CIS Group (WELHY-CIS Guinée SAS)
About
Partnering for Progress: How CIS Group Powers Life at Simandou
In some of the world’s most remote and demanding industrial environments, CIS Group has built a reputation for enabling progress where others see only obstacles. With a global footprint and more than 30 years of experience in integrated life support services, CIS specializes in catering, accommodation, facility management, and technical maintenance for major energy, mining, and construction projects. Today, in the heart of Guinea, the company is playing a central role in supporting one of Africa’s most ambitious mining developments — the Simandou Iron Ore Project.
Operating through its local joint venture Welhy-CIS, the company has been awarded an $82 million contract by SIMFER (the Rio Tinto-led joint venture responsible for Blocks 3 and 4 of the project). Under this agreement, CIS is delivering a comprehensive suite of services designed to support a workforce of up to 8,000 people at one of the most logistically challenging sites in West Africa.
A Foundation for Operations
Supporting daily life at the Simandou site goes far beyond logistics — it requires precision, reliability, and adaptability in extreme conditions. CIS’s role spans catering, accommodation, access control, facility operations, and technical maintenance, ensuring all core support systems are running seamlessly behind the scenes.
Their involvement is critical to SIMFER’s progress, enabling mining teams to focus fully on operations while CIS ensures every element of life on site — from safe housing to hot meals and clean facilities — is managed to international standards.
Local Expertise, Global Delivery
CIS’s service excellence is driven by its Welhy-CIS partnership, blending global operational systems with local insight and capability. This joint venture model has allowed CIS to empower Guinean professionals across roles — from site maintenance to kitchen services — while embedding training and capacity building at every level.
Notably, CIS has deployed advanced tools like Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) to upskill local teams and ensure long-term operational sustainability. The result is a workforce that is not only locally sourced, but globally capable.
Investing Beyond the Site
CIS’s community impact goes well beyond the confines of the project. In 2024 alone, the company sourced 95% of its products locally, favoring regional farms, cooperatives, and small businesses. This short supply chain approach strengthens the rural economy and ensures fresher, more sustainable food delivery for workers onsite.
CIS also supports philanthropic initiatives, including food donations to orphanages, investment in education and health projects, and social programs aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These activities reflect a commitment to not just operating in Guinea, but contributing to its long-term development.
A Long-Term Commitment to Guinea
For CEO Yannick Morillon, the Simandou partnership reflects CIS’s broader purpose: “At CIS, we enable our clients to focus on their core mission by building reliable, resilient support systems. Our partnership with Welhy demonstrates how empowering local talent and investing in communities leads to operational success.”
As the Simandou Iron Ore Project ramps up toward full production, CIS’s contributions are essential — not just to logistics and infrastructure, but to the social and economic transformation of the region. Through high-quality service, local empowerment, and a deeply embedded sense of partnership, CIS Group is helping shape Guinea’s future — one project, one community, and one team at a time.
CIS Group, International leader in Integrated Life Support Services
WELHY-CIS Guinée SAS
Villa du Quartier de la Minière, Commune de Dixinn,
Conakry, BP : 395