- Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne (BPALC) is providing a €1 million loan to CIMULEC Groupe, a Moselle-based small enterprise specialising in printed circuit boards for the aeronautics, defence and space sectors.
- This is the first loan in France under the €300 million financing package provided by the EIB to Groupe BPCE to facilitate access to finance for small and medium businesses in the defence sector.
This €1 million loan, provided over a period of seven years, is intended to finance the working capital needs of CIMULEC Groupe. It will enable the group to meet strong demand from the defence sector.
CIMULEC Groupe is an industrial player specialising in the production of high value-added printed circuit boards (PCBs) for strategic sectors such as aeronautics, defence and space. This small enterprise has three industrial sites in France and its customers include major French contractors such as Thales, Safran and Airbus Defence and Space, which use printed circuit boards in embedded software, telecommunications satellites and military equipment. With 220 employees and an annual turnover of €28 million, CIMULEC Groupe deploys its expertise at three industrial sites to cover all complex multilayer PCB technologies, from prototype to serial production.
“To satisfy strong business growth and meet the sizeable increase in demand from our customers, the loan granted by BPALC, with the backing of the EIB, shows our partner's determination after the political announcements of 2025 to support the development of the defence industry. This is a strong endorsement of the skills and expertise of our teams and our group,” said CIMULEC Groupe CEO Laurent Bodin.
“This loan illustrates our commitment to financing the competitiveness and innovation of our region's small and medium businesses in the defence sector. Supporting a renowned key player such as CIMULEC Groupe, which contributes to French technological sovereignty, is at the very heart of what we do as a cooperative bank. This funding, made possible through our collaboration with the EIB, demonstrates our commitment to driving innovation and competitiveness in a strategic sector such as defence, which is vital for our region and our country,” said Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne CEO Dominique Garnier.
“The partnership between the EIB and the BPCE banking group for the defence industry is bearing its first fruit. This financing by Banque Populaire Alsace Champagne for CIMULEC, an SME active in aeronautics, defence and space, is a concrete example of support for the defence industrial and technological base, aimed at strengthening the European Union’s strategic autonomy. In 2025, the EIB Group invested 670 million euros in France in projects related to security and defence, of which the partnership with BPCE is an important component,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, who is responsible for operations in France.
This maiden operation illustrates the commitment of Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne to financing companies in the defence sector across the region. Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne capitalises on the strength of its regional network with ten business centres dedicated to companies, 60 specialised advisors and experts in the defence sector. It makes available its in-depth, personalised expertise to small and medium businesses active in the nine departments of this region.
For more information on the EIB package agreed in June 2025, with a financing envelope of 300 million euros granted to Groupe BPCE to facilitate access to financing for SMEs in the defence sector, see here.
Background information
About the EIB
The European Investment Bank (ElB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion of new financing and advisory services for over 870 high-impact projects in eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investment union. Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructures, the EIB Group crowds-in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations.
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About Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne
Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne is a cooperative bank and an advisory bank for all entrepreneurs. BPALC's activities range from commercial banking to insurance in a close relationship with its customers in nine departments: Aube, Marne, Haute-Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin. BPALC has 860 000 clients (including 330 000 cooperative shareholders), 203 branches, corporate business hubs, business centres serving the farming and winegrowing sectors, and 2 592 employees. Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne is part of Groupe BPCE, the second-largest banking entity in France.
About CIMULEC Groupe
CIMULEC Groupe specialises in the production – built-to-print subcontracting – of high value-added printed circuit boards for military, aeronautics and space applications, from prototype to serial production.
For almost 50 years, the quality, technicality and reliability of the group’s printed circuit boards have helped gain the trust of leading contractors in France and across Europe.
CIMULEC Groupe is a family-run small enterprise that divides its services and expertise into specific segments via three independent industrial subsidiaries with their own identities:
- CIMULEC in Ennery (57) has more than 100 employees, with activities mostly focused on defence;
- CSI Sud-Ouest in Toulouse (31) has 60 employees and specialises in prototyping and small series with short production deadlines;
- SYSTRONIC in Les Ulis (91) has 60 employees, with activities focused on the space (European Space Agency satellite applications) and defence sectors.
The group offers a wide range of technologies (sequential multilayer rigid-flex printed circuit boards, using high-density interconnect (HDI), hyper-frequency and microwave design; and embedded software structures) for high-reliability applications and use in harsh, constrained environments.
Currently ranked among the top 20 manufacturers in Europe, CIMULEC Groupe continues to pursue its industrial development strategy in terms of both technologies and medium-term revenue growth.
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