JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #39 - March/April 2008 - 12

COMPANIES COMPANIES Epsilon Composite: 20 years in business, 80% exports In its barely 20-year existence, Epsilon Composite, based in the Médoc region of France, has carved out a niche in the global market for pultruded carbon profiles and today derives 80% of its turnover from exports. A genuine success story! 2007 marked a turning point in the relatively short history of Epsilon Composite. First of all, it celebrated the 20th anniversary of its foundation. It also created a second business unit, Epsilon Rollers, opened an office in Tokyo, Japan, and won a regional trophy from the INPI (French National Industrial Property Institute). pultrusion had been applied to glass fibre and not to carbon fibre. Now, the technical challenge is paying off. The company now employs 140 persons, and the 2007 turnover amounted to 15 M€. A diversified activity In 2002, the company diversified and began manufacturing technical rollers for machines in the industries of plastic film, textiles and non-woven fabrics, paper, printing and electronic components. This meant that the company was able to expand into the field of “ready-to-use” end products. The Rollers business now accounts for 10% of company activity. To clearly signal its product portfolio while underlining its development, Epsilon Composite adopted a new visual identity in 2007 which clearly identifies, alongside the parent company, the activities of Epsilon Pultrusion and Epsilon Rollers. A packed history Created in 1987 by Stéphane Lull and “a bunch of pals”, Epsilon Composite is now, 20 years on, a world leader in its sector: that of pultruded carbon profiles (tubes, rods, flat laminates, etc.). These pultruded carbon profiles have applications in a wide variety of sectors: tripods, sports & leisure, boatbuilding, automotive, building & construction, wind energy, textiles, agriculture, and so on. In 2007, Epsilon produced around 2 million linear metres of profiles using over 230 tonnes of carbon. The stocks of carbon amount to a maximum of 3 to 4 months of production needs. Epsilon uses PAN-based and pitch-based fibres. Yet it took nearly 10 years of effort by the company before production really took off. This is because it had been no easy task to make a mark with these new products, and only niche markets initially showed any interest. Back then, An eye firmly focused on the international horizon It is from its base in Gaillan, in the Médoc region, some 80 km north-west of Bordeaux, that Epsilon Composite set out to conquer the world. This just goes to show therefore that, however provincial your roots, if you’ve the will to go out and conquer new markets, as the Epsilon team did, the world can be your oyster. Today, 80% of the company’s activity is achieved abroad, including 30% in Japan and 25% in Germany. Recently, at the end of 2007, the company opened a permanent office in Tokyo. While the Japanese market is difficult, it is also the symbol of the company’s success. It has taken a great deal of effort on the part of the entire team to find a foothold and develop its business there. A sustained R&D policy The Epsilon Composite adventure cannot be divorced from its R&D. The company’s creation is built more upon a technical challenge than on dedication to a specific market. Back in 1987, carbon was not automatically associated with pultrusion. This is no longer the case today. From the start, the company has developed its own means of production internally. A few years back, it has developed a new process capable of producing high value-added products: “pullwinding”. JEC Composites Magazine / No39 March - April 2008

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #39 - March/April 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #39 - March/April 2008