What La Machine does

La Machine, legally Compagnie La Machine, is a French street theatre and urban project company founded in 1999 and directed by François Delarozière. The company specializes in designing and constructing monumental mechanical sculptures—animatronic elephants, dragons, herons, spiders, and marine creatures—that combine metallurgy, wood sculpture, and mechanical engineering to create both mobile theatrical performers and permanent urban installations. Its technical scope spans small interactive wood-and-steel animal pieces (Les Animaux de la Place) up to 72-ton, 35-meter-tall steel structures (the Dragon de Calais and the planned Arbre aux Héros), with mobile parts including animatronic eyes, mouths, limbs, and fire/smoke/water effects, and select machines capable of carrying up to 50–52 passengers.

The company's business model is built around four revenue streams: (1) public funding and subsidies from the French Ministry of Culture, regional councils (Pays de la Loire, Hauts-de-France), and municipal governments; (2) multi-year coproduction agreements with cities and national theaters such as Le Channel in Calais, Lieux Publics in Marseille, and the Grand T in Nantes, which commission permanent installations and major shows; (3) recurring tourism and ticketing revenue from permanent venues (Halle de La Machine in Toulouse) and operational machines (the Dragon de Calais daily passenger rides); and (4) retail merchandise, publications, and corporate membership through the Le Moteur Business Club (created 2011). Most street performances remain free to maximize cultural accessibility and attendance.

La Machine operates from a registered office in Nantes, a manufacturing workshop (L'Usine) in Tournefeuille near Toulouse, and the Halle de La Machine public venue in Toulouse, with a headcount band of 101–250 employees. Its customer base is concentrated in French municipal governments (Nantes, Calais, Toulouse, La Roche-sur-Yon), though it has delivered international performances across Europe, Asia (China, Japan), the Americas (Argentina, Chile, Canada), and beyond. The company is structured as a French association (loi 1901), supported by institutional partnerships and initiated an LUCIE RSE certification process in 2024.

Name

La Machine

Legal name

Compagnie La Machine

Website

https://lamachine.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

La Machine is a French street theatre company founded in 1999 that designs and builds monumental mechanical sculptures and permanent urban installations for French municipal governments and cultural institutions, operating workshops in Nantes and Tournefeuille.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nantes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Funding and Subsidies: La Machine receives ongoing support from regional councils (Pays de la Loire, Hauts-de-France), municipal governments (Nantes, Calais, Toulouse, La Roche-sur-Yon), and national Ministry of Culture for artistic creation and urban development projects.
2. Coproduction Agreements: Joint production agreements with cities, festivals, and cultural institutions (Channel theater Calais, Grand T Nantes, Lieux Publics Marseille) for specific show creations and urban installations.
3. Retail Sales: Online boutique selling books (€9.50-35), merchandise, DVDs, sketchbooks, and figurines related to the company's creations and performances.
4. Urban Machine Tourism: Permanent installations generating tourism revenue. The Dragon de Calais carries 50 passengers daily; Halle de La Machine offers ticketed visits and experiences.
5. Le Moteur Business Club: Corporate membership program created in 2011 enabling regional businesses to support performance and construction activities, with preview access to creations and networking opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

La Machine is a street theatre company that designs, builds, and operates monumental mechanical creatures (elephants, dragons, spiders, herons) for public-space performances and permanent urban installations. It produces live theatrical shows commissioned by municipalities and cultural institutions, and runs tourist passenger-carrying operations (e.g., Dragon de Calais, Grand Éléphant) and the Halle de La Machine venue in Toulouse.

Product overview

La Machine is a street theater company founded in 1999 and directed by François Delaroziere, creating monumental mechanical sculptures and urban installations. The company's portfolio spans permanent urban projects (Les Machines de l'Île in Nantes featuring the Grand Éléphant and Carrousel des Mondes Marins; the Dragon de Calais in Calais; the Manège Carré Sénart near Paris; Les Animaux de la Place in La Roche-sur-Yon; and La Halle de La Machine in Toulouse), live performance shows (Le Gardien du Temple, Les Mécaniques Savantes, Long Ma, L'Expédition Végétale, La Symphonie Mécanique, fire performances by Pierre de Mecquenem), and publications documenting their creative work. The company operates workshops in Nantes and Toulouse and collaborates with urban planners to integrate mechanical art into city landscapes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Les Machines de l'Île Major urban development project in Nantes created by François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice, featuring monumental mechanical installations including the Grand Éléphant (2007) and the Carrousel des Mondes Marins (2012), with L'Arbre aux Hérons planned as the third stage. Commissioned by Nantes Métropole.
• Le Grand Éléphant A monumental 12-meter-high mechanical elephant inaugurated in 2007 that carries up to 52 passengers on routes through the Île de Nantes, serving as both a tourist attraction and a living sculpture.
• Le Carrousel des Mondes Marins A marine-themed carousel inaugurated in 2012, featuring sea creature machinery inspired by Jules Verne's imagination, forming part of the Machines de l'Île urban project in Nantes.
• Le Dragon de Calais A permanent 72-ton mechanical dragon installed in Calais since November 2019, capable of carrying 50 passengers along the seafront as the first phase of a three-phase project creating a family of saurian machines. Commissioned by Ville de Calais (€6.5M+ project).
• La Halle de La Machine (Toulouse) A permanent venue in Toulouse's Montaudran district opened in November 2018, housing the company's machine collection including the Minotaur (Astérion) and Ariane the Spider, and serving as a creative space for new artistic forms with public visits, Minotaure rides, concerts, and bar-restaurant facilities.
• Les Animaux de la Place Thirteen wooden and steel mechanical animals installed in Napoléon Square in La Roche-sur-Yon since 2013, designed in collaboration with architect Alexandre Chemetoff and manipulable by the public free of charge.
• Le Manège Carré Sénart A unique square merry-go-round inaugurated in 2008 at the gates of Paris, standing 18 meters on each side and 14 meters high, accommodating 48 people with giant buffaloes and mechanical insects.
• Le Gardien du Temple A major urban opera featuring the Minotaur (Astérion) and Ariane the Spider, first presented in Toulouse in November 2018 with over 800,000 spectators, with a second opus 'La Porte des Ténèbres' performed in October 2024.
• Les Mécaniques Savantes Giant performing mechanical animals show first performed in Liverpool (European Capital of Culture 2008) and Yokohama (2009), featuring giant spiders and creating images that transform the urban landscape. Coproduced with Le Channel (Scène nationale de Calais).
• Long Ma Jing Shen (L'Esprit du Cheval Dragon) A Franco-Chinese production created for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China in 2014, featuring a dragon-horse encounter with a giant spider, performed in Beijing Olympic Park and Nantes.
• L'Expédition Végétale A traveling flying greenhouse show featuring the Aéroflorale II aircraft that collects plants worldwide and presents research on phytovoltaism, with international stopovers including Buenos Aires, Santiago, Hamburg, Brussels, Turin, and Amsterdam.

Quantifiable outcome

• 800,000+ spectators attended the initial Le Gardien du Temple performance in Toulouse (November 2018)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Le Moteur Business ClubcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2011Corporate membership club enabling regional businesses to support La Machine's performance and construction activities. Members receive preview access to creations and networking opportunities with economic, political, and cultural stakeholders. Created in 2011 to foster regional business engagement.
• Winland Creative FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner supporting the creation of Long Ma (Dragon-Horse) for the 50th anniversary of Franco-Chinese diplomatic relations, produced in 2014.
• Région Pays de la LoirecoreOthersRegional council providing ongoing funding and support for artistic creation and cultural projects in the Pays de la Loire region.
• Ministère de la Culture et de la CommunicationcoreOthersFrench Ministry of Culture providing national funding for artistic creation and cultural development through DRAC regional offices.
• Le Channel (Scène nationale de Calais)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational theater venue in Calais that coproduces numerous La Machine shows including Les Mécaniques Savantes, Flammes, Le Dîner des Petites Mécaniques, and provides ongoing creative residency support.
• Lieux Publics (Marseille)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational street arts center in Marseille that coproduced La Symphonie Mécanique and other productions, providing creative residency and production support.
• Actes Sud PublishersminorOthersMajor French publisher coediting books with La Machine including 'Bestiaire, Machines et Ornements' and 'La Machine Spectacles' (29€).
• Nantes MétropolecoreOthersMetropolitan government body leading urban renewal projects including the Machines de l'Île development and the abandoned (as of 2022) Arbre aux Héron project.
• Ville de CalaiscoreOthersCity government that commissioned the Dragon de Calais (€6.5M+ project) as a permanent urban installation and tourist attraction, with ongoing daily operations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cirque du Soleil: Large-scale theatrical entertainment company known for combining artistic performance with mechanical engineering and bespoke stage technology. Much larger scale and broader IP portfolio than La Machine, but conceptually similar in combining engineering with theatrical spectacle.
• Puy du Fou: French theme park known for large-scale historical reenactments featuring animatronics, pyrotechnics, and immersive mechanical effects. Comparable in scale and spectacle to La Machine, but operates as a commercial theme park rather than a touring theater company.
• Wētā Workshop: New Zealand-based design and effects company creating physical sets, props, and immersive environments for film and entertainment. Comparable in combining bespoke mechanical engineering with creative direction for entertainment experiences, though focused on film IP rather than original theater.

Others

• Thinkwell Group: Experience design and production company specializing in theme parks, museums, and branded attractions. Comparable in designing and delivering bespoke large-scale mechanical and themed experiences for institutional clients, but operates as a consultancy rather than owning the artistic IP.

Direct peers

• Plasticiens Volants: French street arts company producing large-scale inflatable sculptures and aerial performances for festivals and public events. Comparable in producing large-scale outdoor public art spectacles, though focused on inflatables rather than mechanical animatronics.
• Dragone Entertainment: Belgian theatrical entertainment company founded by Franco Dragone (former Cirque du Soleil creative director) producing large-scale shows combining custom mechanical sets, costumes, and performance. Comparable in delivering bespoke large-scale theatrical productions to venues and cities.
• Compagnie des Quidams: French street theater company known for large-scale outdoor performances featuring illuminated mechanical creatures (Les Échelles du Ciel, Rêve d'Herbert). Comparable artistic DNA to La Machine, though typically smaller in scale.
• Les Commandos Percu: French percussion and pyrotechnic street performance company. Pierre de Mecquenem of La Machine has previously collaborated with this group. Directly comparable as a French street arts company specializing in large-scale public spectacles.
• Generik Vapeur: French street theater company based in Marseille that creates large-scale mechanical marionettes and pyrotechnic performances for public spaces. Directly comparable in form (outdoor mechanical street theater) and geographic market (France, Europe).
• Royal de Luxe: French street theater company founded by Jean-Luc Courcoult, famous for performing giant marionettes (the Little Giant, the Big Giant, the Sultan's Elephant) in cities worldwide. The closest direct peer to La Machine in terms of large-scale mechanical street performance art.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lamachinefr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/COMPAGNIELAMACHINE
• Facebookfacebook.com/lamachine.fr
• Instagraminstagram.com/compagnie_la_machine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 La Machine