Foil & Co, a fundamentally responsible company
Foil and Co is a company specialized in the manufacture and sale of equipment for wing foil, surf foil, sup foil, windfoil. We are experts in the design and manufacture of composite products.
It is through our brand AFS, specialized in the field of foils, that we offer 100% carbon foils, manufactured from A to Z in our factory in Pencran, France.
Sustainable development is one of the founding pillars of Foil and Co: our ambition was to succeed in reindustrializing in France, by gathering and controlling our production from A to Z: from the design office to production and shipping. This has allowed us to limit our impact on the environment by creating short circuits, and to be in constant improvement on the performance of our products, all by using sustainable materials.
Choice of carbon
We have privileged the use of a durable material, resistant to external aggressions and capable of being reworked and repaired, to maximize the life of our foils.
Short circuit
We have established our workshops in France to considerably reduce the carbon footprint of our products and to control their quality and performance on an ongoing basis.
Responsible production
At Foil & Co there is no loss of raw material. All carbon off-cuts are reused to be reintegrated into the production cycle.
Low tech approach
We manufacture some of our own production machines.
Circular economy
Since this year we propose a buy-back - reconditioning - resale offer for our foils. The creation and mastery of a fleet of second-hand equipment allows us to significantly extend the life of our foils.
The human
The well-being of our employees is our top priority. In particular, we use prepreg carbon because it is much less volatile than conventional resins.
Living space
Our activity takes place in an eco-designed building, allowing us to be 90% autonomous in energy.
The choice of carbon: an asset for the durability of foils
From the start, our ambition was to succeed in designing products that would last over time. Today we are able to say that our foils have an average life span of 10 years. As a comparison, the average life of an aluminum foil is 2 years
In addition to its competitive advantages, such as its lightness, which make it the most efficient material for designing a foil, carbon is above all extremely strong and has an impressive rigidity.
This material is ideal for use in the nautical field. It is also very resistant to external aggressions (salt, sea, corrosion) and can be repaired and reconditioned very well, unlike aluminum.
Working in short circuits: the choice of made in France.
The choice of a “made in France” production has been a driving force in the construction of the company. At first glance, we often think of the constraints that this entails for a company: high production costs, need for employees, management, storage … etc..
But we decided to take it as an opportunity. Beyond the fact that local production considerably reduces the carbon footprint of our products and that we are proud to create jobs and know-how, there is another major advantage: producing in France allows us to reach a higher level of requirement concerning the quality of our products.
Indeed, our product lines are constantly tested (by our team members, our team of riders, by our customers). This proximity allows us to constantly improve our offer in a very short time.
Implement a responsible production cycle
Designing responsible products also means taking into account their manufacturing and production process.
At foil and Co our most successful example is the reuse of prepreg carbon scrap. They are recovered to form the plates, i.e. the base of the foils. Therefore, there is no more than a 3% loss on raw materials during the production cycle.
Indeed, our product lines are constantly tested (by our team members, our team of riders, by our customers). This proximity allows us to constantly improve our offer in a very short time.
Low tech: Lean and know-how.
In our approach, we place the employee at the heart of the company’s processes to develop our internal know-how and to be as autonomous as possible. We have managed to design some of the machines used in the manufacture of the foils ourselves, such as the presses, which allows us to be more autonomous.
We also promote existing local know-how that we develop through the training of new employees, in particular by encouraging apprenticeship and work-study contracts.
Putting people at the heart of our operations
The well-being of our employees is our top priority. In particular, we use prepreg carbon because it is much less volatile than conventional resins.
We make the most of their know-how in the various core businesses within the company.
Living in space responsibly.
We settled in Pencran, in a rural area, in order to promote the development of the local employment basin, rather than in a large metropolis where the industrial zones are already saturated. Our workshops are installed in an eco-designed building, we are 90% self-sufficient in energy thanks to the installation of solar panels and we encourage carpooling between employees.
For us, it is all these commitments that will enable us to build tomorrow’s business world: committed to the environment and responsible.
