L'HEXAGONE

What L'HEXAGONE does

L'Hexagone is a French family-owned industrial packaging manufacturer founded in 1971, with the founding family's roots in sawmill operations dating back to 1890. Headquartered at PA Les Terres Neuves in La Guerche-de-Bretagne (Ille-et-Vilaine), the company employs 11-50 people and operates privately with no external funding. François Rossignol has served as president since 2001, representing the fourth generation of family leadership, and the company maintains a 50-year track record in its specialization.

The company's core offering is honeycomb cardboard (carton alvéolaire) packaging, including pallets, panels, strips, dividers, wedges, and corner protections. The technology relies on a honeycomb paper core structure bonded with water-based adhesives, manufactured from 100% recycled paper fibers and designed to be fully recyclable. Compressive strength ranges from 100 kg/m² to 4,000 kg/m² depending on product configuration. Production was modernized between 2009 and 2020 from a three-phase process into an automated single-operation flow, and a new industrial facility was completed at the headquarters site in early 2021. Raw paper supply is supported by the 1995 acquisition of Les Papeteries du Ciron, providing vertical integration into paper production.

L'Hexagone operates a B2B direct sales model with custom quotations, serving eight primary verticals: automotive and aeronautics, household appliances, food industry (with named customers Tetra Pak and SIG), construction, transport and logistics, industrial components, textile and plastics, and defense (with Direction Générale de l'Armement certification for French Army airdrop applications). The company is positioned as a European leader in honeycomb cardboard packaging, with multilingual digital presence in French, English, Spanish, and German, and has won the Oscar de l'Emballage industry award in 1984 and 1986.

Name

L'HEXAGONE

Legal name

L'HEXAGONE

Website

https://lhexagone.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

L'Hexagone is a French family-owned industrial packaging manufacturer founded in 1971 that specializes in custom honeycomb cardboard packaging — pallets, panels, dividers, and protective elements — serving automotive, aerospace, food, defense, construction, and household appliance sectors across European markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Honeycomb cardboard industrial packaging

SIC

Paperboard Containers & Boxes (2650)

akta.pro primary industry

Paper-Based Protective Packaging (Kraft Paper, Honeycomb, Molded Pulp) (IMALAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Protective Paper Packaging (Honeycomb, Paper Cushioning, Paper Wrap) (IMALACAH), Pallets (Wood, Plastic, Metal, Presswood) (IMALAFAF), Mono-Material & Recyclability-Designed Packaging (Design-for-Recycling, Barrier Alternatives) (IMALAMAD)

Keywords

• Honeycomb cardboard packaging
• Industrial protective packaging
• Custom paper packaging
• Cardboard pallets
• Load distribution products

Headquarters

HQ city

La Guerche-de-Bretagne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom honeycomb cardboard packaging: Manufacture and sale of custom honeycomb cardboard packaging solutions including pallets, panels, dividers, wedges, packaging, and corner protections. Solutions are tailored to customer specifications across various industrial sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

L'HEXAGONE designs and manufactures custom honeycomb-cardboard packaging and protection products for industrial customers. Its range includes pallets, panels, strips, dividers, cushioning wedges, complete packaging, and corner protectors, produced for sector-specific transport, protection, load-handling, and cushioning requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Honeycomb Cardboard Pallets (Palettes) Standard or custom-format honeycomb-cardboard pallets for industrial load handling.
• Honeycomb Cardboard Panels (Plaques) Honeycomb-cardboard panels manufactured in dimensions adapted to industrial packaging requirements.
• Honeycomb Cardboard Strips (Bandes) Custom honeycomb-cardboard strips for industrial packaging and transport applications.
• Honeycomb Cardboard Dividers (Intercalaires) Honeycomb-cardboard dividers used to separate products in industrial packaging applications.
• Honeycomb Cardboard Cushioning Wedges (Calages) Custom shock-absorbing honeycomb-cardboard cushioning wedges for industrial packaging.
• Custom Honeycomb Packaging (Emballages) Custom-designed honeycomb-cardboard packaging for protecting industrial products.
• Honeycomb Cardboard Corner Protectors (Cornières) Custom honeycomb-cardboard corner protectors for protecting packaged product corners and edges.

Quantifiable outcome

• Compressive strength up to 70 t/m² for panels, 25t/m² static for pallets
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerL'Hexagone supplies honeycomb cardboard cushioning products meeting rigorous specifications established by DGA (French Defense procurement agency) for military airdrop operations. The products ensure controlled shock-absorption for military equipment during parachute drops, protecting material from damage at ground contact.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Nefab: Global industrial packaging company offering engineered packaging solutions including paper-based protective packaging, pallets, and crating. Comparable to L'Hexagone in its multi-vertical industrial packaging focus and engineered paper solutions for automotive and aerospace customers.
• Storopack: German-headquartered protective packaging manufacturer offering paper-based (PAPPRO) and foam-based cushioning solutions. Comparable to L'Hexagone as a European specialist serving automotive, electronics, and industrial customers with custom-engineered protective packaging.
• Pregis: US-based protective packaging manufacturer with a growing portfolio of paper-based cushioning products (e.g., PaperPad) alongside traditional foam and air solutions. Comparable to L'Hexagone as it pivots toward sustainable paper-based protective packaging for industrial and consumer goods customers.
• GWP Group: UK-based protective packaging manufacturer producing custom-engineered foam, corrugated, and paper-based packaging including dunnage trays and protective inserts. Comparable to L'Hexagone as a custom industrial protective packaging specialist serving similar OEM customers.
• Ranpak Holdings: Ranpak is a global leader in paper-based protective packaging, including PaperPlus paper cushioning and honeycomb-based solutions (WrapPack, Hexcel-inspired structures). Most directly comparable peer to L'Hexagone as both compete in sustainable, paper-based protective packaging for industrial and e-commerce customers.

Regional players

• Kite Packaging: UK-based distributor and manufacturer of protective and industrial packaging including paper-based solutions, edge protectors, and dividers. Comparable to L'Hexagone in product category, with overlapping European customer base in industrial packaging.
• Papier Sprick: German manufacturer of paper-based protective packaging including honeycomb and corrugated solutions. Comparable to L'Hexagone as a regional paper-honeycomb protective packaging specialist serving similar German/European industrial customers.

Broad incumbents

• Mondi Group: European-headquartered paper and packaging group with significant operations in corrugated and protective paper packaging. Comparable to L'Hexagone in paper-based industrial packaging but operates at global scale across multiple packaging segments.
• Sealed Air: Global protective and food packaging company historically known for Bubble Wrap and Cryovac, now expanding into paper-based and sustainable solutions. Comparable to L'Hexagone in protective packaging for industrial and consumer goods but with much broader product portfolio and global reach.
• Smurfit Kappa: One of the world's largest paper-based packaging groups with a broad portfolio including corrugated, protective, and specialty paper packaging. Comparable to L'Hexagone in paper-based protective packaging but operates at significantly larger scale across many product categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lhexagone

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 L'HEXAGONE