Four Rock, excellence in industrial ecology services
Early March, two "Rock" furnaces were shipped simultaneously from the Lemarchand Group's factory, now renowned for its XXL industrial boiler-making. These furnaces required 30,000 hours of work from the teams of this family business. They will be installed at energy recovery units located in Sète, in Occitania, and Paillé, in Charente-Maritime.
The industrial furnace designed for the Paillé plant has impressive dimensions, measuring 12 meters in length, 4 meters in diameter, and weighing 40 tons. The one destined for the Sète agglomeration is even larger, measuring 17 meters in length, 5 meters in diameter, and weighing 70 tons.
This month, we will closely follow the journey of the furnace heading to Sète.
This event symbolizes not only a step forward in waste management and the energy transition but also the vitality and dynamism of French companies.
Paprec Energies holds the patent for the ROCK furnace, a technology entirely designed and manufactured in France, which has been widely adopted in energy recovery plants across Europe since the 1980s. This innovation enables optimal energy and thermal recovery from waste. The installation of two ROCK furnaces will modernize the energy recovery facilities in Sète and Paillé, thereby increasing their efficiency in generating electricity and heat from local waste.
About the Lemarchand Group
The Lemarchand Group stands out in the fields of industrial boiler-making and metal construction. Founded in 1985 by Gilles and Liliane Lemarchand, the company is now led by their children, Sophie and Bertrand, and their son-in-law, Ludovic. With a turnover of 23 million euros and a team of 98 employees, this family business has firmly positioned itself in the market. Specialized in the manufacturing and assembly of XXL constructions, such as the ROCK oscillating furnace for the Sète Agglomeration site, the Lemarchand Group enjoys a reputation for excellence and reliability. In 2023, the Lemarchand family invested 1.4 million euros in the acquisition of new machinery to modernize its equipment and also made investments to increase its production capacity. Its reputation rests on its artisanal expertise and the outstanding quality of its work.
Sébastien Petithuguenin, President of Paprec Energies, expresses his satisfaction: "This furnace embodies French industrial excellence in service to industrial ecology. Its intellectual property is owned by a century-old French flagship, now Paprec Energies, and its manufacturing is handled in Normandy by a family-owned SME with rich technical know-how. The furnaces will be installed in Sète and Paillé to produce electricity and heat from local waste, thereby contributing to the decarbonization of the economy and the energy independence of the regions.