The Gard-based group, which specializes in innovative and custom-made ergonomic solutions, reuses waste from professional furniture.
The project had been maturing for a few years in the mind of Samuel Corgne, the CEO and founder of the ErgoSanté group, based in Anduze, in the Gard region.
For this specialist in innovative and customized ergonomic solutions, which began ten years ago by designing work spaces for employees with disabilities, this is the latest idea to enrich a portfolio that is growing every year.
"We revived this idea a year ago," he explains. We're now committed to recycling the chairs we design. The goal is to give them a second life, so they don't end up as office furniture waste."
"Two million tons of waste per year"
It recalls that "more than two million tons of furniture waste are produced each year in France, including 250,000 from companies. An anti-waste approach that also relies on the need for public administrations to buy 20% of seats from the reconditioning.
Launched in September 2021, this activity will be based on a fully integrated organization, similar to what is done for all the Group's other activities (workstation design, adapted seats, exoskeletons, etc.).
The reconditioned seats, which bear the EcoSiège brand, are sold exclusively on the dedicated website created for the occasion: www.écosiège.fr.
"All the parts of the old seats are recovered thanks to our own logistics", insists Samuel Corgne. The price of the reconditioned seat represents "30% of the price of the new seat". A price that the CEO considers "fair".
As a result, since September 1, 2021, nearly 4,000 used seats have been recovered. A thousand have also been sold. To achieve this, the group relies on a strong R&D team, which imagines everything, down to the smallest part.
A group in constant growth
Founded in 2013, the ErgoSanté group has very quickly experienced dynamic growth in its activities. Employing more than 200 people and present through some 30 local offices in France, it is expected to record a turnover of just over €20 million in 2022, growing by 60%.
It also has an international presence, notably in Europe, Brazil, New Zealand and the United States.
In 2023, it is expected to open an exoskeleton manufacturing facility in North Carolina. This activity will be rolled out to all units based abroad.
KARIM MAOUDJ
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