World War I had devastated much of northern France, but had also pointed the way to a new emphasis on machinery and precision engineering. Rebuilding the country's industrial and manufacturing infrastructure gave rise to new opportunities. Among those seeking his fortune was young engineering graduate Louis Mosès. With funding from his family, Mosès opened a small forge and workshop near Paris's Gare de Lyon in 1918. Calling his company 'Franco-Américaine de Construction d'Outillage Mécanique,' from which the acronym FACOM was later drawn, Mosès and a staff of ten workers began crafting precision tools for the booming mechanical and manufacturing markets. The 'Américaine' in the company's name was a shrewd marketing ploy, conjuring up the technical sophistication and diversity of the U.S. military equipment brought over during the war.
Facom's original products were based on Mosès' own designs; Mosès also acted as the company's salesman. Initial production centered on a single product, which remained the company's only product during its first year of business. Later known as 'Madame 101,' this product was an adjustable wrench, one of the first of its kind, with a distinctive round head and curved cast-iron handle. The product, which remained in the company's catolog into the 1960s, was quickly adopted by the French railroad industry, which was rebuilding after the war.