Industrial Employment in France and Local Community Life
- Designed and Made in France
- Passing Down Skills Across Generations
- Rooted in Local Life
French Design and Manufacturing
Our equipment is primarily manufactured in France whenever economically feasible.
This choice also reflects Outils Océans’ commitment to maintaining full technical control and sustaining our capacity for innovation.
Workforce Renewal and Skills Preservation
In recent years, we have successfully renewed and rejuvenated our workforce to anticipate natural departures linked to demographic shifts.
Experienced instructors provide in-house training for new recruits and offer two years of hands-on support to ensure full mastery of our product ranges.
With the support of Pôle Emploi, we have also implemented pre-recruitment training programs, including a 300-hour training plan delivered by our internal teams.
Local Engagement
We support the initiatives of local associations and foundations.
Since 2013, Outils Océans has been a technical partner of the Pôle Finistère Course au Large, an elite offshore racing center whose mission is to train, mentor, and support high-level athletes—primarily on 60-foot monohulls and Figaro Bénéteau II one-design boats.
We design and manufacture products specifically adapted to competitive sailing, enabling us to test our materials and technical expertise in extreme conditions.
We are also proud to support the next generation of talented skippers through the Filière Espoir, a talent development pathway. For over 15 years, the center has run the “Challenge Espoir” program in partnership with the Brittany region, offering promising sailors access to professional contracts.
The Pôle boasts an impressive track record, with many of its skippers winning major offshore races such as the Vendée Globe, Route du Rhum, and multiple editions of the Solitaire du Figaro.
Outils Océans has shared a long-standing relationship with the Figaro Bénéteau Class—nearly 30 years. Since the launch of the Figaro 1 in 1990, hundreds of Figaro sailors have been equipped with our gear. Innovation and challenge are part of our DNA, making our partnership with the class a natural fit. Since 2018, we’ve supported the development of custom products for the Figaro 3—gear that meets the one-design philosophy while allowing skippers a degree of freedom in performance choices.
We are also proud members of Réseau Entreprendre Bretagne, a regional association of over 350 members that has supported more than 400 entrepreneurs in creating value and driving innovation.
True to the motto of its founder, Mr. MULIEZ — “To create jobs, let’s first create entrepreneurs” — the network offers mentorship from experienced business leaders and provides honor loans to help entrepreneurs secure additional funding.
Outils Océans was a Réseau Entreprendre Bretagne award winner from 2012 to 2014 and has been an active member since 2015.
We are proud to contribute to the creation and development of businesses in our region, helping sustain and grow local employment.
Local engagement
Local Suppliers
For general services, workshop equipment, and the outsourcing of certain production tasks, we prioritize local suppliers whenever the required expertise is available near our facilities.
For workshop equipment, we collaborate with companies such as:
- CEMMI (special machinery manufacturing) and
- Siminox (stainless steel parts), both located in our industrial zone.
- For sewing machines and spare parts, we work with CCR, based in Laval.
For the outsourcing of specific tasks, we rely on:
- Color Marquage in Quimperlé for screen printing, and
- The ESAT de Cornouaille in Concarneau for simple sewing operations.
For general services, we partner with Corser, a Quimper-based cleaning company.
Quality of Life and Working Conditions
Outils Océans is committed to complying with, and ensuring its suppliers comply with, labor legislation and international standards on fundamental rights—particularly the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
We are dedicated to ensuring the health and safety of our employees in the workplace, and to implementing corrective measures whenever necessary.
We promote constructive dialogue within the company and regularly inform employees about company news, decision-making, upcoming projects, and performance results.
Whenever possible, we support the implementation of social benefits and employee advantages.
Through our work, we provide clients with solutions that help improve working conditions for their own employees.
We also guarantee that Outils Océans products comply with all current health and safety standards and regulations to protect end users.
Quality of Life and Working Conditions
Workplace Well-Being – Social Dialogue
Since December 2014, after four years without employee representation, we successfully held elections for two staff delegates. Today, our Social and Economic Committee (CSE) includes two full representatives and two alternates.
To achieve this, we made a point of raising awareness among staff about the importance of employee representation and encouraged them to take part in the election process.
These efforts have helped strengthen communication between management and staff. The first meetings allowed employees to express their expectations regarding working conditions, compensation, and social benefits.
In addition to monthly CSE meetings, we maintain open dialogue through weekly or monthly team meetings.
We are always attentive to our employees and place strong value on communication and dialogue at every level of the company.
Examples :
- In production, two meetings are held every week with production staff. These are moments of open exchange to discuss working conditions, challenges encountered, and upcoming workload. All feedback and suggestions are listened to carefully, and conversations remain open and informal. Informal communication is one of the company’s strengths, fostered by our human-scale structure where everyone knows each other. Relationships with management are also facilitated by the fact that our three executives are former employees of the company.
- To strengthen company spirit and team cohesion, we organized our first Team Building afternoon, bringing together all employees and the three directors. The aim was to encourage interactions between people who don’t usually work together, foster communication, build mutual understanding, and develop a spirit of solidarity. We particularly wanted to bridge the gap between “production staff” and “office staff.”
The outcome was very positive.
Since 2023, we also have a designated staff member trained in workplace harassment prevention, reinforcing our commitment to employee well-being and respectful working relationships.
Diversity and Skills Development
Outils Océans guarantees equal opportunity and fair treatment, regardless of gender, social background, ethnicity, religion, or age.
We actively promote diversity in the workplace.
We also encourage skills development and continuous training to support the growth and progression of our employees.