French SMES champions of the export

Small, medium-sized or intermediate-sized, they were pierced to the stranger, and found the most of their opportunities. Focus on the strengths of these companies invading.

Here are SME and ETI(firms of intermediate size), which have nothing to envy to the multinational companies : the companies of this list exclusive of The Company account for more than half of their business internationally. Without drum or trumpet, but with responsiveness, determination and conviction.

See the exclusive leaderboard of The Company's top 100 SMES and ETI French export

national Growth in failure, in mature markets : the companies of our ranking (made from 6 000 exporting companies whose turnover is between 10 million and 2 billion euros) have found out of france the "growth-relay", allowing them to develop. Without complex, they attack the markets deemed demanding, such as Germany (more than a third for the champions), or risky, such as Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, in the most diverse fields. Close-up of some of these SMES invading and on the assets that they deploy to radiate beyond our borders.

Olivier Passot, ceo of the company Revol, cookware. with the famous goblet crumpled in the colours of Brazil

Jerome CHATIN/EXPANSION-REA

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Indéfroissable as Revol

Honor the dean of our champions, the manufacturer of cookware Revol (72 % of sales are international) established in 1789 at Saint-Uze in the Drôme. The president, Olivier Passot, a representative of the eleventh generation of the family, claims the fiber international from his father, who, as early as 1972, is launched to the conquest of Scandinavia and Canada... " We are present in 83 countries, with the main markets in Great Britain and the United States, where we created a distribution subsidiary. Our most recent developments have been made in Vietnam, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, in the wake of the development of 4 and 5 star hotels ", explains Olivier Passot, who sells 90% of its ceramics to the professionals of the restoration. How can an SME that manufactures most of its products in France succeeds to impose itself in the face of massive invasions of ceramics asian ten to fifteen times less expensive (since the end of quotas in 2004)? "With products that are beautiful, functional, innovative and efficient ", said the young president, at the head of the family business since 2007. Because if it was known for its carafe Ricard, who, in 1936, sat on all the tables of cafés, Revol is now the creator of the first ceramic culinary, non-porous, compatible with all cooking modes. With a blow of pub unexpected of Mcdonald's, which has made cups scrunched offered to its customers since 2010, a best-selling Revol. In this year of World football, the company disclaims to the bright colors of the flags of the sixteen participating countries.

Unavoidable as Alland and Robert

Among our French champions are manufacturers of products that are unique and little-identified by the consumer. This is the case of the gum Arabic imported to sub-saharan Africa, and then transformed into Normandy by the company Alland & Robert to be sold to food manufacturers. A know-how uncommon, which makes this small business founded in 1884, one of seven distributors existing in the world, with only one competitor in France. "It is a niche market that knows no crisis ", underlines Clémence Alland, who has joined the family business for a year and a half. This natural product is used as emulsifier, stabilizer, and texturant in food processing, and thickening agent for cosmetics. The world demand for gum Arabic is estimated between 60 000 and 70 000 tonnes per year, the company Alland & Robert produces about 10 000 per year.

Sustainable as Duralex

Remember the canteen or background element in James Bond Skyfall, glasses Duralex found a second life, always in the catering, but also with clienteles boho and chic shops. After Saint-Gobain (the creator, in 1930, the tempered glass two and a half times more resistant than lenses traditional) and redemptions successive by the Italian glass Bormioli, and then by a wholesaler Turkish, Duralex has almost disappeared. In liquidation, the company was purchased in 2008 by the executives of the company and repositioned itself in the international (87,6 %). While the glasses are still manufactured in France from raw materials (silica, limestone) primarily from france, Duralex is maintained in the face of competition thanks to its reputation for durability, at prices that are tight and to the niaque Antoine Ioannides, the CEO, who does not shrink from the difficulties, geopolitical in some markets, such as the Near and the Middle East, where there are sometimes serious problems of delivery, in particular the flow of products through ports in iran.

Expert as Innoflax

The activity seems surprising : Innoflax achieves 100 % of its sales to the international with its first market in... China ! And yet, the very small business (two employees for 20 million euros of turnover), created by Olivier Levasseur in 2009 exports in the Middle kingdom the flax fibers produced by a group of French cooperative. A fiber processed there-bas in linen thread, that Innoflax then exports to Italy, Morocco or Portugal, so that there is woven. "It's more complicated than a simple game of trader, explains Olivier Levasseur, the former skilled in the art. It is necessary to appreciate the quality of the fiber, know-how, for which there is no standard scientific, but an appreciation to the eye and to the touch. "Having started to develop its activity in 1995, Olivier Levasseur has, with time, formed relationships that enable it to work well with its chinese partners. Paradox : during the creation of his company, he did not have the benefit of the aid to the export of the chamber of commerce because the share of export to China was too important. As for the banks, they did not believe in his project. It is ultimately up to the Bank of China that was financed. Today beneficiary, Olivier Levasseur has the confidence of the French banks, and plans to export flax fiber French to India.

Thierry Lambert, president and ceo of Naturex

Jerome CHATIN/EXPANSION-REA

Global as Naturex

The company Naturex, created in 1992 by Jacques Dikansky (died in 2012), is a global leader specialized in the production and marketing of natural flavourings (94,7% are international). "From the beginning we thought "the world", said Thierry Lambert, general manager. For us, the export was not a growth, but at the heart of our strategy." Naturex, which has tripled its turnover in four years, makes a third of its sales in the United States, the first country where the group (whose head office is in Avignon) is implanted and where it multiplies acquisitions, as Decas Botanical Synergies in 2012, the world leader in extracts of cranberry (cranberry), or Vegetable Juices Inc. this year. A dynamism driven by the investments in R&D and a strategy of global offering, unlike competitors pure players specialized on niche markets. Analysis of Thierry Lambert : "we need to try to produce in countries where the customers are present, for reasons of sourcing, trust, visibility, but also to reduce the costs due to exchange rates and transport. "

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Innovative as Gaussin Manugistique

Who says better ? + 763 % growth in international sales in 2013. After several difficult years, the company, which manufactures equipment for the transport of containers and goods "out of gauge" (86 % international), has seen its orders go up in 2013. Explanation of the CEO, Christophe Gaussin : "We are reaping the fruits of a cycle of investment in R&D of 50 million euros over four years. "The small family business of Héricourt (Haute-Saône), founded in 1880, targeted port, growing. It has just launched eight new vehicles in port and five solutions of engine to drain more quickly and more cleanly in full electric, designed in partnership with the CEA. At the end of June, the salon TOC Europe in London, Gaussin Manugistique will present six new products. With a full order book 2014 with strong growth, a new growth of the turnover is to be expected.