Since 1870, Reveau joinery has distinguished itself in the French market for the quality of its wooden joinery. Today, on the strength of a long tradition and a future-oriented vision, the company has decided to renew its machine park by purchasing two new Woodpecker Performance 5 machines.
A strategic investment to optimise production and respond to new market demands. In this interview with Managing Director Damien Reveau, we discover the company’s growth path and the consolidated link with Saomad.
A brief presentation of the company…
The Reveau joinery was founded in 1870 by my great-grandfather as a craft business specialising in wood products such as windows, doors, kitchens and carpentry.
In 1975, my grandfather continued the business and after his death in 1985, my father took over the company at the age of 25.
Initially, the company produced a variety of wooden products, but my father had the intuition to focus on the production of high-quality, insulating and high-performance windows. Thanks to consulting engineers and machinery suppliers, the company grew to 45 employees in 2000.
What has been your role in the evolution of the company?
After graduating in engineering, I worked for five years in the forklift industry. Later, I brought the skills I had acquired to the company, introducing computers and digital machines to improve the design and production of windows. I worked 8 years with my father until 2008. In 2005, we bought the first two machines from Saomad.
How did the association with the Ridoret Group come about?
In 2013, one of our customers contacted me to propose an association: it was the Ridoret Group. Jean-Baptiste Ridoret (Deputy General Manager) then made me an initial proposal and, subsequently, a shareholder agreement was concluded.
Two years later, Jean-Baptiste Ridoret made a second proposal to me and finally in 2017, the two companies finally merged as part of a merger-acquisition operation with the aim of reserving the production of high-quality windows for Reveau.
Since then, I have been general manager and I am in charge of the production of wooden, PVC and aluminium windows and doors, working together with the Ridoret brothers, Jean-Baptiste and Matthieu: we are three partners.
How many people currently work in the company?
Today, our company has 350 people only in the manufacturing part, with a total of 850 people. In the Reveau joinery, which deals only with wood, there are 110 of us and we produce about 90 windows a day.
You have recently renewed your machine park, right?
Yes, two years ago we decided to renew the Saomad machines we had bought in 2005. We bought two new machines, which will be delivered this year and next year, with an option for a third one in 2026-27, all Woodpecker Performance 5 models. The first machine has been delivered and tested, and we expect to be operational by March.
So you have decided to continue working with Saomad. What were the main reasons for this decision?
We decided to continue working with Saomad for several reasons. Firstly, we have had a very good relationship with them over the past 20 years and Saomad machines have always worked well. This has given us great confidence in their reliability and quality.
After visiting the company and seeing the Woodpecker Performance, we confirmed our conviction that we wanted to continue with them.
Another important factor is that our new project involves offering customers thicker windows and doors, with thicker insulating glass, to improve acoustics and insulation, and we know that Saomad can provide us with the right solutions to achieve this.
Finally, we appreciated that in the project the company paid great attention to the electrical consumption of the machines and the management of work waste, in line with our commitment to reducing the environmental impact of our activities.
Other projects you are currently developing?
In addition to the renovation of the machines, we have revised the design of the windows, IT and production tools. Currently, five people are working on this project.
Who is your ideal customer?
Our customers are mainly in France, especially in the west of the country. We mainly target professionals such as window fitters and installers. Let’s say that 75 per cent of our customers are small companies and 25 per cent are large construction sites.
Our most recent jobs included 2,000 window frames for the athletes’ village in Paris for the 2022 Olympic Games and 1,000 window frames in Nice in 2023.
How would you describe the current window market in France?
This market is currently declining for all materials. Aluminium has fallen by around 30%, PVC by 15% and wood by 5%. This drop is mainly due to the decrease in demand for new construction, which the renovation sector is unable to compensate for.
After the sales peak in 2020, during the Covid period, the market returned to pre-candemic levels due to investment curbs and inflation. Despite this, the timber market was stable in 2023.
