Smartphones, tablets, computers: Cykero, German reconditioning giant chooses Montpellier and will create 160 jobs

Le secteur du reconditionnement est en pleine évolution. MAXPPP – Guillaume Bonnefont

Hébergé gratuitement au Montpellier International Business Incubator (MIBI) le temps de la construction de son site industriel de 3 500 m2 prévu dans les mois à venir, Cykero va implanter son siège social mi-2026 dans la capitale héraultaise.

A nice Christmas present. The German company Cykero Holding GMBH, specializing in the automated reconditioning of electronic devices, a booming sector, has confirmed the location of its future Technocentre 4.0 in Montpellier. This strategic project represents a major turning point for the company, which plans to transfer its headquarters from Maisons-Laffitte (Île-de-France) to the Hérault capital in the coming months.

Founded in 2020, Cykero is experiencing rapid growth, posting a turnover of €12.5 million in 2023, with forecasts of €27 million for 2024. From January 2025, the company will move to the Montpellier International Business Incubator (MIBI) to oversee the construction of its 3,500 m2 industrial site. A Technocentre 4.0 dedicated to the automated reconditioning of smartphones, tablets, computers and other electronic equipment, with the aim of meeting growing demand and strengthening the company's competitiveness in a booming market.

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Circular economy benchmark

A facility supervised by the Montpellier Metropolis and the Occitanie Region: “Cykero perfectly embodies our desire to promote economic development focused on social and environmental transitions, and confirms our ambition to make Montpellier a benchmark territory for the circular economy”, said Michaël Delafosse.

Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie Region, speaks of a significant opportunity “in full coherence with the policies supported by the Occitanie Region and our priorities: supporting innovation, promoting the ecological and solidarity transition, and creating sustainable and local jobs”.

Hérault at the forefront of this sector

In a booming market, two other major companies in the reconditioning sector are established in Hérault. These are Olinn It, a company based in Lunel-Viel. Now backed by Crédit Agricole, Olinn IT reconditions 300,000 computers, telephones and other computer peripherals each year and has recovered at the beginning of the year the activities of Olinn Mobile, based in Ile-de-France. The pioneer of reconditioning, Smaaart has been based in Saint-Mathieu-de-Tréviers since 1986 and has integrated the Econocom group to become a reference in the field of reconditioning of telecommunications products.

The future research and development center will focus on the complete repair of electronic components, guaranteeing exceptional quality and an after-sales service return rate of less than 2% (compared to 15% for conventional reconditioned products). This project also aims to reduce the company's ecological footprint by limiting the exploitation of natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions.

Public aid

In the medium term, this Technocentre should create 160 sustainable jobs over the next three years, thus contributing to the structuring of the reconditioning sector in Occitanie. The building permit application is scheduled for January 2025, with the production unit scheduled to be commissioned in mid-2026. The Montpellier Metropolis has already voted €300,000 in aid to support this initiative. In particular, by providing free premises to the MIBI. The Metropolis's green elected representatives have requested, through Catherine Ribot, to “make this public aid conditional on compliance with social and environmental conditions”. To which Michaël Delafosse retorted that this was understandable while recalling that Cykero had “chose Montpellier for its decarbonization strategy”.

A regional envelope of €800,000 should also be submitted for approval to elected officials of the Occitanie Region. To make the region a major player in the reconditioning market.

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