Ripolin celebrates its 135th anniversary

Chronicle of a success story

More than a hundred years old

If the founder left the hand, ten years later, to a French house, with, in passing, the Frenchification of Riepolin into Ripolin, he had no idea that, 135 years later, his brand would constitute one of the tricolor flagships of the paint market.

Remember that still in 1898, the artist Eugène Vavasseur created a poster which will forever embody the history of the brand. Perfectly identifiable, the three stylized building painters will in fact symbolize the RIPOLIN brand to generations of French consumers, since their image will be displayed on a multitude of media, ranging from school blotters to painted walls.

RIPOLIN paints even became so popular that in 1907, they entered the dictionary: ripoliner became a verb, ripolin, a common name to designate the action of applying enamel paint.

Better still, RIPOLIN also colors the history of art thanks to many renowned artists such as Picasso, Séraphine and Le Corbusier, who have skilfully used it in their work.

With more than 7 million liters of paints sold in 2022 (97% of which are manufactured in France), the equivalent of 70 million m2 painted, RIPOLIN, which is part of the PPG group, No. 1 manufacturer of paints and coatings in the world, today constitutes a brand that still resonates with consumers. Moreover, a study carried out in 2022 on spontaneous awareness confirms that 20% of our fellow citizens mention it immediately (67% in assisted awareness).

Ripolin: brand synonymous with quality

If RIPOLIN masters the different stages of paint manufacturing which are carefully controlled by experts from its internal laboratories, each production site is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified.

A brand serving innovation and quality, the RIPOLIN heritage advocates the manufacturing and marketing of innovative and easy-to-use paints.

For its marketing director, Christophe Duvette:“The mission of the Ripolin brand is to guide each consumer at all times, whether they are newbies or experienced DIYers, to help them get started and complete their painting projects, whether decorative or more technical. . This strategy is based on 4 values: authenticity, kindness, expertise and transparency. Its aim is to democratize DIY and more specifically painting, to enable consumers to beautify and protect their homes and also to integrate the components of sustainable development into our actions. An important point: all of our actions cannot be done to the detriment of the performance of Ripolin brand products since at Ripolin, we are aware that quality helps to improve living conditions, comfort and well-being. »

Ripolin, sustainable development

A long-standing commitment

Always innovating and constantly listening to the market, RIPOLIN has, since 2009, implemented a range of initiatives in favor of sustainable development.

Let us cite as examples the initiative (a first in France) carried out that same year for the collection of used pots in stores, in partnership with the eco-organization EcoDDS, then the launch in 2011 of the first resin biosourced from the Les Naturelles range (accompanied by a flexible “doypack” bag guaranteeing 30% less plastic for packaging).

Let us also mention the availability of bulk products ahead of time with a paint dispensing machine (2012), the launches in 2016 (Attitude range) and 2017 (RIPOLIN Children's room) of paints with formaldehyde sensors or even the first packaging manufactured from 70% recycled raw materials (2020).

Not to mention the launch of the R program, initiated in 2021, in favor of the fight against global warming.

The RIPOLIN commitment thus translates, on the product side, into permanent work by internal R&D aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of flagship ranges, by selecting alternative raw materials (ingredients of plant origin or recycled materials). On the packaging side, note the use of recycled plastic, up to 70% for Mat Perfect in 2021.

On the production side, the PPG site in Moreuil where RIPOLIN paints are mainly manufactured, energy consumption has been drastically reduced with the switch to LED lighting and awareness of good practices. This made it possible to generate a consumption saving of -11% (gas and electricity) in 2022 compared to 2021. In addition, consumption of rinsing water, via the installation of scraped lines in 2020, is at the source of a reduction in waste of around 20%. On the transport side, all trucks between factories and depots run on biofuel (2.500 trucks/year) since the commitment made by PPG in November 2022, as part of the ADEME FRET 21 program.

For PPG, innovating for health and the environment requires constant research into formulations with a reduced carbon footprint.

At RIPOLIN, this approach resulted in the launch of the O’Pur offer which uses a 97% bio-sourced resin, derived from waste from the paper industry, generating 25% less CO2.

Note also that PPG invests in the Low Carbon label through the RIPOLIN brand on forestry projects with a view to increasing carbon sequestration, generating positive impacts against global warming and in favor of biodiversity. In this regard, let us cite the Cercamps wood afforestation project carried out in February 2022, targeting 18 hectares of forest (including 3,9 hectares of contribution for RIPOLIN) in the Hauts-de-France region with the equivalent of 1.000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent carbon potential available. This initiative will lead to the issuance of carbon credits labeled with the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

Concrete actions, which perfectly echo the environmental objectives for 2030 defined by the PPG group such as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions according to a validated SBTi trajectory (-50% scope 1&2 and -30% scope 3) .

The Montreuil site

France is the PPG Group's first country in Europe, with representation of 6 business units (architectural coatings, automotive OEM coatings, industrial coatings, automotive refinish coatings, aerospace products, packaging coatings), 6 factories and 4 R&D centers.

The architectural coatings France division of PPG (notably the RIPOLIN brand) has nearly 2.000 employees spread across the country, and 3 production sites: since 1970 in Ruitz (62), since 1963 in Genlis (21) and of course in Moreuil (80). ) since 1975. It also has a logistics depot and an Ecommerce line on the Moreuil site which mainly produces Ripolin paints.

The Moreuil site, established on 9 hectares of land and comprising 200 employees, is made up of a production factory, a logistics depot and an administrative activity, including the general public/retail commercial activity. The factory produced 22 million liters of paint in 2022, mainly white paints (70%), with a specialty on colored paints (30%).

The only PPG site in France to produce colors for the general public, the site has worked in partnership for more than 30 years with ESAT. The logistics depot, for its part, present on the site since 1996, shipped more than 84.000 tonnes of paints in 2022, which represents no less than 2 million order lines.

Sustaining its development and its jobs, the group has invested regularly on the Moreuil site, as evidenced by the more than 6,5 million euros spent since 2018 (including 1,6 million in 2023). Investments devoted both to the automation of the site (through the purchase of a semi-automatic packaging line, a palletizing robot or even by improving the IT management of the logistics depot), as well as to through CSR projects (changing LEDs, scraped lines, changing boilers, etc.) or even on the safety aspect (handling aids to improve working conditions, maintaining and improving the necessary safety devices on a Seveso site high threshold (high threshold not by its manufacturing processes, but for the quantity of products dangerous for the environment stored in logistics).

For Aurélie CARMONA BERTIN, site director:“At the time of Made In France, I am proud that PPG paints, and in particular the Ripolin brand, are mainly produced in France. The PPG Moreuil site, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025, is investing for the future. Its latest current project, the water treatment and reuse station, is part of a CSR approach and will help preserve resources, water being essential to the manufacture of paints. Personally, I love working in the industry and helping make products that contribute to PPG's goal of “protecting and enhancing the world.”