The company was formed by financial backer Edouard de Seynes (1881–1957) and engineer Victor Cognet.
[1] Viktor Cognet was a little older, and already had a small factory alongside the Heyrieux road, on the south-eastern side of Lyon.
[1] The two of them went into business as sub-contractors for a range of industrial companies in the region, but the idea of becoming automobile manufacturers with their own names on the vehicles was envisaged from early on, and their first car was presented in 1913.
Edouard de Seynes took back control and the factory settled down to a production rate of 20 to 30 cars a year.
The first, and as it turned out only model was of a simple design and first appeared in 1912 or 1913 (sources differ) and had a 1124 cc four-cylinder engine with a 3-speed gearbox described as "recilinear and without cardan joints".