The establishment of Euro Packaging (EP Group) underlines the attractiveness of Aix-Marseille for British companies

With some fifteen companies having created nearly 500 jobs in Provence over the last five years, the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis is an increasingly attractive territory for British economic players. The latest example is the English company EP Group, the European leader in packaging, which has chosen to set up a paper bag and packaging manufacturing unit in the heart of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis. This trend, if it responds to the many assets of the metropolis, also proves the efficiency of the influence strategy of the Provence Promotion attraction agency towards the British market.

In five years, the number of British companies in Aix-Marseille has risen sharply, with 15 new arrivals adding to the fifty or so companies already present. This success can be linked to the major advantages of the city in terms of infrastructure (multimodal transport hubs), hyperconnectivity (Marseille is one of the 10 most connected cities in the world), geographical positioning in Europe, the Mediterranean and towards Africa and the Middle East, digital ecosystems and the living environment. In addition, the attraction of British companies to the Marseille metropolis in a post-Brexit context also responds to their need to establish themselves on a long-term basis in the European market.

This is notably the case for the territory’s leading British employer, the petrochemical group INEOS, which operates one of the two largest industrial sites in the port of Marseille Fos. The lower carbon footprint sought by major continental European clients is motivating many British companies to choose Aix-Marseille. Establishments in France are becoming less Paris-centric, as demonstrated by the British law firm Alegrand, which specialises in customs law and has decided to open its French office in Marseille, rather than approaching the French market from the capital. The British leader in online services, Homeserve, has decided to set up its French subsidiary in Aix-en-Provence, employing around one hundred people.

For Provence Promotion, the attraction agency of Aix Marseille, this dynamic, although good news, is not a surprise. Since the Brexit referendum, Provence Promotion has been implementing an influence strategy specifically dedicated to the British market and intends to deepen its links with the UK’s economic players. For Bernard Deflesselles, President of Provence Promotion: “We are very pleased with the arrival of Europackaging. This new location is a new step. But we will not stop there. The work of convincing the British continues”.

The agency, which is currently represented by a liaison office in the UK, now aims to establish links between British and Provençal clusters and accelerators. It will be taking part in the British investors’ gala organised by the French Embassy on 30 November in London and intends to take advantage of the opening of the Jacques Chirac International School in September 2024, which will offer several hundred places in English, to increase the number of British companies setting up in Provence.

EP Group: from Birmingham to Marseille!

EP Group, one of Europe’s leading packaging companies, today announced the opening of a new plant in the Port of Marseille Fos. This will involve an investment of nearly 47 million euros and will create more than 200 direct jobs. EP Group is supported by Provence Promotion and RisingSUD.

This paper packaging converting unit will be the most environmentally advanced in Europe, will have a strong circular economy dimension and will lower the ecological footprint of France’s food supply chains.

Within five years, EP Group’s French unit should provide a capacity corresponding to more than 20% of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur’s paper packaging needs, thus reinforcing its self-sufficiency in this area and contributing to the ambitions of economic sovereignty and reindustrialisation supported by the State, the Region and the Metropolis.

Ibrahim Majid, Managing Director of the Euro Packaging Group, said: “Sustainability and advanced manufacturing are cornerstones of our strategy, and this investment is in line with our aim to produce leading-edge paper products in France and Europe. We are also delighted with the opportunity to position ourselves as one of the major economic contributors to Aix-Marseille.

Faced with competition from several territories (Normandy and Hauts de France in particular), Provence Promotion, the attractiveness agency of the metropolis of Aix Marseille Provence, was able to highlight the strategic opening of the large port metropolis of Marseille to sources of supply, particularly from North America for paper, and the territory’s lead in decarbonisation. In this respect, the example of the investment of the Savoyard company Eranova in Port Saint Louis du Rhône in the production of plastic from algae or the collaborative Industry 4.0 projects led by TEAM Henri Fabre also played a role in EP Group’s choice of the region.