Cooperl Arc Atlantique (a.k.a. Cooperl) is the largest

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

processing company in France.

Overview

Cooperl Arc Atlantique was founded in 1966.Company Overview of Cooperl Arc Atlantique S.A.
''Bloomberg Business'' The company breeds pigs, kills them in slaughterhouses, and distributes cut pieces of pork for sale. Its slaughterhouses are located in

Montfort-sur-Meu Montfort-sur-Meu (, literally ''Montfort on Meu''; , before 1993: ''Montfort'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of France. ...

, and its head office is in

Lamballe Lamballe (; ; Gallo: ''Lanball'') is a town and a former commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Lamballe-Armor. It lies on the river Gouessant east ...

, both of which are located in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. In 2012, the company opened a branch in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia.Official website: Our history
/ref> As of 2015, it is the largest pork processing company in France.
''Le Monde'', August 10, 2015 Its competitor is Groupe Bigard. In June 2017, Cooperl acquired the "charcuterie and cured meats" division of the Financière Turenne Lafayette group, which included the brands "Paul Prédault," "Lampaulaise de Salaisons," "Madrange," and "Montagne Noire." In 2018, the company began constructing a biogas plant in Lamballe, which became the largest non-spreading biogas plant in Europe as of December 2, 2019. In February 2019, the Cooperl acquired the Jean Caby brand. In 2020, the competition authority fined the company €35.5 million for its involvement in a price-fixing scandal in the processed meat market. A 2023 investigation by Splann media reports that Cooperl's diversification strategy is causing economic difficulties, while the pork cooperative imposes most technical decisions on its farmers.

2015 French pork production crisis

In August 2015, both Cooperl Arc Atlantique and Groupe Bigard refused to accept the price set at the Marché du Porc Breton in

Plérin Plérin (; ; Gallo: ''Plérein'') is a coastal commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. The Marché du Porc Breton, located in Plérin, is where the price of pork is set for retailers across France. ...

, which is used as the norm across France, on the basis that it was too high in comparison with the price set by other European countries like Germany, where both companies also sell pork.Victoria Masson
Deux importants industriels de la viande boycottent le porc français
''Le Figaro'', August 11, 2015

References

Food and drink companies established in 1966 Companies based in Brittany Pork Meat companies of France French companies established in 1966 {{France-company-stub