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SAMUEL CORGNE - Chairman and CEO, ErgoSanté

Born in Rennes (35) on October 9, 1983
Four children
Training: DUT mechanical engineering | Flight Safety School, Vero Beach| master's degree in organizational analysis

Born of a French father and an American mother, Samuel Corgne holds dual French-American citizenship. A native of Rennes, he spent part of his schooling in Florida and trained in aeronautics at the Flight Safety school. "At first, I thought I'd make aviation my career. But the course taught me discipline," he sums up. Back in France, he was hired by Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand to work on industrial cost optimization for two years. "It was a continuous race for profitability. The human aspect took a back seat. I felt out of place. This was followed by a period when the young Samuel Corgne was looking for himself. The year was 2005. "At the time, I was wandering around and didn't know what to do with my life. I found myself staying in a Protestant hostel in Anduze. There I met a lot of people on the margins of society, and I realized that work was still the cornerstone of social life." This was a real revelation for Samuel Corgne, who decided to set up Languedoc Service in 2006. A company dedicated to social integration through economic activity, to help people with little or no access to employment. Then, at the end of 2012, he launched ErgoSanté, a manufacturer and distributor of exoskeletons. The company's mission is to integrate and maintain employment for all, starting with disabled workers. The company, founded by the atypical entrepreneur, currently employs 200 people in Anduze, and is forecasting sales of €22 million by the end of 2022, compared with €14.5 million the previous year. A market leader, the company has 18 branches in France and some 15 abroad, and plans to raise several tens of millions of euros by 2023.

From office chairs to exoskeletons, physical assistance systems that adapt to the body's needs, equipment that improves working conditions is now better regarded. Since the pandemic, the company Ergosanté, which produces ergonomic work equipment, has been receiving more and more orders. We met with its founder Samuel Corgne.

Is the issue of workstation ergonomics better taken into account in companies today?

Samuel Corgne: When it comes to choosing professional equipment, the health prevention aspect is now better considered by companies. Awareness was raised with the Covid crisis and the advent of teleworking. No one had time to equip themselves and everyone was slumped over in their kitchen chair or sofa, which led to many health problems, particularly back pain. The issue of returning to the workplace has led companies to think about the layout of their spaces, their attractiveness, to make employees want to return to work. The comfort and ergonomics of office equipment, to avoid the appearance of musculoskeletal disorders, is at the heart of this reflection.

What about manual occupations? What solutions exist for more physical jobs?

S. C.: Among the solutions developed to improve working conditions are exoskeletons, physical assistance systems that adapt to the needs of the human body. Personally, I really don't like the term 'exoskeleton', which can conjure up a world of science fiction, of transhumanism, and give this device a dimension of increasing human capacities, of increasing performance... That's not the objective at all! This equipment reduces the difficulty of working by relieving the back and neck and compensating for infirmities. I therefore prefer the name "physical assistance device".

"I REALLY DON'T LIKE THE TERM "EXOSKELETON", WHICH MAY REFER TO A SCIENCE FICTION UNIVERSE AND GIVE THIS DEVICE A DIMENSION OF INCREASING HUMAN CAPACITIES... THAT'S NOT THE OBJECTIVE AT ALL! THIS EQUIPMENT REDUCES THE DIFFICULTY OF WORKING.

Are these exoskeletons reserved for high-tech industries?

S. C.: The world market for exoskeletons is growing rapidly. If it is currently worth millions of euros, it should be worth between 2 and 5 billion by 2023! Prices are becoming very attractive and more and more professionals are using these solutions, especially when they perform repetitive movements, such as people working in sorting centres, surgeons or dairy farmers milking cows. The issue of the lack of specific equipment for disabled people is at the heart of the difficulties encountered by disabled workers, whose unemployment rate is twice that of the national average.

ErgoSanté helped by the Mutuelles Impact investment fund
ErgoSanté was one of the first companies to be supported by Mutuelles Impact. When it was created in November 2020, on the initiative of the Mutualité Française and 45 mutual insurance companies, this social and environmental investment fund dedicated to health and medico-social services chose to invest 3 million euros in the company that manufactures ergonomic solutions. This is a way of encouraging its action in favour of access to employment and the improvement of working conditions for able-bodied and disabled people.

Read the article on vivamagazine.fr

Ergosanté is a manufacturer of ergonomic seats and exoskeletons in Anduze, and is a leading company in its sector, but also in its commitment to the ecological, energy and climate transition.

The Cévennes-based company, which has 120 employees, half of whom are based in Anduze, is involved in a cross-disciplinary approach, a commitment supported by its partners such as Bpifrance, the Public Investment Bank. The company's sales manager Arnaud Declomesnil tells us more about the concrete actions undertaken by Ergosanté.

Objectif Gard : Your company is involved in ergonomic solutions. The link with the climate, the ecological and energy transition is not necessarily obvious at first sight. How important are these issues for Ergosanté ?

Arnaud Declomesnil: It is quite central, especially in the last year and a half. The link may not be obvious, but to make our products, we have components. We can choose them next door, or far away. We had already started in 2018 a shift to short circuits, we wanted local, or at least European partners. Good for us, because there were supply disruptions that enabled us to complete this change more quickly and we managed to transform our entire production unit with locally sourced products. For our exoskeletons, the composite fibre is made in Alès and the fabric is cut out here, for example. There are also details: when we buy cars, we make sure that they are manufactured nearby, and when we choose adhesives, they are solvent-free. We also offer products with recycled materials as an option.

So these are very concrete actions.

Exactly, with another aspect of corporate social responsibility (CSR, editor's note) in mind, by creating local employment. Today we have a production unit for seats whose wood comes from Occitania, assembled in Anduze. So, even if a boat gets stuck in the Suez Canal, we don't care! An anecdote: before, we used to buy our headrest mechanisms abroad, and with the history of the Suez Canal we had a break. We realised that we could work with an ironmonger 90 metres from our home, and to replace a plastic ball joint, we called in a carpenter to make it in wood. We became independent in the production of headrests, and for exactly the same cost. It also allowed us to hire an extra person. In addition, we are in the process of obtaining the EnVol label on the environmental side.

So these actions are a CSR tool for Ergosanté?

These are things that we have wanted to do for a long time, and it just so happens that CSR is becoming fashionable. We are therefore moving into the labelling phase, for us it is just a matter of filling in a paper to say what we have been doing for a long time. For example, we have a project for a new building to double our production, and on this occasion the whole company will be self-consuming and energy positive. This is planned for the end of the year, with Bpifrance as a partner. In addition, we have just started a new activity, Ecosiège, in August. The concept is to recover used seats, dismantle them and recondition them with our employees from the adapted company. The idea is to close the loop.

Is there staff support for these solutions?

There is no constraint for the staff, it is even a plus internally. The idea is that employees will take up the idea and that these solutions will become a reflex.

Does the fact that the company is located at the foot of the Cevennes, in Anduze, play a role in its commitment?

It is perhaps easier to think about nature when it is right in front of you than when you are in a high-rise building in La Défense. Afterwards, the difficulty is that we are often perceived as small companies from the farthest reaches of the Cévennes, whereas on exoskeletons, we are one of the 25 most successful companies in the world. But by being closer to nature, we are undoubtedly more concerned.

See the article on Objectifgard.com

The Gard-based SME, which specialises in solutions for improving working conditions, is counting on sales of around one hundred exoskeletons per month on the North American market, via the distributor Worksmart Innovations.

Nestled in the heart of the Cévennes region of France, ErgoSanté, which employs 120 people at its headquarters and through 15 agencies, is venturing into international markets. The company, which develops solutions to improve workstations, particularly to reduce the burden of musculoskeletal disorders, is setting up in the United States, via Worksmart Innovations, based in North Carolina, which will be the exclusive distributor for Hapo models in the world's largest exoskeleton market, worth around 500 million dollars in 2020. ErgoSanté hopes to sell around 100 products per month, equivalent to current sales in France. Target customers are in the military, industrial, hospital and logistics sectors.

1,500 per unit

"The Americans are pioneers in new technologies and have a more pragmatic vision, based on the user. In Europe, many standards are being created, which slows down our progress," says Samuel Corgne, director of ErgoSanté, who himself has dual French-American nationality.

In order to break through on the other side of the Atlantic, the SME is banking on aggressive marketing, with sales prices of around 1,500 dollars per unit, i.e. three times less than the competition. This difference is made possible by lighter, more discreet models that "do not overuse sensors and Big Data", says the director. Margins are also reduced.

Out of stock

In France, ErgoSanté sells its solutions to winegrowers, bricklayers, industry and logistics. A test is about to start at the Alès hospital centre, with nurses and care assistants. In Anduze, the head office, Ergosanté Technologie has a design office with about ten engineers. On the industrial side, the group will take delivery in January of a building with an additional 1,000^m2. ErgoSanté Production will grow from 20 to 50 people by 2024, and 80% of its staff are disabled. After a global turnover of 8.4 million euros in 2020, the 10 million euro mark should be reached this year.

One concern, however, for the coming months is the supply of raw materials. ErgoSanté is finding it increasingly difficult to source mechanical parts, fabrics, composite materials and polymers. "Not a week goes by without a stock shortage," worries Samuel Corgne.

Read the article on lesechos.fr

The company Ergosanté, based in Anduze in the Gard region, is to benefit from an €800,000 grant which will enable it to expand and recruit around thirty people. The company is benefiting from the part of the recovery plan designed to support industry in the regions.

Inflatable lumbar support, reclining position, adapted backrest... Ergosanté manufactures office chairs according to the morphology, pathologies and budget of its customers. The 90-employee SME is located in Anduze, in the Gard region of France.

"Workers' comfort" first

The rate of production should increase in the coming months in the workshop where 15 people work, including 12 people with disabilities. The DNA of our company is the protection of people in their work, in their physical integrity," explains Samuel Corgne, the company's founder and manager. Both internally and in the products we design, we ensure that workers are comfortable. Ergosanté is one of the winning companies of the fund for the acceleration of industrial investment in the regions, which is part of the government's recovery plan.

Endowed with €150 million in 2020 (€400 million by 2022), this fund has absorbed the "Territoire d'industries" programme launched by former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in November 2018.

Internalise 80% of production

A grant of €800,000 from this programme was awarded to Ergosanté to relocate its production. Of the 10,000 chairs we sell each year," explains Samuel Corgne, "7,000 are manufactured in Great Britain, " where there is specific know-how in chair upholstery. "We want to quickly bring 80% of our production in-house. This is a pragmatic move, but also a way of promoting local employment," he adds.

This relocation, also linked to the Brexit, has already started little by little, thanks to the acquisition of a machine designed in Occitania. "To integrate the necessary know-how, this machine makes our job easier. For the moment, it is largely underused by the employees, due to a lack of space," explains Samuel Corgne. In order to grow, Ergosanté needs square metres, and quickly.

30 new hires planned

Of all the company's employees, about fifty work at the Anduze site, in offices that are becoming increasingly cramped. Opposite the existing building, a vast car park is being purchased from the town hall. A hangar will be built there at a total cost of 2 million euros, financed in part by a subsidy from the recovery plan.

Inside, there will be offices and workshops. "We want to increase our production capacity and therefore our storage capacity. This extension will allow us to develop our activities and to recruit around thirty people, in addition to the 25 we have already hired this year," explains the boss.

A favourable context

Even if it remains below forecasts, Ergosanté's activity is doing well and is expected to increase by 15% in 2020. In a context where teleworking is becoming more widespread, Ergosanté's know-how is very timely. According to a study by Santé publique France last October, 10% of teleworkers have developed low back pain. The company has therefore worked to bring cheaper chairs to the market and to develop online sales for individuals and large companies.

Read the article on la-croix.com

In the SNCF workshops in Bischheim, in February 2013. This is where the exoskeleton is tested.PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP

Some SNCF employees will soon have an exoskeleton to assist them in their tasks.

Read the full article on Parismatch.com

Exoskeletons are not only used in science fiction. Very concrete uses already exist, particularly in industry. This is the case of this model signed ErgoSanté.

The Shiva Exo is the first 100% French exo-skeleton! It is a creation of ErgoSanté, a social and solidarity economy company, in collaboration with the SNCF. It took the subsidiary ErgoSanté Technologie three years to develop this exoskeleton, the first copy of which was delivered this week to Airbus Helicopters.

An exoskeleton to protect the health of operators

The Shiva Exo will help operators who carry heavy loads or work in awkward positions (such as with their arms up in the air). The shoulders and back are spared, as the exoskeleton supports the weight and mechanical stress. The idea is to relieve the musculoskeletal tensions of everyday life.

The device belongs to the family of so-called "passive" exoskeletons: it works without a battery and is entirely mechanical. The Shiva Exo is largely designed in 3D printing, with a part in machining. The skeleton is 90% composite.

Lire cette vidéo sur YouTube

The user can deactivate the arms if necessary. Airbus Helicopters has ordered a first unit for a test phase. If the experiment is successful, then the European aircraft manufacturer's subsidiary will buy more. Okay, this product is less exciting than the exoskeletons that can be seen in SF movies or literature. But the health objective is laudable, and the size of the market is attractive: $2.8 billion by 2023.

By Olivier on April 13, 2019 on Journal du Geek

Link to Article: https: //www.journaldugeek.com/2019/04/13/shiva-exo-premier-exo-squelette-100-francais-sera-utilise-airbus-helicopters/

Based in Anduze, in the Gard department, the SME has just supplied the aeronautics specialist, based in Marignane with his Shiva Exo. A product resulting from three years of R&D, born of a partnership with another major account, the SNCF.

It is entirely mechanical and therefore passive, works without batteries but for the Airbus Helicopters teams in Marignane it is the new tool that will do good.

Called Shiva Exo - we can understand the reference - it is the first product from ErgoSanté.

Well-being at work is one of the subjects taken up by the SME based in Anduze in the Gard, which has become a player in maintaining and improving working conditions. Born in 2013, the company founded and managed by Samuel Corgne designs and provides solutions designed for both able-bodied and disabled workers.

It all started with an innovation partnership with the SNCF two years ago, when the French railway company was asked to invent an exoskeleton that would meet its needs. " The SNCF was not necessarily satisfied with the state of the art," explains Samuel Corgne. " So we started from the need" to create a tailor-made tool. At the end of this partnership, which enabled the SME to demonstrate its capacity to innovate, ErgoSanté had the opportunity to open up to other customers. Except that the helicopter designer based in Marignane had followed the project from its beginnings. So much so, that today it has acquired a first model for a test phase, which could lead to a larger order.

Man preserved, not augmented

"Shiva Exo is not a toy, we have more important ambitions. It is a prevention tool," says the director, who stresses that "the needs in this area are great. Above all, ErgoSanté "responds to needs and not to a fantasy. The exoskeleton that we have designed is the preserved man, not the augmented man".

Shiva Exo is structured to prevent trauma to the shoulder, back and elbow. Mechanical stress and weight are redirected towards the hips without passing through the upper body.

Swiss Army Knife

"Our problem is to have the manufacturing capacity while retaining the flexibility to adapt to each demand," says Samuel Corgne. Especially as the exoskeleton market is expected to reach $2.8 billion by 2023. "We want to be a stakeholder in this market. A market divided into four categories: the general public, industrial, medical and military. Each has a number of players already positioned, with industrial and medical being the most sought after.

"We are positioned in the industrial sector and more precisely in the field of arm, back and leg assistance and tool support. ErgoSanté wants to differentiate itself by not being tied to a single use. "All exoskeletons are single-task. Onthe contrary, we wanted to develop an exoskeleton that is a Swiss Army knife, which can be adapted to each need. This is precisely what convinced Airbus Helicopters.

Technically, Shiva Exo is the result of 3D printing combined with machining. Made of 90% composites, it claims lightness and durability. ErgoSanté has 12 branches in France and has a turnover of €4.4 million.

By Laurence Bottero for La Tribune Provence-alpes-côte-d'azur

Read the article

"The ShivaExo exoskeleton developed by the SNCF with ErgoSanté Technologie. It is intended to preserve the physical health of the agent and not to increase his strength tenfold. However, when an equipment officer has to handle a 30 kg brake block, the exoskeleton allows him to lift it more easily."

Source: La Revue du Digital

Portrait of Samuel Corgne in Les leaders 2023, ceux qui font l'Occitanie (in French)

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