Sepro acquires majority stake in Garbe Automatisme

By acquiring a majority stake in the Garbe Automatisme, Sepro Group is cementing its position as a leading global supplier of automation solutions for plastics injection molders. The acquisition of Garbe and its 900 sqm operation will double automation capacity in France and increase Sepro’s global capacity by 20%.

Located in Izernore in the “Plastics Valley” near Oyonnax in eastern France, Garbe Automatisme engineers complex, multi-step automation systems for injection molders who serve the automotive, medical, packaging, household-appliance and other industries. They have successfully integrated 3-, 5- and 6-axis robots into manufacturing cells that require not only part removal, but pre-mold and post-mold operations like insert loading, component assembly, marking, inspection, conveying, palletizing and more.

“This acquisition energizes our Group”, said Eric Radat, President of Sepro Group. “It confirms our commitment to supporting our customers with intelligent, highly efficient automation solutions.”

“Our customers need more than ever to accelerate their transformation and automate their production lines to increase productivity, and we are seeing a steady increase in demand for increasingly sophisticated automation applications,” explained Charles de Forges, CEO of Sepro Group. “Dominique Garbe and the Garbe Automatisme teams share our ambition to make automation ever more accessible to customers around the world. Our association was an easy decision and we are happy that they trusted us.”

"Given the continuing growth of Garbe Automatisme and the need to expand our production capacity, it was essential that we take this opportunity,” Dominique Garbe, founder of Garbe Automatisme, commented. “In the context of increasing demand for automated lines equipped with more and more robots, it seemed obvious to us that Sepro Group could be the ideal partner to offer global reach and enhance our 25 years of experience in automation. Pooling our experience and skills, we should be able to offer efficient and innovative solutions for our customers who are always looking for the best."

Dominique Garbe, who founded Garbe in 1997, will continue to lead the company, which will retain a high degree of autonomy within Sepro Group.

“Furthermore,” underlines Bertrand Humel van der Lee, Managing Director of Sepro Group in Europe, “Garbe Automatisme's cutting-edge technologies in the key area of technical grippers and end-of-arm tooling are excellent complements to our skills in automation.”