Les Companions

What Les Companions does

Les Companions is a privately held French robotics company founded in 2018 and headquartered in Lille, with an operational office in Marcq-en-Baroeul. It designs, assembles, and sells PACO, a CE-certified collaborative painting robot (cobot) that automates interior painting on construction sites while professional painters retain decision-making and fine-finishing tasks. The target customers are professional painting contractors and large construction firms facing skilled-labor shortages, productivity pressure on large surface areas, and safety risks from work at heights up to 3.5 meters.

PACO combines a mobile ground platform with an elevation system and a 6-axis robotic arm, paired with lidar-based navigation, 3D environment scanning via an integrated Leica scanner, and airless spray technology. The workflow is scan → program → operate: a painter scans a room in roughly 20 seconds for 50m², programs PACO via a touch-screen interface after about 2 hours of training, and the robot executes painting at a disclosed rate of 180 m²/h, applying the equivalent of 1-3 coats in a single pass with consistent paint density. The robot runs on swappable 24V batteries (3 hours each, 6 hours continuous), performs a 12-minute automatic cleaning cycle, and is rated for an 8-year lifespan on construction sites, including operation over cables, holes, dirt, and uneven floors.

The company monetizes PACO through three channels: a usage-based rental offering called Performance Partnership (Pacte de Performance) priced at €1.20 per m² painted that bundles robot, scanner, training, support and maintenance; a direct sale or lease option with quote-based pricing; and a 1-3 day on-site pilot trial program with 50/50 cost sharing available across Europe. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales combined with demo bookings, the Batimat trade show (where PACO won the Innovation Award 2022 in Construction Tech), and earned media coverage in outlets including the Financial Times and Construction Management. As of the available data, the company has nine team members, no disclosed institutional funding, and a small portfolio of named enterprise pilots including Vinci (Portsmouth, UK), Unikalo (Créon, France), and a Cologne-based construction project, with active commercial outreach in France, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Name

Les Companions

Legal name

Les Companions (Société par Actions Simplifiée)

Website

https://lescompanions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Robotics

akta.pro primary industry

PLC & PAC Hardware (IMAGABAA)

Keywords

• Collaborative painting robots
• Construction robotics
• Professional painting equipment
• Interior painting automation
• Building trade cobots

Headquarters

HQ city

Lille

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Rental - Performance Partnership (Pacte de Performance): Monthly rental model at 1.20 euros per m², including PACO robot, 3D scanner, training with certified expert, support, and maintenance. Customers pay based on actual usage (surface area painted).
2. Robot Sales: One-time purchase or lease arrangement for PACO robot. Contact sales for pricing. Includes optional ongoing support services.
3. Professional Services: Training services with certified experts included in rental package. Ongoing technical support and maintenance bundled with rental offering.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Les Companions designs, manufactures, and sells PACO, a collaborative painting robot for professional painters. PACO is a mobile platform with a 6-axis arm, elevation system, lidar-based navigation, 3D scanning, and airless spray technology that automates repetitive interior painting tasks on construction sites while human painters retain decision-making and fine-finishing work. The offering is sold or rented to professional painting contractors and construction companies, with bundled training, support, and maintenance.

Product overview

Les Companions offers PACO, a collaborative painting robot for professional painters, as the core product in its portfolio. The offering consists of the PACO robot (a mobile platform with 6-axis arm and elevation system for interior painting), an included 3D scanner for environment mapping, and associated services. Customers can access PACO through a rental model (Performance Partnership at €1.20/m² including robot, scanner, training, support, and maintenance) or through direct purchase/lease. The company also offers pilot test programs for on-site evaluation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PACO: Collaborative painting robot for professional painters, designed to assist with repetitive painting tasks while humans handle decision-making and fine work. PACO can paint up to 180 m²/h, operates at heights up to 3.5m, and is designed and assembled in France.

Products and services

• PACO Collaborative Painting Robot Mobile collaborative robot combining a 6-axis arm, elevation system up to 3.5 m, lidar-based navigation, Leica 3D scanning, and airless spray painting. Designed to automate repetitive interior painting tasks on construction sites while human painters handle fine work and decisions. Targets professional painting contractors and construction companies.
• Leica 3D Scanner (bundled with PACO rental) Handheld 3D environment scanner (Leica Geosystems) used by painters to capture the work area prior to programming PACO; produces the 3D model that PACO's navigation compares against lidar data for autonomous operation. Included in the Performance Partnership rental package.
• Pacte de Performance (Performance Partnership Rental) Subscription-style rental offering for PACO billed per square meter painted. Includes the PACO robot, Leica 3D scanner, training with a certified expert, technical support, and maintenance. For professional painting contractors and construction firms.
• PACO Direct Sale or Lease Outright purchase or multi-year lease of the PACO painting robot for buyers who want to own or finance the equipment rather than rent it on a per-m² basis. Optional support and maintenance services.
• Pilot Test Program (On-site Demo) Evaluation service in which Les Companions deploys PACO to a customer's construction site for 1–3 days so the customer can validate performance on real surfaces before committing to a rental or purchase. Costs are shared 50/50 with the customer.

Quantifiable outcome

• Painting speed of 180 m²/h without human handling
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Leica GeosystemscoreTechnology or IntegrationLeica Geosystems 3D scanner integrated into PACO workflow for accurate environment measurement and scanning. Scanner enables 20-second room scanning for 50m² spaces as part of the painting programming process.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Husqvarna Construction: A division of Husqvarna Group that supplies construction equipment including robotic demolition machines, surface preparation, and concrete processing. Comparable as a broad incumbent moving robotics into construction jobsites, though its portfolio is far wider than Les Companions' narrow painting focus.
• Hilti: Global construction tools and services provider investing in robotics, semi-autonomous tools, and Jobsite digitalization. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving professional contractors with productivity-enhancing equipment, though Hilti offers a much wider product portfolio than Les Companions.
• KUKA: German industrial robotics manufacturer with 6-axis arms widely used in manufacturing automation. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose robotic arm technology underpins PACO and which could enter the construction-cobot space with greater resources.
• ABB Robotics: Major industrial robotics provider offering articulated arms, autonomous mobile robots, and automation software. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose technology base overlaps with PACO's 6-axis arm and could extend into construction applications.
• Boston Dynamics: Developer of advanced mobile robots (Spot, Stretch) with growing exposure to construction-site applications. Comparable as a broad incumbent with mobile manipulation and lidar-based navigation capabilities relevant to PACO's technology stack.

Direct peers

• Brokk: Manufacturer of remote-controlled demolition robots used on construction sites. Comparable as a direct peer selling purpose-built robotic equipment to construction contractors, although Brokk focuses on demolition rather than painting.
• Construction Robotics: US-based company developing robotic assistants for construction trades including the MULE material-handling robot and SAM (Semi-Automated Mason) bricklaying system. Comparable as a direct peer applying collaborative robotics to specific finishing trades on construction sites.

Emerging players

• Kewazo: Munich-based construction robotics startup building robotic systems for scaffolding and on-site material handling. Comparable as an emerging European player applying robotics to specific construction-trade tasks, similar stage and target customer to Les Companions.
• Scaled Robotics: Barcelona-based startup developing mobile robots for construction-site monitoring and quality inspection. Comparable as a small European construction-robotics peer using lidar and mobile platforms on jobsites, with partial technological overlap.
• GRIDBOT: European developer of specialized robotic systems for industrial finishing applications including painting and surface treatment. Comparable as an emerging niche peer in robotic painting and finishing, directly addressing similar end-use cases to PACO.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCxBtgxe4nuQ3xwQVeA0QHdg
• Facebookfacebook.com/Lescompanions
• LinkedInfr.linkedin.com/company/les-companions
• Instagraminstagram.com/les_companions
• Xx.com/LesCompanions

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Les Companions