Symbiose, the electronic factory of the future in France

LACROIX has embarked on an ambitious project to build a plant at the cutting edge of technology that respects the environment and is designed to ensure the fulfillment of its employees.

The SYMBIOSE project, led by the Electronics activity of LACROIX, relies in particular on the power of an ecosystem of recognised industrial experts who support the project. The future plant also draws its strength from its location in the Pays de la Loire as it will be based in Beaupréau, just a few kilometers from the current plant. The aim is to build a new French flagship of electronics, a symbol of industrial renewal in France with a European or even a global reach.

The Electronics activity of LACROIX has begun the process of transforming its production model to align with its Smart Industry strategy. We will therefore be able to increase our competitiveness in the traditional markets for industrial electronic systems and meet the specific challenges of promising new markets such as mobility and industrial IoT.

The plant will be delivered at the end of 2021.

Follow the building of the future factory in real time

From the first shovel blow to the inauguration of the finished factory, observe the progress of the site.

View more images of the works

Discover the architect’s view of the site in video

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The 3 pillars of the project

Our ambition is to create the factory of the future: human, digitised, smart, automated and environmentally friendly.

The project is based on 3 main pillars:

Industrial innovation
Creation of France’s first future-facing electronics factory
Sustainable and responsible innovation
Smart, ecological construction with high energy performance
Social innovation
People at the heart of the project, in a networked building open to its ecosystem

Smart Stories

Videos, articles, podcasts... Discover the Smart Stories associated with the Symbiose project.

Explained Yes to Symbiose, the electronics factory of the future – Episode 3 Stronger Together

Explained The future alongside our customers, by Alban-Thomas Beduneau Carte Blanche Podcast, Episode #9

Explained Web-series Yes to Symbiose, Episode 2 Industrial innovation

Explained Web-series Yes to Symbiose, Episode 1 The birth

Explained Yes to Symbiose, the factory of the future : LACROIX launches its web series focusing on the electronics industry

Our key figures

icone-1 — €100 million turnover (medium-term forecast)

Symbiose, step by step

Follow the key stages of this strategic 4.0 project for the company, the region and the electronics industry in France.

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The project to build a new 4.0 electronics factory is a very exciting challenge for the Electronics activity of LACROIX teams, but also for all the stakeholders in the project, namely our industrial partners and the institutional partners that support us.

Eric Meynet
Operational Excellence Manager & Symbiose Project Manager, Electronics activity of LACROIX

July 2021

1 year of building work later…

What could be better than a timelapse to see how a construction site is progressing? Discover in this video the evolution of the building of Symbiose, our future French electronics plant!

Things have happened in a year in Beaupréau-en-Mauges in Maine-et-Loire (France)…

February 2021

Bruno Le Maire’s visit to our French plant

Bruno Le Maire, the French minister of the economy, finance and renewal, visited the plant in Saint-Pierre-Montlimart and met with the on-site teams on Tuesday 9 February. His visit focused on relocalising French industry, jobs in electronics and the many stakes of the factory of the future.

Along with the LACROIX teams, he then went to Beaupréau to lay the founding stone of SYMBIOSE, which was symbolically represented by the first oak tree on the plant’s property.

CHECK OUT THE SMART STORY

I firmly believe that we can re-industrialise our country. That is the goal of our renewal plan, which finances localisation of new productions in France. France Relance is already in progress, not least thanks to our talented manufacturers. LACROIX, which is building a new 4.0 plant in Maine-Et-Loire, is evidence of this. The stakes are to build true chains of added value which will create jobs in our region.

Bruno Le Maire

The French minister of the economy, finance and renewal

November 2020

Tower crane assembly

The work of our electronics factory of the future still goes on!
New step in the construction: the tower crane assembly with a 60m high boom. Enough to get dizzy…

View images of the start of tower crane assembly:
August 2020

First shovel blow

In the sun of Beaupréau (Pays de la Loire, France), construction of the new factory began this summer with levelling works.

View images of the start of the project:

This is a big step for us! From now until this autumn, the teams on site will prepare the foundations and start the structural work.

Eric Meynet

Operational Excellence Manager & Symbiose Project Manager, Electronics activity of LACROIX
June 2020
Behind the scenes of a rich institutional and industrial ecosystem

To build the electronics factory of the future, Electronics activity and LACROIX are surrounded by a rich ecosystem that creates new partnership models.
- Symbiose, a new model for collaboration?
  Committed to this large-scale collective project, the Pays de la Loire region, Schneider Electric and Orange Business Services are working together towards a new model of collaboration.
  check out the Smart Story
- Symbiose and BPI France: a new financing model for Industry 4.0 projects?
  To support the development of Symbiose, LACROIX and BPI France are investing in the creation of a joint venture, financing that illustrates industrial renewal in France.
  check out the SMART STORY
- Symbiose, an alliance of high technology and regional integration
  The future factory’s regional integration is an essential component of this project, as shown by the partnerships signed with local actors such as Mauges Communauté and the agencies PVA Architecture and Essor Ingénierie.
  check out the Smart Story
February 2020
Launch of employee working groups

In July 2019, an internal survey collected proposals from employees on the services expected in the new factory, the inclusion of environmental factors and the 4.0 solutions envisaged to improve quality of life at work.

Following the positive results regarding the social innovation axis of the Symbiose project (more than 1,800 opinions given), 3 working groups were set up:
- Food service
- Outdoor spaces
- Break and meeting rooms
By integrating cross-cutting themes of waste management and employee services, these different working groups are tasked with devising the outline of the future plant. This collaborative approach highlights the involvement and commitment of the teams in this project.
February 2020

Bpifrance joins LACROIX’s Symbiose project

The SPI fund (managed by Bpifrance) and LACROIX are jointly investing €25 million to create a 4.0 industrial joint venture. Through this new unit, the various players aim to accelerate the transition from the current industrial site of the Electronics activity to the industry of the future.

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We are very pleased to support the deployment of a 4.0 production site in Maine-et-Loire, with LACROIX.

Eric Lecomte

Senior Investment Director, Bpifrance
January 2020

Choice of architectural firm PVA and Essor Engineering

After several months of studies, LACROIX has finally chosen the architecture firm PVA to build its new 4.0 factory planned for 2021. This is an exciting challenge for the architectural firm PVA and for the prime contractor supporting them, Essor Engineering.

VIEW THE PRESS RELEASE

Working on the Symbiose project represents a wonderful opportunity. First of all, we are delighted to contribute to the expansion of a regional business which is now a highly regarded mid-cap company. Furthermore, innovation is not just one criteria among many: it underpins the entire project, pushing us to reassess our thinking and go a step further in terms of our solutions and our way of working.

Thomas Martial

Symbiose project supervisor at Essor Ingénierie
October 2019
Official launch of Symbiose

With €25 million in projected investments and 19,000 m², the Symbiose project embodies strong convictions:
- by working with and opening up to cutting-edge and ambitious partners, we demonstrate that the French electronics industry still has a promising future
- by choosing Beaupréau as our base and partnering with Mauges Communauté, we show that our Pays de la Loire region is a source of wealth and innovation for businesses
- by putting teams back at the heart of change and integrating current environmental challenges, we ensure that the industry of tomorrow will be ecological and human-oriented.
I am delighted to confirm the official launch of our new factory 4.0 in France, in Beaupréau (49). This new stage rewards the commitment and effort of the Electronics activity of LACROIX teams and those of our partners, and is the continuation of the “Future Industry Showcase” recognition we won for our factory in Saint-Pierre-Montlimart, in 2017.

Vincent Bedouin

Chairman and CEO of LACROIX
June 2019

Choice of the municipality of Beaupréau for the installation of Symbiose 

On 26 June 2019, LACROIX and the representatives of Mauges Communauté announced to the teams of the current Saint-Pierre-Montlimart plant which location had been chosen for the future 4.0 electronics factory. The choice of Beaupréau is guided by the wealth of the Mauges region: attractiveness, competitiveness and skilled labour, while keeping the human dimension and proximity to the current teams at the heart of the project.

Check out the SMART STORY

This stage is crucial for finalising the design and site conditions with the architects.

Stéphane Klajzyngier

Managing Director, Electronics activity of LACROIX
April 2019
LACROIX is part of a strategic co-innovation partnership with Orange to experiment with 5G

At the Orange Business Summit 2019, we announced the strategic co-innovation partnership with Orange to explore, as of today, the uses of 5G that could be deployed within Symbiose.

Two main cases of 5G usage will be tested:
- the secure universal data network
- the technical management of buildings
Check out the SMART STORY
January 2019

LACROIX is joined by Microsoft, Inventy and PTC to deploy AI in its future electronics factory Symbiose 

Cutting-edge partners are joining the Symbiose project. Microsoft, Inventy and PTC will bring their know-how in artificial intelligence (AI) to real-time production monitoring, predictive and error correction analysis, and production line efficiency benchmarking.

Their solutions will allow the analysis of a huge amount of variable data during the production of electronic boards, such as temperature or humidity. We will therefore be able to anticipate any errors before they occur.

Emmanuel Thommerel

VP IT, Electronics activity of LACROIX
November 2018

Launch of a feasibility study

To build an electronics factory of the future that integrates both the requirements of industry 4.0, environmental issues and our teams’ fulfilment, the company launched a feasibility study.

Check out the SMART STORY