In 2024, the Acieo group reinvents itself

Change in shareholding, strategic evolution

For 18 years, the independent group has strengthened its expertise in positive-impact enclosures and as a builder of metal framework, timber framework, metalwork/locksmithing, cladding and waterproofing.

Cyril Millereau, its CEO, talks about the genesis of this development and ACIEO's 5-year objectives.

What are the other advantages of this “intra muros” distribution of shares?

“Making the group prosper does not just mean increasing its turnover, it is above all being able to develop projects and new, innovative and sustainable differentiating solutions for our clients. It was essential for us to maintain our capital autonomy, also obtained thanks to the trust of our banking partners who are supporting us in this adventure.

We are convinced that the more our company has a positive impact on its stakeholders, the greater its influence will be and the more we will ensure its sustainability.

We are now 9 partners: subsidiary directors as well as a management company made up of 15 employees, all operational with leverage.

The new shareholding constitutes a fundamental base of which we can already measure the positive effects in terms of the involvement and commitment of our employees. »

ACIEO has experienced strong moments of development, acquisitions... what major dates have marked the last 20 years?

• 2006: birth of the ACIEO group, first external growth and first diversification with the merger of the companies SERRU and Ateliers David.
• 2010: integration of SEB Foucault, specialized in waterproofing and cladding
• 2014: Integration of CMBS, specialist in timber framing and interior joinery
• 2015: creation of Excadia, a design office specializing in structural diagnostics.
• 2014: creation of MAF Atlantique, originally a simple brand of Ateliers David (2002) which became a fully-fledged company specializing in fire-glazed steel joinery.
• 2024: integration of the Deschamps company, specialized in wooden construction and mixed construction (metal/wood).

In figures, with 25.000 m2 of production workshops, the group has 450 employees in 6 departments,

What do the new governance and CAP 2030 concretely change today, and what does this mean?

“Our strategy is obviously to continue our historic activities, but also to position ourselves in new markets such as mixed metal/wood construction.
We also want to strengthen our presence in the rehabilitation market: energy renovation, renovation in line with regulations, in particular zero net artificialization (raised metal car parks, raising buildings, re-modeling of existing buildings, etc.).

A good number of machine investments in each subsidiary having been made (machining center, welding robot, powder coating line, etc.), our investment projects (around €10 million over the next 6 years, all subsidiaries combined) are now linked to our CSR approach. They aim to improve our production sites by strengthening the thermal insulation of our buildings, thus contributing to the well-being at work of our employees.
We seek the professional development of our employees and have the desire to develop our attractiveness. As a result, we are developing our School Relations policy and working on the integration of young people whom we support from their apprenticeship. The Group's workforce is currently made up of 10% apprentices, a distribution that we wish to maintain in the future to perpetuate the transmission of our know-how.

All this requires pooling the group's strengths and offering each subsidiary resources to help them accomplish cross-functional missions and continue their development through services: environmental transition, HR/Communication, operational excellence, Administrative and financial, IT and soon marketing and innovation.

For its part, the new group sales management should allow us to both strengthen our complementarities and offer turnkey solutions to our customers. »

By retaining the best practices of each subsidiary, the ACIEO group will be able to make a real leap forward.

The ACIEO group is constantly evolving, what has changed in 2023 and what is your market outlook?

“2023 saw the birth of strong commitments:

• the initiation of bundled offers and the reorganization of our internal process, so that our customers have a single contact for the commercial part and a single contact for the works part, even if several companies in the group are involved. We thus gain in readability, fluidity, speed and efficiency (compliance with planning, commitments),
• the consolidation of best practices in the design of structures, with the establishment of a guide to good practices and standards, by type of activity.

Our market perspective: adopt a logic of haute couture services,

• continue to serve our historic clients who have trusted us for years and whose projects are evolving,
• continue to offer our customers differentiating solutions in technical terms as well as in terms of deadlines, services and environmental impacts,
• continue to be in all sectors of building activity (functional structures, industrial buildings, agri-food buildings, housing),
• develop industrial maintenance (modifying a facade, opening a door, creating an interior floor, etc.) to maintain the trust of our customers. »

The 7th subsidiary: the Deschamps company

In 2024, the ACIEO group and the Deschamps company, located in Saint-Denis-de-Gastines (Mayenne), are joining forces to strengthen our development strategy.

This project is part of a merger between two players with complementary enclosed and covered activities for industrial buildings or functional structures.

The two structures share the same values ​​and Deschamps benefits from a quality brand image in its field, the traditional framework serving modular construction and the metal/wood mix.

With 5.000 m2 of workshop space, 45 employees will join the workforce and €6 million will be added to the group's turnover.