What Charlois does

Charlois is a privately held French group founded in 2005 by Sylvain Charlois, operating as the world leader in premium oak transformation with a heritage dating to 1657. Headquartered in Murlin, Bourgogne, the company controls the full vertical oak value chain — from sustainable forest management (PEFC certified) through stave milling, cooperage production, barrel logistics and storage, end-of-life recycling, and adjacent product lines including cosmetics and structural timber. The group comprises 39 specialized houses and 1,311+ employees across France, the United States (Kentucky), Scotland, Spain, and Romania, exporting to 60+ countries.

The core business is the manufacture of high-end oak barrels for wine and spirits aging, with named enterprise customers including Cognac Martell, Château Lynch Bages, Champagne Marguet, Melka Estates, and Kentucky Peerless Distilling Company. The OAKING platform, launched in 2025, extends this offering into an integrated cask management service covering selection, grading, repair, bespoke coopering, reuse, logistics, financing, and recycling for the global spirits industry. Diversified revenue streams include cooperage products, stave mill and wood products (flooring, structural timber), La Chênaie cosmetic skincare using oak-derived active ingredients, and barrel logistics services.

Charlois pursues a sales-led B2B go-to-market with direct enterprise account management. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Growth has been driven by both organic scaling (revenue from €15M in 2005 to €260M in 2020-2025) and targeted acquisitions, including Oakwood Cooperage (Scotland, 2022/2025), Kelvin Cooperage (USA, 2023), and Graf Brothers (USA, 2024). The company remains family-controlled under Sylvain Charlois as Chairman and Founder, with CEO Charles de Lorgeril leading a professionalized management team.

Name

Charlois

Legal name

CHARLOIS

Website

https://charlois.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Charlois is a family-owned French group that operates a fully vertically integrated oak value chain — from sustainable forestry through cooperage, barrel logistics, and recycling — serving global wine and spirits producers with premium barrels across 60+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Murlin

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cooperage products: High-end oak barrels and casks for wine and spirits aging, including custom coopering services. Revenue from barrel sales, repair, and lifecycle management through the OAKING platform.
2. Stave mill and wood products: Oak stave production, structural timber, and oak flooring products for construction and architectural applications.
3. Cosmetic ingredients and products: La Chênaie cosmetic brand producing skincare products using oak-derived active ingredients like Pétrasève.
4. Barrel logistics and storage: Worldwide barrel logistics, storage, and management services for distilleries through expanded capacity across the group.
5. Oak recycling and circular economy: End-of-life barrel recycling and full utilization of every piece of oak, ensuring maximum valorization of raw material.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Charlois transforms French oak across the full value chain, producing oak barrels and casks for the wine and spirits industry, oak staves and timber, oak flooring through its Parqueterie brand, atypical architectural constructions, and oak-derived cosmetics under the La Chânaie brand. The group serves premium wineries, distilleries, cosmetics retailers, and construction clients worldwide via a portfolio of specialized cooperage houses and subsidiaries.

Product overview

Charlois is a group built around the complete oak value chain, from sustainable forest management to premium product transformation. The portfolio includes OAKING, an integrated cask management platform for global spirits management; multiple cooperage brands (Kelvin Cooperage, Oakwood Cooperage, Graf Brothers, Berthomieu, Ermitage, Saury, Leroi Barrels); cosmetics through La Chênaie; laboratory services via Laboratoire Exact; and architectural products including flooring and atypical constructions. The group operates across France, USA, Spain, Romania, and Scotland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OAKING: Integrated cask management platform for the global spirits industry, covering the entire lifecycle of barrels from first use to final valorization
• La Chênaie
• Black Oak
• Laboratoire Exact
• Les Ateliers du Chêne
• Saury
• Berthomieu
• Ermitage
• Kelvin Cooperage
• Oakwood Cooperage
• Graf Brothers
• Fonds Charlois pour l'Art et la Forêt

Products and services

• Saury Cooperage Barrels Premium French oak barrels produced by the Saury cooperage maison, serving premium wineries and spirits producers with traceable oak and traditional toasting profiles.
• Berthomieu Cooperage Barrels French oak barrels crafted by the Berthomieu maison, supplying wine producers with cooperage products and oak aging solutions.
• Ermitage Cooperage Barrels Premium cooperage barrels from the Ermitage maison, supporting premium wine and spirits aging programs.
• Kelvin Cooperage Casks American oak and specialty casks produced by Kelvin Cooperage, supplying US bourbon, whiskey, and wine producers.
• Oakwood Cooperage Casks Oak casks produced by Oakwood Cooperage, supplying American distilleries and wineries with cooperage products.
• Graf Brothers Cooperage American cooperage barrels and casks from Graf Brothers, acquired by Charlois to extend presence in the US bourbon and wine markets.
• Oak Staves and Timber French oak staves, lumber, and timber produced from sustainably managed forests, supplied to cooperages and construction clients.
• Parqueterie Oak Flooring Premium oak flooring produced under the Parqueterie brand, marketed to luxury construction, architects, and interior design clients.
• Atypik Constructions Bespoke oak-based architectural constructions offered under the Atypik constructions line, serving luxury building projects.
• La Chânaie Cosmetics Oak-derived cosmetics and skincare brand La Chânaie, leveraging Charlois's oak expertise for natural skincare product lines sold to consumers and distributors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Revenue grew from €15M (2005) to €260M (2025) over 20 years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Assouline PublishingminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Publication partnership for 'Oak, Wine & Spirits: A Tale of Alchemy' book featuring Thierry Dussard texts and Christophe Deschanel photography, with foreword by Alain Ducasse.
• Pépinière Quercus (Vincent Brunet)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Vincent Brunet of Pépinière Quercus selected oak species for the Quercetum project Phase 1 at Murlin. Selection based on soil nature and climate considerations for biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.
• Sherry Cask Suppliers (Spain)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Investments in sherry cask production capacities in Spain as part of diversified supply strategy to offer full portfolio including finishing barrels for wine and spirits clients.
• Graf BrotherscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Acquired in 2024, Graf Brothers in Southshore, Kentucky focuses on primary wood processing - the foundation of the oak supply chain from forest to recycling. Continued investments in sawmill and first transformation capabilities.
• Kelvin CooperagecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Acquired in 2023 as part of Charlois expansion in American whiskey markets. New investment plan in cooperage capacity announced to support growth in bourbon sector.
• Oakwood CooperagecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Acquired initial 26% stake in 2022 marking entry into Scottish market. Activity increased fivefold during this period. Fully integrated as Charlois-controlled subsidiary in 2026 following acquisition of remaining shares from historical investors. Operates cooperages in Speyside and Glasgow serving Scottish whisky distilleries.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Tonnellerie François Frères: Premium Burgundy-based cooperage producing high-end French oak barrels for wine and spirits. Competes with Charlois in the prestige Burgundy and Bordeaux segments, particularly for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and grand cru clients.
• Tonnellerie Radoux: Major French cooperage with proprietary oak-toasting technologies (OakScan) serving global wine and spirits producers. Competes with Charlois on premium barrel quality and increasingly on oak science / traceability — a direct rival in cooperage innovation.
• Demptos Cooperage: Historical Bordeaux-based cooperage serving major wine châteaux globally. Competes directly with Charlois for Bordeaux and premium wine barrel contracts with comparable client prestige and geographic reach.
• Tonnellerie Sylvain: French cooperage producing barrels primarily for Burgundy and Beaujolais wines. Direct competitor to Charlois in the French fine wine barrel segment with overlapping customer base among Burgundy estates.
• Canton Cooperage: US-based cooperage producing barrels for American whiskey, wine, and craft spirits. Direct competitor to Charlois's Kelvin Cooperage in the US craft and premium whiskey barrel market.
• Independent Stave Company: Leading US-based cooperage and stave producer serving the bourbon and American whiskey industry from Kentucky. Direct competitor to Charlois's Kelvin Cooperage and Graf Brothers operations in the American bourbon market.
• Nadalie Cooperage: French cooperage producing oak barrels for wine and spirits, with proprietary stave selection and toasting expertise. Competes with Charlois in the mid-to-premium barrel segment across European and export markets.
• Vicard Tonnellerie: Long-established French cooperage producing barrels for the wine industry across Bordeaux, Burgundy, and cognac. Direct competitor to Charlois's French cooperage brands with comparable premium positioning and customer base.
• Oeneo (Seguin Moreau & Taransaud): Oeneo owns Seguin Moreau and Taransaud, two of the largest premium French cooperages serving the global wine and spirits industries. Direct competitor to Charlois's cooperage brands (Saury, Berthomieu, Ermitage) with overlapping customer base across Bordeaux, Burgundy, and cognac producers.

Broad incumbents

• Stora Enso: Global wood products and forestry major with European oak holdings and engineered wood operations. Adjacent to Charlois's forestry, stave mill, and structural timber businesses; much larger scale but not focused on premium wine/spirits cooperage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GroupeCharlois
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charlois
• Instagraminstagram.com/groupecharlois

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries16 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 Charlois