Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne and EIB Launch First Defence Sector Financing in France with €1 Million Loan to CIMULEC Groupe

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Photo : from left to right : Ambroise Fayolle, EIB Vice-President and responsible for operations in France; Laurent Bodin, CIMULEC Groupe CEO and Dominique Garnier, Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne CEO.
Copyright : Audrey Krommenacker

(IN BRIEF) Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne has provided a €1 million loan to CIMULEC Groupe, marking the first financing operation in France under a €300 million European Investment Bank-backed programme designed to support SMEs in the defence sector through Groupe BPCE. The seven-year loan will help the Moselle-based company meet growing demand for high value-added printed circuit boards used in aeronautics, defence and space applications, supporting its working capital needs and operational expansion. CIMULEC Groupe, which supplies major contractors such as Thales, Safran and Airbus Defence and Space, continues to strengthen its industrial capabilities while contributing to France’s technological sovereignty. The initiative reflects broader European efforts to enhance strategic autonomy and reinforce the defence industrial base, with BPALC leveraging its regional expertise and partnership with the EIB to drive innovation and competitiveness among SMEs.

(PRESS RELEASE) PARIS, 25-Mar-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne (BPALC) has extended a €1 million loan to CIMULEC Groupe, a small enterprise based in Moselle that focuses on the production of advanced printed circuit boards for the aeronautics, defence and space industries. This transaction marks the first financing operation in France under the €300 million funding programme provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to Groupe BPCE, aimed at improving access to financing for small and medium-sized businesses operating within the defence sector.

Structured over a seven-year term, the loan is designed to support CIMULEC Groupe’s working capital requirements as it responds to rising demand, particularly from defence-related activities. The funding will enable the company to sustain its production capacity and strengthen its position within key strategic industries.

CIMULEC Groupe operates as an industrial specialist in high value-added printed circuit boards, supplying complex multilayer PCB solutions across aeronautics, defence and space applications. The company runs three production facilities in France and collaborates with major industry players including Thales, Safran and Airbus Defence and Space. Its technologies are used in embedded systems, satellite communications and military equipment. With a workforce of approximately 220 employees and annual revenues of around €28 million, the company delivers a full range of PCB capabilities from prototype development through to serial manufacturing.

The financing reflects growing institutional support for the defence sector, following broader policy initiatives introduced in 2025 to reinforce industrial capabilities. The loan is intended to help CIMULEC Groupe scale its operations in line with increased customer demand while reinforcing its technological expertise.

Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne continues to play an active role in supporting regional economic development, particularly in strategic industries. Through its partnership with the European Investment Bank and its integration within Groupe BPCE, the bank is facilitating access to tailored financing solutions that promote innovation and competitiveness among small and medium-sized enterprises.

The EIB-BPCE collaboration represents a broader effort to strengthen Europe’s defence industrial and technological base, contributing to greater strategic autonomy across the European Union. In 2025, the EIB Group allocated €670 million in France to projects related to security and defence, with this financing initiative forming a key component of that investment strategy.

With an established regional presence, BPALC supports businesses through a network of ten dedicated business centres and a team of 60 specialised advisors, offering sector-specific expertise to companies operating across nine departments in the region. This first transaction under the EIB-backed programme signals continued momentum in financing defence-related innovation and industrial growth in France.

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 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. High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.

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. 

Media Contact:

Christophe Gilbert
Head of Press Relations & E-Reputation at Groupe BPCE
christophe.gilbert@bpce.fr

SOURCE: GROUPE BPCE

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