Aa family company that has been in business for over 50 years

1. Desjoyaux Once Again on the Right Track
Piscines Desjoyaux,a family company thathas been in business for over 50 years,has overcome the economic
crisisby automatingits factory and focussingon R&D. The result: double-digitannual growth and production
that is still based 100%in the Loire Region.
Oval or long, with a blue liner, or more recently, a grey or black liner, individual or collective... Desjoyaux
swimming pools are the perfect addition to private gardens or hotel resorts both in France and in the other 85
countries where the La Fouillouse(Loire) -based company is located.SinceJean Desjoyaux dug his first pool for
his children in 1966, his whole family has carried on and developed the business. “I represent the fourth
generation, and we’ve already appointed a representative from the fifth to take on my role in four or five
years”, explains Jean Louis Desjoyaux who currently runs the company with his son, daughter, sister, brother,
three nephews and a niece. “This family aspect is reassuring for our employees”, he adds, “but also for our
network, which knows we’re not going to sell the company to a pension fund”.
Innovation: a floating pool!
After overcoming years of difficulty duringtheeconomic crisis,between 2007 and 2015,Desjoyaux has
regained double-digitgrowth, and closed its lastfinancial year,atthe end of August 2017,with €88m. So what
is their secret?
A completely automated factory usingrobotics,which reduced costs by 30% whilemaintaining100%French
production.
“I also took over the management of R&D myself”, asserted Jean-Louis Desjoyaux. “With fivepeople
accompanyingme in fundamental research,and eight others working on development, we are goingto turn
out two to three patents a year”.
The firstresults:a floatingpool for safe swimmingin natural aquatic environments and,the latest innovation,a
“small-budget” range of pools that can be self-assembled.
Véronique Vigne-Lepage