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FOUR QUESTIONS TO RAPHAEL GORGÉ
27 April 2014
Prodways entrepreneurs
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Paris, April 27, 2015, 7 :00 am
CAN YOU INTRODUCE GROUPE GORGÉ?
Groupe Gorgé was founded in 1990 by Jean-Pierre Gorgé. It is a mid-scale French family company with an orientation toward innovation and exports. The Group’s main areas of specialisation are safety technologies for protecting people and property (mobile robotics, protection in nuclear environments, fire protection/safety) and 3D printing (producing both machines and materials). Group revenue in 2013 was €215 million. It has 1,300 employees, including 825 technicians and engineers working in around ten countries. Groupe Gorgé is listed on NYSE Euronext in Paris (ticker: GOE) and on the US OTC market via an ADR programme (GGRGY and GGRGF). The Group is backed by the French government through BPI France which owns 8% of the equity.
WHY DIVERSIFY INTO 3D PRINTING?
Throughout its life, the Group has always been adept at growing by making acquisitions in high value-added technologies. When the opportunity arose to get involved in 3D printing technology we saw it as the chance to develop in what was going to be the next industrial revolution. It is not often that the right technology comes along at the right moment in a fast-growth market. We did not want to miss this opportunity. Also, to complement other Group business lines, such as industrial robotics, we want to develop technologies that will contribute to the reindustrialisation of France, particularly the factory of the future, one of the 34 plans for the “New Industrial France”.
WHY CREATE PRODWAYS ENTREPRENEURS?
Groupe Gorgé’s subsidiary Prodways is the only French manufacturer of 3D printing solutions. It has been able to position itself as one of the world’s major players in this sector. Today, we want to input our expertise and resources to drive forward the 3D printing sector and nurture the future leaders in or through this market, which at the moment is still a nascent ecosystem.
So, Prodways Entrepreneurs is there to support and finance European companies active in the field of 3D printing (3D printers, software, materials, scanners, etc.) or companies that want to migrate production toward 3D printing (biomedical, aerospace, jewellery, plastics, etc.).
IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT VALUE DOES PRODWAYS ENTREPRENEURS ADD?
Rather than a financing solution, Prodways Entrepreneurs is above all a team of recognised experts in 3D printing. It also provides the backing of a solid industrial group, which can contribute its own expertise in product development and innovative services. In this way Prodways Entrepreneurs can provide operational, strategic and technical solutions to the entrepreneurs it supports.
