EPC Groupe (Explosifs Produits Chimiques S.A.) is a French multinational company that trades in

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

and

drilling Drilling is a cutting process where a drill bit is spun to cut a hole of circular cross-section in solid materials. The drill bit is usually a rotary cutting tool, often multi-point. The bit is pressed against the work-piece and rotated at ...

; It is one of the world’s leaders in explosives manufacture, storage and distribution and in particular drilling and blasting.

History

It was founded in 1893 b
Eugène-Jean Barbier
and its first implantation was in Saint-Martin-de-Crau (France).

Structure

It is headquartered in La Défense (France). It has ove
fifty subsidiary
companies around the world.

United Kingdom

In the UK it has two sites, in Somercotes,EPC United Kingdom plc
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Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

and Great Oakley, Essex, known as EPC-UK. It began in the UK in 1905. The UK head office is south of the A38, at the B600 junction. It started in the UK as Explosives and Chemical Products (ECP), later part of Exchem. It has a 12,000 acre test site on the Essex coast at

Hamford Water Hamford Water is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Walton-on-the-Naze and Harwich in Essex. The site is a tidal inlet which has marsh grasslands, creeks, mud and sand flats, salt marshes, islands and beaches. It is descri ...

in Tendring. Exchem had a subsidiary in Essex, Thames Nitrogen, that made explosives.

Products

It produces around 145,000 tonnes of explosive annually.

References

{{reflist

External links

EPC Groupe

EPC Groupe UK
1893 establishments in France Chemical companies of France Companies based in Derbyshire Demolition Explosives manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Paris Manufacturing companies established in 1893 Mining companies of France Mining engineering companies