Industry 4.0: LACROIX Electronics is building its factory of the future in Atlantic France

This is a first in France for years, and it is happening in Atlantic France: the establishment of a new electronics factory. With this €32.5 million project called Symbiose, the LACROIX Group is paving the way to industry 4.0.

Construction work started last summer in Beaupréau-en-Mauges, Atlantic France, and the new industrial site should be completed by the end of 2021. The factory will make use of cutting edge technology, be respectful of the environment and designed to favour its employees development. 

With Symbiose, LACROIX Electronics stands out as the French flagship of electronics and plans to become the symbol of industrial renewal in France, with European and even global influence.

Strategic location in a land of industry

Location is everything for the LACROIX Group, created in Nantes in 1936, and it is therefore Beaupréau-en-Mauges that was chosen to host the new factory.

• Located at the heart of the Mauges, a dynamic territory in the industrial region Atlantic France,
• Proximity to the former site (based 8 km away, in Montrevault-sur-Èvre) and which allows for 460 jobs and relations with regional partners to be maintained,
• An establishment in a flourishing industrial zone, close to main roads leading to Nantes and Angers, and where there are nurseries, restaurants and hotels.

A factory combining three fields of innovation

With an investment of €32.5 million (including a contribution of €15 million from Bpifrance) and 19,000 sqm of surface area, this jewel of technology should allow LACROIX Electronics to increase its current turnover from €68 million to €100 million. 

More than a factory, Symbiose is a market leader in the industry of the future (also called 4.0) and relies on three forms of innovation.

Industrial innovation

The ambition is simple: the LACROIX Group intends to build the first electronic factory of the future from start to finish, a pledge of excellence and industrial renewal in France.

Sustainable and responsible innovation 

In addition to the objectives of digitalisation and industrial automation, the desire is to create a green factory. The design will therefore take into account the well-being of employees, energy management, optimising the flow of incoming and outgoing processes, data security, flexibility and scalability of the site… 

Social innovation 

The sustainable component of the project obviously includes a human component, which is why Symbiose places people at the heart of the project. Thus, innovation responds as much to economic imperatives as to the quality of life for the LACROIX Group employees.