Secma Cabon

What Secma Cabon does

Secma Cabon is a family-owned French industrial equipment manufacturer, founded in 1945 in Quimper, Brittany, and currently in its third generation of Cabon-family leadership. The company designs and builds custom machinery for food-processing and canning lines — including palletizers, depalletizers, conveyors, fillers, washers/dryers, stackers/unstackers, lifting tables, grippers, case packers, and vacuum pumps — and delivers complete line-engineering, vacuum/pressure engineering, automation/electrical, maintenance, and special-machine-design services. Its customer base spans meat, fish, vegetable, soup, ready-meal, pet food, aerosol, and baby food canning operations, with equipment installed across Europe, Brazil, the UAE, and Russia.

The underlying technology stack is conventional industrial automation rather than AI-native: PLC programming on Siemens, Schneider, and Pro-Face platforms, MODBUS-controlled systems, and optional IoT modules on lifting tables. Differentiated proprietary technology is concentrated in two areas: Cartesian palletizers/depalletizers with magnetic, vacuum, and mechanical grippers (originating from the late-1990s Sud Est Equipement acquisition), and the patented Multiway valve, DosAir, and CleanPipe systems for automated aquaculture feeding (introduced via WestAir). Secma also holds long-standing 34+ year French distribution agencies for Ferrum seaming machines (since 1991) and Elmo Rietschle vacuum pumps (since 1982).

The business model is project-based custom-equipment manufacturing with quote-based, non-publicly-disclosed pricing on multi-year contracts. Revenue derives from one-time equipment sales, professional services (engineering, maintenance, automation), and recurring spare-parts and vacuum-pump rental revenue. The company is recognized as an "Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant" (Living Heritage Company) by the French government. Headcount, revenue, and ownership structure beyond the Cabon family are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Secma Cabon

Legal name

Secma Cabon

Website

https://secma-cabon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Secma Cabon is a third-generation, family-owned French manufacturer (founded 1945, Quimper) of custom food-processing and canning line equipment — palletizers, fillers, conveyors, washers, and vacuum pumps — plus engineering, maintenance, and automation services for global canning operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Quimper

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Equipment Manufacturing: Design, manufacture, and installation of custom industrial equipment for food processing lines including palletizers, conveyors, washers, fillers, and depalletizers. Equipment is custom-built to customer specifications with long lifecycle support.
2. Engineering Services: Food processing line engineering, vacuum and pressure engineering, automation and electricity services, and special machine design services
3. Maintenance and Repair Services: On-site and workshop maintenance of vacuum pumps and industrial equipment, including rental of vacuum pumps and spare parts supply
4. Spare Parts: Supply of mechanical spare parts, Ferrum spare parts, and vacuum pump components

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Secma Cabon designs, manufactures, and installs custom industrial equipment for food processing and canning lines, including palletizers, depalletizers, conveyors, fillers, washers, dryers, and vacuum pump systems. The company also provides integrated engineering services covering line conception, automation, vacuum/pressure engineering, and maintenance, alongside a patented automated fish feeding system for aquaculture. All equipment is custom-built in Quimper, France for global food processing, canning, aquaculture, and medical logistics customers.

Product overview

Secma Cabon is a family-owned industrial equipment manufacturer (since 1945) specializing in food processing and canning line solutions. The company operates as a unified platform of complementary industrial machines and services rather than a single product. The core product portfolio centers on automated material handling equipment including Palletizers, Depalletizers, Encageurs/Décageurs (cage loaders/unloaders), Flow Management Systems, Stainless Steel Conveyors, Fillers (doseuses), Washers/Dryers, Stackers/Unstackers, Lifting Tables, Grippers/Manipulators, Case Packers, and Vacuum Pumps. These machines are complemented by an Automated Feeding System (AFS) for fish farming. The company also provides integrated engineering services including food processing line engineering, vacuum and pressure engineering, maintenance and repairs, automation and electricity, metal working, and special machine design. All products are designed and manufactured in Quimper, France, with the company recognized as an 'Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant' (Living Heritage Company).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mat'Agro: Subsidiary focusing on food processing and medical/pharmacy automation
• Elec-automatisme
• Secma Cabon Solution Vide

Products and services

• Palletizers (Palettiseurs) Palletizing machines for cans, jars, bottles, and cartons. Available in automatic, semi-automatic, and manual Cartesian configurations with magnetic or vacuum grippers for steel, aluminum, and plastic containers. Designed for food processing production lines.
• Depalletizers (Dépalettiseurs) Depalletizing machines including Cartesian automatic, semi-automatic, overband high-speed, and manual sweeper models for cans, jars, packs, crates, and cartons in various materials. Throughput up to 6 layers per minute.
• Cage Loaders/Unloaders (Encageurs et Décageurs) Cage loading and unloading solutions for cans, jars, bottles, and pouches at various automation levels for food processing lines.
• Flow Management Systems (Gestion de Flux) Flow management and accumulation systems including 90° realigners, starwheel transfers, turntables, multi-lane separation tables, and accumulation tables for optimizing production line throughput.
• Stainless Steel Conveyors (Convoyeurs Inox) Complete range of stainless steel conveyors including roller, belt, pallet chain, cable, wedge, biplanar, division/merging, and accumulation table conveyors for round cans, shaped cans, jars, bottles, PET, cartons, and pallets.
• Fillers (Doseuses) Filling machines including cascade fillers (since 1950), vacuum fillers up to 700 cpm, in-line fillers for juice/oil/brine, tuna fillers, handpack fillers, and vacuum oiling machines for food processing applications.
• Washers and Dryers (Laveurs / Sécheurs) Washing and drying equipment including gravity washing tunnels, tunnel washers with magnetic turning, full jar/bottle tunnel washers, in-line dryers, double washers, pulsed light sterilizers, and retort basket tippers. Constructed in 304L stainless steel.
• Stackers and Unstackers (Empileurs / Dépileurs) Stacking and unstacking equipment for pallets, jars, boxes, pouches, and cartons including basket unstackers, empty pallet loaders, and conical can unstackers handling up to 300 cans per minute.
• Stainless Steel Lifting Tables (Tables Élévatrices Inox) Heavy-duty stainless steel lifting tables including triple scissor (400kg/750kg loads), double scissor, and extra-flat models for food processing, industrial butcheries, and fish markets with optional IoT systems.
• Grippers and Manipulators (Préhenseurs / Manipulateurs) Gripper and manipulator systems including multi-zone vacuum grippers, magnetic grippers, foam plateau grippers, overband grippers, manual encaissement grippers, and stacker palletizing grippers in standardized or custom designs.
• Case Packers (Encaissage) Case packing solutions including automatic American case packers and manual case packing tables handling boxes (round and shaped) and bottles in steel, aluminum, plastic, and glass materials.
• Vacuum Pumps (Pompes à Vide) Sales, rental, and maintenance of vacuum pumps including HV Series, GVK Series, Screwvac SD Series, Plug & Pump, DRY C Series, EU HWT Series, L-Series (liquid ring), F-Series (radial blowers), G-Series (side channel), C-Series, and S-Series (dry screw) through Elmo Rietschle partnership.
• Automated Feeding System (AFS) for Aquaculture Automated fish farming feeding system with patented Multiway valves, DosAir dosing system, and CleanPipe cleaning system. Features digital monitoring with MODBUS control, remote and local management, CETIM accreditation, and feed delivery capacity of 20-30 kg/min.
• Spare Parts (Pièces Détachées) Spare parts for all Secma Cabon machines including Ferrum spare parts and vacuum pump components, plus magnetic spare parts and custom magnetic elements.
• Food Processing Line Engineering Complete food processing line engineering services from manual to fully automated lines, including design and manufacture of all components such as dosing, crimping, control, and overwrapping elements.
• Vacuum and Pressure Engineering Vacuum and pressure system engineering with over 25 years of experience, including specifications drafting, complete installation, and maintenance for agri-food production lines.
• Maintenance and Repairs On-site and workshop maintenance and repair of vacuum pumps and Roots blowers of all brands, with rental pumps available to reduce production stops and spare parts stock maintenance.
• Automation and Electricity Services Industrial automation and electrical services including schematic design, on-site installation, PLC programming (Siemens, Schneider, Pro-Face), electrical cabinet construction, and site wiring.
• Special Machine Design Custom machine design services for over 70 years, improving production machinery, simplifying utilization, securing handling, and increasing production speeds.
• Steel Conveyors (Convoyeurs Acier) Steel conveyors for environment industries, including Redler chain conveyors, screw conveyors, and separator screens for bulk materials, non-food products, and waste handling.
• Metal Working (Chaudronnerie) Metal working services including parts manufacturing to specification, prototype development, and repairs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Lines operating at 600 CPM capacity with bypass dosing capability
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FerrumcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1991Secma Cabon has been Ferrum's partner for 34 years for the distribution of their industrial seaming machines in France. Ferrum has been owned by the same family since 1917 and is the world specialist in industrial crimping machines.
• Elmo Rietschle (Rietschle)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 1982Since 1982, Secma Cabon has been the agent for Elmo Rietschle vacuum pumps in the food industry. This partnership has lasted over 34 years, with Secma selling, maintaining, and providing spare parts for the complete range of vacuum pumps and Roots blowers.
• Région BretagnecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipation in Inno R&D project representing innovation aid for SMEs and mid-size enterprises in the form of reimbursable advances, for the Multizone project. Partner with regional president Loïg Chesnais-Girard.
• Pôle EMC2coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLabellization partner for the Multizone project - an innovation for automating and facilitating fish feeding in aquaculture farms through digitalized simultaneous granule distribution.
• Elec-automatismecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial electricity specialist for over 30 years, now an integral part of the Secma Cabon group. Provides automation and electrical services for production line integration.
• WestAirminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerR acquisition brought aquaculture feeding system technology into Secma Cabon's portfolio, enabling the development of automated fish feeding systems.
• ETINminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany based in Bonneval acquired by Secma Cabon to expand steel conveyor capabilities for environmental industry applications and non-food bulk handling.
• EurafminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany acquired by Mat'Agro in July 2020, located in Issy-les-Moulineaux. Provides automation machines for pharmacies and medical facilities, expanding into medical and pharmaceutical logistics.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Krones AG: German manufacturer of integrated bottling and packaging line equipment, including palletizers, conveyors, fillers, and washers — closely aligned with Secma Cabon's core product portfolio. Krones serves the same food and beverage OEM customer base at substantially larger scale.
• KHS GmbH: German manufacturer of filling and packaging systems for beverages and liquid food, with overlapping palletizer, conveyor, and filler product lines. Both companies supply stainless steel food-grade equipment to canning and bottling operations across Europe.
• Sidel: French packaging solutions provider (part of Tetra Laval) specializing in PET/bottling lines, palletizers, and end-of-line equipment. Direct geographic and product overlap with Secma Cabon's French-based canning line business.
• Tetra Pak: Global leader in food processing and packaging solutions, including carton and canning lines. Directly comparable to Secma Cabon in filling, processing, and packaging equipment for food, but operates at vastly greater scale with a broader product portfolio spanning dairy, beverage, and prepared foods.
• GEA Group: German food processing equipment supplier offering separators, homogenizers, and complete processing lines for dairy, beverage, and prepared foods. Comparable vertical alignment with Secma Cabon's food processing customers, though at much larger scale.
• ProMach: US-based packaging machinery conglomerate offering filling, labeling, palletizing, and conveying solutions to food, beverage, and consumer goods producers. Comparable in product mix to Secma Cabon but operates as a multi-brand roll-up with global reach.

Others

• Elmo Rietschle (Gardner Denver): Industrial vacuum pump and blower manufacturer (now part of Gardner Denver) and Secma Cabon's principal technology partner for vacuum systems. Comparable on the vacuum pump distribution and service dimension, but as a manufacturer rather than integrator.
• Ferrum Packaging AG: Swiss specialist in industrial seaming/crimping machines for can manufacturing. Secma Cabon has been its French distribution partner since 1991, making Ferrum a directly comparable equipment specialist and channel counterpart.

Direct peers

• Akva Group: Norwegian supplier of aquaculture technology including automated fish feeding systems. Direct competitor in the automated aquaculture feeding space where Secma Cabon (via WestAir subsidiary) operates with its patented AFS system.
• Cermex (Sidel): French manufacturer of case packers, palletizers, and end-of-line packaging equipment (now under Sidel). Direct peer to Secma Cabon's encageurs/décageurs and palletizing product lines, with strong overlap in the French food-canning customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/secma_cabon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/secma-cabon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries6 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 Secma Cabon