On 29 June, the Gard-based company ErgoSanté, which specialises in the design and distribution of ergonomic equipment for businesses, announced that it was raising €3 million from the Mutuelles Impact fund, a fund created at the end of 2020 at the initiative of the Mutualité Française. The aim is to invest in innovation and in its production capacity.
ErgoSanté, a Gard-based company specialising in health and well-being at work, based in Anduze, has brought in the Mutuelles Impact fund, managed by XAnge (Siparex Group) and Investir&+.
ErgoSanté designs and distributes ergonomic equipment adapted to the specific needs of companies and their employees to improve the working conditions of able-bodied and disabled people, by injecting technological innovation into its customised solutions. Created in 2013 by Samuel Corgne, ErgoSanté, which has the status of an adapted company, now employs 120 expert staff in 16 agencies to support companies throughout France and, since 2020, internationally.
Created at the end of 2020 on the initiative of the Mutualité Française, the Mutuelles Impact fund aims to invest in companies with a high social impact in the prevention, care and medico-social sectors. 50 million from the Fédération nationale de la mutualité française and 45 member mutuals. With a final target of €100 million, it aims to become " the first mutual investment fund with a social and environmental impact in the health and medico-social sector and one of the largest impact funds in France".
"A will to act on the world
Ergosanté is one of the first companies eligible for impact investment.
For Catherine Grandpierre, President of the Supervisory Committee of Mutuelles Impact and member of the Bureau of the Mutualité Française, " Ergosanté reconciles economic efficiency and general interest: it is an innovative company, socially committed as an adapted company and which is now moving into the circular economy, with the recycling of office equipment .
Samuel Corgne is part of this new generation of entrepreneurs who combine a very strong ambition with a desire to make a difference in the world and in the lives of those around him," emphasises Andreas Gall, Deputy Managing Director of XAnge/Siparex Proximité Innovation. We also share the conviction that innovation is an essential lever for triggering a tenfold impact. The Mutuelles Impact fund will be able to provide synergies.
Create a recycling channel for seats
In 2019, ErgoSanté had achieved a turnover of 7 million euros, growing by 15% in 2020 (instead of the expected 70%). With these new financial resources, ErgoSanté wants to accelerate its development strategy by investing in innovation and the development of new products, particularly in exoskeletons and analysis tools based on artificial intelligence, " specifically deap learning: we train the algorithms to recognise the human body and compare movements with ergonomic standards in order to quantify the ways in which workstations can be improved," explains Samuel Corgne.
ErgoSanté also wants to invest in its production and recycling capacities: "We are launching the recycling of chairs which, until now, were sent to the waste disposal centre. We collect them from our customers or from Valdelia (eco-organisation for the collection and recycling of non-household furniture waste, editor's note), we rework them and we create a channel for recycled seats.
Finally, the company wants to boost its international growth. Its products are currently distributed in New Zealand, the United States, Holland, Germany, Brazil and Canada. Although exports account for 25% of its turnover, Samuel Corgne believes that "in a few years' time, this will be the majority ".
Working on the prevention of occupational diseases
I am delighted that ErgoSanté is one of Mutuelles Impact's first investments," says Samuel Corgne. Beyond the financial resources and visibility provided, it is a recognition of the social and societal commitment that was at the basis of the company's creation. It is also a great opening to the mutualist world, which constitutes an immense reservoir of commercial synergies for ErgoSanté.
The director hopes to be able to work soon with mutual insurance companies on questions of health and well-being of their employees. Another possible area of partnership: " defining systems for the prevention of occupational illness or accidents at work ".
In 2020, ErgoSanté had announced the construction of a new factory in Anduze for the manufacture of ergonomic seats, a 1,000 m2 building requiring an overall investment of 2 million euros (including 1.2 million euros for the building). In November 2020, the manager received confirmation of a State grant of 800,000 euros as part of the "Territoires d'Industrie" programme, as part of the overall 2 million euro financing project.
We are making progress, the building permit has been validated and we will be able to buy the land," announces Samuel Corgne. And in the meantime, we have bought another 600 m2 building to start recycling seats.
Read the article on objectif-languedoc-roussillon.latribune.fr