“It’s the first time that a large German or European company has invested so much in La Rochelle,” said Jean-François Fountaine, president of the Agglomeration. Specialist in optics and optoelectronics, the Zeiss group formalized this Wednesday, March 29 the construction – started since January – of a new factory in Périgny (Charente-Maritime), dedicated to the manufacture of medical devices, in particular intraocular implants for treat cataracts.
A production multiplied by five
Installed since 2005 at the gates of La Rochelle, the company will increase within two years from an area of 5,300 m2 to nearly 14,000 m2. Nearly 33.7 million euros will be invested in this project. Then 46.7 million will then be injected into this factory to finance production equipment by 2030, says the Zeiss group. Automated production lines will be installed in a building built on four levels, specially designed to limit the footprint. According to Zeiss, this plant would also consume 30% less energy than the obligations to which it is currently subject, in particular thanks to roofs covered with photovoltaic panels or a heat recovery system.
Applauded by the State and the local authorities, this project will make it possible to multiply by five – at least – current production but also to create 300 jobs in the digital, automation and data analysis sectors. The Périgny site, which currently employs nearly 250 people, will weigh heavily in the future in the industrial landscape of La Rochelle. This establishment will serve “our long-term growth strategy”, argues Marcus Weber, the president of the medical branch of Zeiss who defends an “ultramodern production tool set to become a reference within the group”. Recruitment has already started.