ExcelRise: Excel to Rise

“Today recycled plastic films make up less than 10% of the market. By 2025, the goal in the EU is to make up 50% of the market. Everyone will work like us,” says Sébastien Wolff, Managing Director of ExcelRise.

It is no secret that plastic has one of the worst ‘recycling credentials’ at the European level, and especially in France. But things are starting to change and ExcelRise finds itself centre-stage. “The plastics industry is reorganising around the principles of a circular economy. Some plastics will disappear. Others, like bio plastics or recycled plastics, will develop significantly. More and more will be recycled until it becomes as common as recycling paper.”

Armed with its extensive knowledge of plastics, ExcelRise has a unique expertise to support this movement. As a business group, it is organised around four business lines: packaging, photoengraving and printing, upcycling and technical support for machinery, with a turnover above EUR 100m and exports to over 60 countries, but it is the determination to change the way the plastic industry is run that really stands out. “We are now talking about 10,000 tonnes per year which are recycled and rehabilitated today within the group,” explains Sébastien. “Our ambition for the future is to recycle more than 40,000 tonnes per year.”

A signatory of the Ellen MacArthur New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, ExcelRise’s philosophy focusses on reduce, reuse or recycle, building a closed-loop, circular economy. “This is as much about regulations as it is about what consumers want. We’re growing faster than the market and that’s purely because of our focus on recycled plastic films,” says Sébastien.

In this process of strong growth, ExcelRise was supported by Idinvest, a French venture capital firm supported by the EIF, that finances industrial equipment and rents it out to European SMEs (leasing). In this way, ExcelRise was able to bring in new, modern machinery to improve performance and fuel growth. “Basically, it can run 24 hours. It’s a very modern piece of equipment that gives us greater accuracy and allows us to increase our bag-production volumes. We’re also recycling more and using more recycled products.”  Sébastien explains.

“At the end of the day, it’s about moving from a linear to a circular economy,” he concludes.

Company: ExcelRise (France)

Type of business: industry

EIF financing: EREM

Financial intermediary: Idinvest