The “Société Franco-Belge” was a French/Belgian engineering firm that specialised in the construction of railway vehicles and their components and accessories. The company originated in 1959 as the Belgian firm Compagnie Belge pour la Construction de Machines et de Matériels de Chemins de Fer founded by Charles Evrard; the company expanded its share capital in 1881 forming a new firm Société Anonyme Franco-Belge pour la Construction de Machines et de Matériel de Chemins de Fer and constructed a factory in Raismes (Valenciennes) in the Département Nord in France.