustaining its industrial and social engagement in France in order to promote a unique expertise at the service of its clients. BAYARD® today manufactures an extensive range of valves and fountain fittings dedicated to drinking water, raw water, irrigation, wastewater and industrial water. Committed to a quality and eco-responsible approach, the company works to reduce its carbon footprint through a continuous process of improvement in its operations and actions.

About Veolia

The Veolia group's ambition is to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with 215,000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful and concrete solutions for water, waste and energy management that contribute to radically changing the situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia contributes to developing access to resources, preserving available resources and renewing them. In 2024, the Veolia group served 111 million inhabitants with drinking water and 98 million with sanitation services, produced 42 terawatt-hours of energy and treated 65 million tonnes of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) generated consolidated revenue of €44.7 billion in 2024.