Production : DIGITIP/UBIFRANCEWriter : Arnaud Delage - Design : ATOLLCopyrigth DIGITIP/UBIFRANCE - All rights of reproduction reservedPrinted in France - October 2004 - Photography : Airbus, Alcan-Cebal, Bonduelle,Daher, Dior, International Paper, JP Gaultier, LNE, Mecaplastic, Saint Gobain, Saint André Plastique, Suez Environnement, Sidel, Smurfit, Thimonnier

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Wrapped up

in France

ERRATUM

Following an incident in the assembly of the texts and photographs, an error slipped on page 11.

The packing of a driveshaft - which received a star of « L’Ondulé » in 2003 - (photo page 10) has been developed by the company CELTA, Group Rossmann and not by the company Saïca Emballage, as could let it think the text located on page 11

BE IT THE INVENTION OF THE FOOD CAN,

THE SPREAD OF HYPERMARKETS

OR THE GROWTH OF THE FRAGRANCE INDUSTRY,

FRANCE HAS BUILT UP A UNIQUE OFFERING IN EUROPE

THANKS TO ITS DIVERSITY,

COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS, KNOW-HOW

AND STAFF TRAINING PROGRAMMES.

W r a p p e d u p

i n F r a n c e

2 3

Contents

Wrapped up in France p 2

Preserving, storing, shipping and selling:

crossing the packing chain p 4

Marketing, made in France p 6

Logistics: tailored solutions p 10

State-of-the-art technology p 12

Eco-design and sustainable development p 15

Traceability for tomorrow’s packaging p 16

Guaranteed quality p 17

Packing in France:

a concentrated and diversified industrial fabric p 18

SMEs and SMIs grouped

in regional competence centres p 20

Training: Cross-fertilising skills p 22

Whether in protecting, preserving, storing or selling foods,

France has the broadest range of know-how in Europe.

The reason for this is no accident and can be explained

by history. France has been a granary and key trading

crossroads in Europe, developing infrastructures

that have made the packing and packaging sector the

country’s eighth largest industry,

ahead of the aeronautical industry!

From the invention of canned food

by Nicolas Appert in 1809 to the spread

of hypermarkets in the 1960s and the growth

of the fragrance industry in the 1930s,

France has patiently built up

a broad base of packing and packaging expertise.

Its buoyant agro-industry has led France

to introduce technologies, plant and machinery

to preserve and transport food products.

Wines and fragrances have been the source

of success for French glass-makers

(Saint Gobain, BSN, Pochet du Courval).

The rapid expansion of hypermarkets and self-service

retailing from the 1960s have been strong spurs.

In 1960, Lesieur successfully launched

and distributed the world’s first plastic oil bottle.

It did this by developing its own in-house techniques,

expertise and machinery, giving rise,

a few years later, to the Sidel company,

the world’s leading manufacturer of plastic bottle

producing machines and undisputed technology leader.

The shelves of our supermarkets tell this story

again and again. Would the milk carton and its spin-off,

the fruit juice, soup or wine carton, achieve the success

it has without the hypermarket invented by Carrefour?

In addition to history and geography,

technique and logistics and then marketing

have made packaging the product’s silent vendor

on the shelf. The creation across France of packing centres

that serve as incubators for enterprises

with overlapping know-how and the introduction

of a training tool that is unrivalled worldwide

has made France the packing

and packaging leader in Europe.

The lead time between pickingvegetables in the fields

and their delivery to the factory is under two hours.

At the factory the vegetables are inspected and prepared (de-stoned and scrubbed).

Between the different canning phases, the cans are routed by conveyor belts. Here we see cans of carrots being routed to the juicing station.

The peas are then sorted by weight or size to accuratelymatch the quantity of vegetablesaccording to the specifications.

The peas are fed into the size grader

for initial sorting.

After cooling, the unlabelled white cans are stored on pallets in the warehouse. At this point, the cans undergo numerous quality tests which immobilise the inventory for 10 days.

It is only during the order preparation phase that the cans are removed from their pallets and taken to a different area of the factory where they are fed on to the labelling line. At this time, labels bearing all the compulsory legal and practical information are stuck around the body of the cans.

The cans will then be routed to the packing area for packaging and plastic filming before being put on pallets.

At this time they are loaded on trucks and taken to the retailers’ distribution centres before being routed

to sales points and placed on the shelves.

Once in the store, the eye-catching visuals and practical gizmos such as the easy opening system

will seduce the consumers.4 5

10h00 am11h30 am

12h30 pm

12h32 pm

12h34 pm

13h45 pm

D +10 D+11

D+14 and beyond

c r o s s i n g t h e p a c k i n g c h a i n

Once filled, the cans are crimped by bending and clamping their middle and bottom. Proper sealing assures the preservation their contents. Here we see a visual crimpingcheck being performed.The best before date is then marked on the cans with an ink jet before they undergo sterilisation at 130°C which assures both the cooking and preservation of the vegetables.

D+12

The vegetables are then inserted into steel cansmanufactured by specialised enterprises.

12h36 pm

During juicing, a special juice is poured on the vegetables to release their taste.

12h35 pm

Here is an insight into a normal day

at the packing plant owned by Bonduelle,

France’s leading food preserver.

Packing spans all stages

of the food chain,

from picking green peas

to the consumer’s plate:

plastic bags used in fields,

cans to preserve

and store the food,

labelling to inform, attract consumers

and monitor their buying habits,

unitisation with fibreboard cartons

and film wrapping

to optimise shelf layout

and promotions,

palletisation to streamline logistics.

Preserving, storing, shipping and sell ing:

‘Stack them high and sell them low!’ This used to be the underlying principle

in mass retailing. It reflected the important role of packaging in modern

commerce. As merchandising techniques have grown more sophisticated one

thing remains constant: products must sell themselves. But to successfully sell

themselves packaging remains the only way for a product to truly stand out on

shelves filled with thousands of references.

That is the theory. In practice, this is a complex task. Giving products a

distinctive identity must be weighed against cost, available industrial plant

and machinery, content/container compatibility, logistics and today’s

environmental imperatives. Bagged vegetables to fragrance bottles not to

speak of beer bottles are simply a few examples of French expertise.

These few examples are worth more than a long speech.

Place a bag of fresh vegetables into themicrowave and cook for a few minutes.Open and taste steam-cooked, grease-free,preservative-free vegetables. Saint AndréPlastique, a SME in Normandy, specialised inplastic bags and sachets, recently patentedCook’in SAP, a processes whereby theplastic packing acts as a pressure cooker.

Fruit and vegetables 'breathe', but this“breathing” depends on the variety, size(weight and quantity) and outside conditions.Many variables must be mastered by theplastic packaging to preserve the product inkeeping with modern retailing andconsumption demands.

With cooking the constraints increase: thesachet must perform like an intelligentpressure cooker and release steam on aprogrammed setting.

This is a carefully developed advancedtechnique. SAP Fresh, another patent filed in1999, initially enabled products packaged inplastic bags, by controlling the way food'breathes', to significantly extend its ediblelife (by 30 to 50%). The logistical flexibilitymade possible by these developmentsbenefits the entire sector, from producers toconsumers and of course retailers

T H E S I L E N T I T E M O N T H E S H E L F

Natural cooking t h a n k s t o t h e p l a s t i c b a g

With its shiny metal andmodern look, plus its six-colouroffset printing capabilities, thealuminium bottle is gainingground in liquid packagingtoday.

A pioneer in this field, Alcan-Cebal began producing

aluminium bottles in 1996 to meet the need of avodka producer eager to stand out among thecompetition. After conducting a study, Alcan-Cebalused its know-how in aerosols and adapted themanufacturing process to produce a bottle inkeeping with the requirements of the filling lines.

The technology is identical to that used foraerosol containers. The difference lies inshaping the aluminium cylinder('conification'). Special tooling has beendeveloped to produce a 'neck' like a bottlewhile its dimensions have been chosen toaccommodate standard capsules. The aimis to enable filling and sealing on standardpackaging lines.

This still emerging market is quicklygrowing under the impetus of Alcan-Cebalwhich has deployed human resourceswith a dedicated R&D department andproduction facility. The markets havediversified: spirits and other cocktaildrinks, beer and now wine and olive oil.Market leaders such as Heineken as wellas small operators, along the lines ofbrewer Duyck with its Jeanlain brand, are bolstering their image and striking a difference through this activity.

A l u m i n i u m

bottles

6 7

Marketing m a d e i n F r a n c e

On a fragrance market in which newlaunches have been considerably vampedup, brands are increasing limited editions toincrease purchase opportunities. The bottleand content remain unchanged; thepackaging decor will support thesedevelopments.

Following a shiny and glossy gilt finish,J'adore de Dior will unveil at Christmas thisyear transparent logos revealing the palegold content on a mat gold background in ablend of materials and lights. Launched withEau d'Eté by Jean-Paul Gaultier, therobotised 3D technology developed by Solevhas enabled this economic metal coatingsystem to be introduced to meet newdemand.

The decor around the bottle is producedusing a laser detection system and/or withcameras to match the correct programme tothe tolerances of the glass to prevent decormisalignment because the main problem iseliminating dimensional discrepancies.

An innovative technology is today integratedinto the company’s standard workflow.

Thanks to hundreds of thousands of partsperformed for the first two developments,the special process will be fitted into thestandard top of the range offering with anattractive cost / innovation ratio, especiallysince the result is extremely innovative withmajor impact on the market.

A 3D robotised laser f o r s p e c i a l p r o d u c t i o n r u n s

H a r n e s s i n g g l a s s f o r s m a l l - s c a l e

productionIn competition with plastic on the soft drinksand beer markets, the glass-making sector, aheavy industry, is now turning its attention tomedium or small scale production.

Saint Gobain has modified its productionplant and machinery accordingly. Its 'doublegob' machines, designed for largeproduction, have been converted into'Tandem' machines to produce two differentmodels. This problem is of particular concernin the wine industry where glass is a keyelement because of its image, where eachbrand and location, tells a different storythrough its bottle but where, given thedecline in consumption, each centimecounts.

Saint Gobain, which devotes 8 to 10% of itssales volume to development spending, hasdeveloped a technique to reconcile this needfor a specific identity with the need to lowercost. The technique involves the use of aninsert which engraves a coat-of-arms or logopositioned on the shoulder of the bottle bysimply changing the plate in the mould. The spending is minimal, only 10 to 20% ofwhat a special bottle costs to produce.

8 9

Marketing m a d e i n F r a n c e

Logistics: t a i l o r e d s o l u t i o n s

Special-purpose p a c k i n g

A c u s t o m i s e d

offering

10 11

Specialised in services related to theaerospace industry, the family group DaherLhotellier achieves 15% of its business, i.e.sales of some 100 million euros, in thedesign and development of packing to shipand store avionic or electronic parts, landinggears, aircraft sections, missiles, helicoptersand satellites and radioactive waste. Cost,sensitivity or fragility of transported materialsrequires meeting a large number ofmechanical, heat and climatic constraintsand stress. No less than 70 engineers areassigned to designing this special-purposepackaging with a unit cost that can be ashigh as 500,000 euros!

An amount that seems excessive but stillcommensurate with the cost of shipment:millions and millions of euros, if not more, for a satellite.

The Daher group is the leading Europeanexpert in this business and the only one withexpertise in all manufacturing technologies:from wooden crates to metal compositerotor-moulded plastic containers that aresealed and pressurised. Simple or complex,non-returnable or to-and-fro packaging, allthese formats are tested and approved bythe LNE (Laboratoire National d’Essais)(National Testing Laboratory).

The Daher group, which works for both civiland military aviation as well as for thenuclear industry, recently acquired Solay, aBritish company, and will develop andmanufacture the packing for Rolls-Royceaircraft engines.

The paperboard box is one of the mostobvious packing formats. However,corrugated board has diversified andexpanded applications of unit packaging inindustrial packing, from in-store displays tologistical modules.

Here, the packing of portions of Roquefortcheese in complex shapes that cannot beexposed alone on the shelf (without suitablefittings, their shape precludes an attractivepresentation). The packing developed byInternational Paper, fulfils a two-foldfunction: transport of the products andattractive point-of-sale display.

Its manual or automated forms benefit fromrounded shapes. In the stores, its pre-cutsystem is intuitively operated by a singlemovement, without a cutter.

On the shelf, it offers a printed visual across180° while the positions are perfectlymaintained. Packing car shock absorberswith different diameters and lengths is ournext example.This fastening box developedby Saica Emballage adjusts to the productdiameters while separating it from the wallsof the packing. This box replaces manuallycut boxes for each form of shock absorberand can be rapidly assembled thanks to anadjustment jig. The packaging enables theshock absorbers to be grouped by categoryto significantly cut the number of packingSKUs.

Corrugated board is also a precious aid atpoints of sale, in factories and on logisticsplatforms. Smurfit Socar offers an 'ultra light'Ecopayload cardboard pallet designed toprepare orders on the site of shippers for allproducts between storage and distribution,up until placement on the shelf. Its lightweight facilitates handling and reduces therisk of accidents at the workplace. Byreducing management costs, inventoriesand damage to packing and shippedproducts, this pallet is environmentallyfriendly and produces savings at the source.

In 20 years Mecaplastic has asserted itsposition as a European expert in thermo-forming and sealing and has quadrupled itssales which today exceed 35 million euros.These results are largely due to itsinnovation capability. No less than twentypeople work in three design offices andapply for patents each year. The companyhas won several packaging prizes.

Mecaplastic has also made its mark on themarket as a expert in protective atmospherepackaging (vacuum and gas re-injection). Itwas the first company to succeed inpackaging ultra-fresh pastry in a protectiveatmosphere with a 21-day preservation timecompared with 3 days previously.

Recently with the 'SlicePak', it has combineda pallet-loadable 'skin type' presentation withsuperior preservation provided by theprotective atmosphere packaging for cutproducts such as salt-cured meats andcheeses.

A t m o s p h e r e p a c k a g i n g specialist

State-of-the-art t e c h n o l o g y

Doypack® … this trademark today generical-ly denotes the flat bottom bags that standup. Juices, sauces, pet foods, cooked dishes, drinking yoghurts… almost all foodsectors have adapted this type of format.Even the cosmetics industry is converting.

A Lyon-based manufacturer, Thimonnier, oneof the inventors of the sewing machine, isbehind this success. A rain-coat maker, itchanged over its production lines to meetthe request of a customer who wanted toproduce plastic mackintoshes.

The welding clamp and PVC replaced thesewing needle. Sewing become welding andoffered other prospects for the company, inparticular in packaging of liquids. In 1962, Louis Doyen invented and patented the firstsoft sack with an inflated bottom calledDoypack®.

Although this new packaging was not theimmediate success hoped for, it is boomingtoday since the patent has entered the publicdomain. However, the company is still one of the first to benefit. For the last 40 years, it has perfected its technologies. Today, 20 billion bags are produced on its machineseach year and Thimonnier now exports overhalf its production around the world.

Thimonnier : f r o m s e w i n g m a c h i n e s t o t h e D o y p a c k ® f o o d b a g

12 13

Expert in high-speed plastic bottling, Sidelcontinues to innovate in order to convertnew markets to the virtues of PET bottles.Sidel is expanding just as fast with its asepticfilling for fruit juices and especially arevolutionary technology giving the PETmaterial protective barrier properties. PET istypically permeable to the interchangebetween gases.

While this property does not interfere withwaters or soft drinks, it rules out packagingof more sensitive beverages such as beersince its organoleptic properties deterioratetoo quickly to allow distribution in traditionalretail channels.

For some ten years, on all continents,brewers sought to solve the thorny issue ofpackaging their drinks in plastic bottles:improve barrier properties without increasingthe unit cost of each bottle in a fullyoperational industrial process. Sidel will bethe first company to achieve this with itsActis technology.

This technological feat involves producinginside a standard single layer PET bottle adeposit of highly hydrogenated amorphouscarbon obtained from a gas safe for contactwith food, acetylene, induced to the plasmastate. This material required to deposit thelayer is introduced into the bottle via avacuum to obtain cold plasma compatiblewith the heat resistance of the packaging.

Driven by an energy input by microwaves,the acetylene breaks down into a cluster ofseparated particles, ions and electrons.Inside the bottle container, the particles endtheir trajectory against the internal wall. Thesudden loss of energy during impact causesa direct return to the solid state forming aninterior barrier layer of highly hydrogenatedamorphous carbon with a thickness of onetenth of a micron. This plasma treatment isperformed by a machine installed downlinefrom the PET blower with a design similar toits high-speed rotary machines.

A time-honoured, universal drink, beer is amarket with fabulous prospects. Launched in1999, Actis offers an ideal entry point. Sincethen, the Normandy enterprise has neverlooked back. In 2003, the manufacturer’steams, present in three continents (Europe,America, Asia), have designed 5,000 newformats of PET bottles and have produced15,000 blowing moulds. Market leader and akey benchmark, Sidel machines areoperating at high speed in the plants of theworld’s leading operators of PET packageddrinks.

H i g h - s p e e d t e c h n o l o g y from Sidel Eco-design

a n d s u s t a i n a b l e

d e v e l o p m e n t

Each year, French consumers use onehundred billion packed items. Essential forpreservation, storage and shipment ofproducts, they all become waste once theirfunctions have been performed.

For the last few years, the issue of the fateof packaging items is an issued that hasbeen reviewed by European and nationalauthorities. The packaging industry has alsobecome aware of the need to address thisissue.

A review body assembling packagingcompanies, producers of consumers,retailers and consumers, the CNE (ConseilNational de l’Emballage / National Council forPackaging) has set a priority: to develop apragmatic approach to prevent packagingwaste. This deliberate and pioneeringinitiative is in phase with the 94/62 EUDirective.

Collection of information every three years(since 1994) by the CNE and ADEME(Agence de l'Environnement et de laMaîtrise de l'Energie / French Environmentand Energy Management Agency)demonstrates the progress made on keymarkets. For yogurts, the increase inconsumption should have generated agrowth of 15,000 tons of packaging in 1997;in 2003 it was only 3,000 tons. To encouragereduction at the source and promote eco-design for packaging, the CNE publishesand distributes a catalogue of key initiativesin this area. Examples show that there aremany ways and means to prevent waste and fit into the phases of the product-packaging cycle.

Advances in product design (miniaturisation,concentration) and packaging materials(lighter weight, gains in materials duringmanufacture) are the most evident. Changesto packaging processes, dimensional andlogistical optimisation, albeit lessspectacular, are sources of substantialprogress. Innovations such as eco refills arealso emerging.

A combination of the above factors enablesmajor savings. Collectively, the 98 examplesanalysed in the last catalogue alone revealedsavings of 28,450 tons of packagingmaterials, a cut in shipping volume of107,679 pallets and 3,263 fewer trucks onthe road. If all commodity producers wouldcommit to such streamlining, the benefit tothe environment would be considerable.

A priority f o r F r e n c h i n d u s t r y

14 15

�

�

16 17

Identification and follow-up of products has been essential. Traceability is a futurechallenge with many applications: foodsafety, follow-up of the supply chain, eradi-cating fraud and counterfeiting.

Today, bar codes are printed on 30,000 bil-lion products worldwide. Tomorrow, micro-detectors will identify all the events duringthe product’s life cycle, from design todestruction: temperature (control of thecold food chain), impacts, humidity, coun-terfeiting.

Current development is focused on radio-frequency labels with active electronicswhich offer wider scope than the bar codein their ability to contain a lot of informationand to communicate quickly and reliably. To rise to this technical challenge, a Frenchregion, the Drôme, has sought to bundle itsknow-how in this area.

A ‘Traceability Competence Centre’ initiatedby the ARATEM (Agence Rhône-Alpes pourla Maîtrise des Technologies de Mesure)(Rhône-Alpes Agency for Expertise in

Measurement Technologies), an associationgrouping industrial enterprises and laborato-ries), was officially opened in 2002 inValence. It aims to promote and develop the production of intelligent labels based onRFID (Radio-frequency Identification) tech-nology.

In addition to synergising skills and settingstandards, the traceability division assistsenterprises in evaluating or integratingtraceability systems. Shipment or salespackaging is set to become the support for these intelligent labels; the emergence of this centre of competence guaranteescompetitiveness and technological excel-lence in future years.

Traceabil ity

f o r t o m o r r o w ’ s p a c k a g i n g

Guaranteed q u a l i t y

How can we ensure that a packaging solu-tion is relevant to the market, that it meetsdifferent codes and standards, and foodquality criteria or is suitable for recycling?

A member of the IAPRI (InternationalAssociation of Packaging ResearchInstitutes), LNE (Laboratoire Nationald’Essais / National Testing Laboratory) ismaking its mark as the technical partner ofall packaging professionals : manufacturers,users, packagers, logistics operators andretailers.

Its services cover all packing materials:plastics, complex materials, metals, glass,paper-cardboard, wood as well as full andcomplete packing and packing accessories.

Evaluation takes into account all aspects ofpacking quality: safety, product preserva-tion, container/content compatibility,matching the manufacturing and packingprocess, resistance to distribution con-straints, user-friendliness, waste collectionand recycling.

LNE, which is also a training organisation,recently became the first organisation tooffer manufacturers of packaging for foodproducts HACCP certification (HazardAnalysis and Critical Control Point). The authority of its auditors was recentlyrecognised by the hazards prevention cen-tre for the entire packaging sector.

www.lne.fr/

A future c h a l l e n g e

The Laboratoire N a t i o n a l d ’ E s s a i s

Key f igures for the sector

Plastics Paper Glass Métal Wood TOTAL Packaging PrintedCardboard machines packaging**

Number of companies* 299 309 21 56 232 917 81 50

Personnel 35 911 33 691 12 929 11 063 11 522 105 116 7263 3186

Sales (excl. tax) (€M) 6 105 5 761 2 476 2 495 1 482 18 319 1567 353,2

Exports (€M) 1 279 447 597 684 351 3 358 991 24,4

Investments (€M) 383 218 157 77 39 874 25 14,2Source: SESSI – 2003 annual survey of companies * companies employing 20 people or more ** 20 to 499 employees

Packing in France : a c o n c e n t r a t e d a n d d i v e r s i f i e d i n d u s t r i a l f a b r i c

Packaging, like other industrial sectors, hasnot escaped the globalisation of trade andcommerce. Mergers and acquisitions are thecurrent trends. Capital moves at great speed.But while flags change, the masts whichsupport them remain solidly rooted onFrench territory, an ideal bridgehead forserving the whole of Western Europe.

While capital moves, industrial sites remainstrongly established in France. The mostspectacular financial operations undertakenin France in the last two years bear out thisfact. Pechiney is now owned by Canada’sAlcan, although packaging operations are stillmanaged from France. 'The new AlcanPackaging achieves 49% of its sales turnoverin Europe, its reference market,' saysCharlotte Benardeau, communication director

at Alcan Packaging in France. 'France is anattractive market on which Alcan Packagingis very active with over 30 locations and aheadcount of 34,000 employees in the food,beauty and pharmacy sectors. It is a leader inbeauty and soft packaging'.

Same finding for the Sidel group, specialisedin liquid packaging and filling machines andend-of-line machines with Cermex. Thedivision is today owned by Sweden’s Tetra-Laval and reports to France

Leading packers p r e f e r F r a n c e

A network of diversified SMI-SMEs expert in

dedicated know-how combined with the

European and world-wide base of major groups

located in France, makes a complete, unique

contribution in Europe.

18 19

Whether because of its market openings, its expertise, its know-how and itsconcentrated industrial base in packaging,France is a privileged country.

'For Dupont de Nemours, whose productsand technologies are well geared topackaging in the food, fragrance andcosmetics industries, the location of parentcompanies of major international foodprocessing and cosmetic groups makesFrance a market of major importance',underscores Nicole Lucot Maitrot,communication director at Dupont deNemours France.

Dominique Collin, market and sales directorat Smurfit -Bag-in-Box Epernay draws thesame conclusion. 'France offers an excellentstrategic position since the Epernay plantlocated in the Champagne region at the heartof Western Europe serves the foodprocessing industry in Europe and beyond(50% in exports). We are rooted in the wineindustry in France and export our know-howacross the world.'

'The packaging sector still remains a prioritymarket for the 3M group despite a highlycompetitive international context. Thegroup’s ability to innovate and proposeproducts geared to the current context ofreducing storage costs and waste willcontribute to the growth of our company inthis field', testifies Sophie Rapatel, head ofPress & Public Relations 3M France andLaboratoires 3M Santé.

BrittanyB r e i z p a c k

SMEs and SMIs grouped

i n r e g i o n a l c o m p e t e n c e c e n t r e s

Normandy/PicardyT h e B r e s l e V a l l é y - G l a s s V a l l e y

A host of complementary centres of competence, given

their location and specific profiles, provide a unique structure

for packing SMEs-SMIs in France.

Historically related to champagne and food processing, combining tradition and innovation, the third mostimportant region nationally (after Ile-de-France and Rhône-Alpes) for packaging, Champagne-Ardenneswas the first region to become structured. Created by industrial companies, Packaging Valley regroupsmost enterprises in this sector. From Reims to Troyes over a radius of 250 km, it brings together 230enterprises, employs 11,700 people and posts sales of 1.8 billion euros (10% of the national packagingbusiness), divided as follows: 60% in food processing, 20% in beauty products and as much in capitalgoods. As products globalise and the transport-logistics sector expands, local decision-makers intendedto make packing and packaging a strategic division strongly focused on training and research. The ESIEC(Ecole Supérieure d’Ingénieurs en Emballage et Conditionnement) and CRT (Centre de RechercheTechnologique) demonstrate this.

CRT (Centre de Recherche Technologique) http://www.packagingvalley.com/

The packing competence centre of Arc Atlantique, Atlanpack, has assembled over 400 enterprises since1997 with sales totalling some 2 billion euros. Near the Bordeaux wine-growing and Cognac producingregions, it has historically focused on wines and spirits with a full range from primary packaging (bottles,seals, cases, sachets) to logistical packing (pallets, crates). The Landes forest close by enables it toassemble historical enterprises in the paper, cardboard and wood packing sector. The sector is structuredto offer the entire line of packing services as well as related activities including packaging design. The creation by Atlanpack in 2003 of the Institut National du Design Packaging that groups differentbrands, retailers, manufacturers and designers demonstrates this.

http://www.atlanpack.com/

20 21

Arc Atlantique A t l a n p a c k

Between Normandy and Picardy, the Bresle Valley concentrates 80% of the world production of luxurybottles over a 70 km area. Today, the Bresle Valley is an internationally recognised glass-making centrelabelled "Vallée de la Bresle - Glass Valley" It manufacturers over one billion pieces a year. This centre ofcompetence comprises some sixty enterprises that post annual sales of 550 million euros (75% inexports) and over 6,000 jobs. There are some half a dozen glass-makers, including the world leadersSaint-Gobain Desjonqueres and Pochet du Courval, each with over 1,500 jobs. Upstream, a dynamiccasting sector has been built up whereas downstream there are no less than thirty enterprisesspecialised in bottle finishing.

http://www.flacon-verre.com/

In Brittany, in Western France, in France’s first food processing region and theleading customer of the packing industry (with two thirds of its sales), Breizpackhas assembled, since 1999, 330 enterprises (packing manufacturers, machinemanufacturers, service-providers), turns over 1.1 billion euros in sales andemploys 9,000 people. Bolstered by some 60 new members a year, the networkincludes many plastics extrusion, injection and thermoforming firms such asBolloré or Linpac, paper-cardboard and metal companies such as Franpac as wellas packing machines represented by leading-edge SMEs such as CylorTechnologies.

http://www.breizpack.net

Installed in over 44,000 square km in eight departments, the Rhône Alpes Packaging network enjoys astrategic position at the heart of Western Europe. The second French industrial region, the Rhône-Alpes is logically positioned as the second regional power in packing after the Ile de France region. Some 50% of packing for the food processing industry and one quarter of packing intended for chemicals andcosmetics are produced here. The strength of the local petro-chemical industry has made the Rhône-alpinBassin the cradle of the plastics industry. Out of a total of 900 companies and 29,000 employees in plastics,18 % of the enterprises with 23% of the headcount are specialised in plastic packing in all forms, in termsof materials and finished products (film wrapping, bags and sachets, bottles, jars, sealing). The centre of gravity is at Oyonnax (Ain). 'Plastic Valley' encompasses all related business, especially an impressiveconcentration of cast-makers.

http://www.ra-packaging.asso.fr/

Rhône AlpesR h ô n e A l p e s P a c k a g i n g

The CEPIEC (Centre d’expertises et de promotion des industries del’emballage et du conditionnement) (Centre for Expertise andPromotion of Packing and Packaging Industries) is an associationgrouping 200 industrial operators who in turn cover related activities(logistics, contract packaging, waste treatment) in the East of France.It operates in a range of market segments through partnerships andthe transfer of technological and human skills to optimise theperformance of enterprises in the sector. It also offers access to training courses, symposia and conferences, and to certaintargeted summary information in Dijon, the location of one of thelargest Tetra Pak production sites in France.

http://www.emballer.com/

Burgundy T h e C e p i e c

Champagne-Ardennes T h e P a c k a g i n g V a l l e y

International r e a c h

In higher education, three colleges trainengineers. The most famous is ESIEC (EcoleSupérieure d’Ingénieurs en EmballagePackaging) training packaging engineers inReims. It has only one equivalent worldwide,in the United States, at the University ofMichigan. After establishing itself as abenchmark in France, ESIEC aims tobecome an international benchmark and tohost foreign students by awarding a'Master's' recognised across Europe.

For this purpose it sends delegations tomany international trade fairs. The collegehas already trained Bulgarian, Russian,Swedish, British and Moroccan students andhas sent several of its own students to itsalter ego institution at the University ofMichigan. The percentage of foreignstudents enrolled at ESIEC has recentlyincreased from 10 to 20%.

In the same vein and as part of Europeanharmonisation efforts, Esepac, like Esiec, isexpected to revamp its programme to alsoaward a 'Master's' degree. This is a livingexample of globalisation. The college worksclosely with its equivalent in Belgium andhosts students from Switzerland, Cameroonand Morocco.

The importance of packing design

The packaging industry is the main market for

design agencies in France (with some 90

million euros or 35% of total sales in the

sector according to a study conduced by the

Ministry of Industry in 2001).

Since the new academic year in 2003,

ESEPAC (Ecole Supérieure Européenne du

Packaging) (European Packaging College) has

been offering a new specialisation that is

unique in France and Europe: packaging

DESIGN. Open to students of higher

education, it is intended for future designers,

marketing directors, product managers and

packaging development managers.

During this seven month course, students

study packaging, the graphics chain and put

into practice communication and data

transmission tools such as design software,

prototyping tools and industrial design before

attending a four-month practical training

course..

www.esepac.com

Training courses in packaging and packing werefirst introduced by two pioneering schools: theLycée Jean-Paul Sartre in Bron near Lyon withthe creation in 1982 of advanced technician’scertificate in Packaging, and the University ofReims with the creation in 1987 of an engi-neering diploma in packing and packaging; twoyears later the Ecole d’Ingénieurs en emballage(Packing Engineers’ College) was opened.

Since then, colleges or courses have openedthroughout France offering higher education fortraining engineers and technicians.

Four IUT (Instituts Universitaires de Technologie)in Reims, Avignon, Castres and Evreux havePacking and Packaging Departments (GCE).The IUT in Brest (Brittany) teaches technicaland commercial skills in packing and packagingin the food processing sector (Formapack),whereas in Montpellier, Biopack offers trainingin life products through the interaction betweenproducts and packaging. These institutes pro-vide a two-year course including a 10-weekindustrial placement. These training courses,along with other shorter courses in Lyon, Dijon and Cognac, address the need for middlemanagers.

THE BUOYANT PACKAGING INDUSTRY IN FRANCE

NEEDS ENGINEERS, MANAGERS AND EXPERTS.

A PROGRAMME OF TRAINING

THAT IS UNIQUE IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD

HAS BEEN SET UP TO MEET THIS NEED

Training courses i n p a c k a g i n g a n d p a c k i n g

Training: C r o s s - f e r t i l i s i n g s k i l l s

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Production : DIGITIP/UBIFRANCEWriter : Arnaud Delage - Design : ATOLLCopyrigth DIGITIP/UBIFRANCE - All rights of reproduction reservedPrinted in France - October 2004 - Photography : Airbus, Alcan-Cebal, Bonduelle,Daher, Dior, International Paper, JP Gaultier, LNE, Mecaplastic, Saint Gobain, Saint André Plastique, Suez Environnement, Sidel, Smurfit, Thimonnier

The Ministry of the Economy, Finance and IndustryGeneral Directorate for Industry, Information Technology and the Post Le Bervil - 12, rue Villiot - DIGITIP 5 - 75572 PARIS Cedex 12 - FrancePhone: 33 (0) 1 44 87 17 17 - Fax: 33 (0) 1 53 44 91 35www.industrie.gouv.fr/Francetechfrancetech@industrie.gouv.frcourindus@industrie.gouv.fr

UBIFRANCE The French Agency for International Business Development 10 avenue d'Iéna - 75116 PARIS - FrancePhone: 33 (0) 1 40 73 30 00 - Fax: 33 (0) 1 40 73 39 79 www.ubifrance.fr

Wrapped up

in France