THE FRENCH LEADER IN PACKAGING FOR BAKERIES AND PASTRY SHOPS

Founded in 1850 and located in Saint-Pierre-des-Corps (near Tours), Gault & Frémont is the French leader on the market for the design and manufacturing of cardboard and paper packaging for the bakery and pastry shop sector.

The Gault & Frémont company markets its products to retailers / wholesalers and to key accounts supermarkets, millers, industrial bakery and pastry companies, and companies providing meal services outside the home

2010 turnover : 34.8 million euros

Rémi Boitier
Directeur général

"Our relation with Eurazeo pme is very beneficial: a new look is provided relative to the means for creating value for the company, as well as expertise with regard to external growth. The team spirit is visible and we appreciate a sense of dynamism regarding certain files."

Prospects
The company is pursuing its development strategy based on growth in its historical businesses. To expand its product offer and widen its prospects for business growth, the company recruited a Marketing and Development Director, who concentrated on repositioning three product lines (greaseproof paper, pastry materials and thin baking paper), which have turned out to be commercial successes.

The group also restructured to create growth opportunities. In addition to its historical business as an industrial designer and producer, Gault & Frémont also acts as a distributor and has decided to capitalise on this aspect of its business mix. The company plans to develop this secondary business as a trader in a line of new products (e.g. plastic boxes for macaroons). The expansion of its line of products through trade will enable the company to enlarge its client base and meet more needs. This business is expected to grow rapidly to account for 10% of revenue, as opposed to 4% currently.

Another development focus is the listing in the "away from home food" sector. Gault& Frémont made significant gains in the sector in 2010 by establishing a partnership with La Mie Caline (200 points of sale), offering them boxes with their logos and sustainable development certifications that meet the brand's expectations.

The company also recorded strong international growth (up 20%) thanks to its targeting efforts over the past three years, and also aims for new sources of growth through targeted acquisitions, as illustrated with the purchase of the start-up Bio Food Pack, the leading French manufacturer of greaseproof paper baking moulds. Designed using a renewable raw material (cellulose), the Bio Food Pack moulds are entirely biodegradable and compostable.

Sustainable Development

In 2009, the company set up a Sustainable Development Committee to come up with ideas that promote company unity. In 2010, the Management Committee decided to formalise its commitment to social responsibility by signing the United Nations Global Compact in December and defining a Sustainable Development Charter. Over the past three years, Gault & Frémont has been implementing a programme to reduce and treat solid waste. As a result, it recorded a significant decrease in its non-hazardous industrial waste (NHIW), earning it a nomination in the "large company" category for the 2010 Waste Trophy held by the association Touraine Propre. Its site is now FSC- and PEFC-certified, which guarantees that its paper and cardboard are made with wood from sustainably managed forests. The company also obtained the Imprim'Vert certification.

Regarding the social policy, it is based on a specific management method: "responsibility-oriented organisations", implemented through the programme "PIPAC" (Projet Individuel de Professionnalisation et d'Acquisition des Compétences or individual professionalisation and expertise project) since 2008.

Due to its business, Gault & Frémont pays much attention to the food safety and has initiated the implementation of the HACCP management system, a hygiene management method used in the manufacture of food packaging.

At last, the company works with schools and supports employees who volunteer with organisations.

Taking into account Sustainable Development has had a very positive impact, starting with life at the company (drop of more than 50% in work-related accidents, halving their severity, reduction of 25% in absenteeism), but also bring new contracts.