France Plateaux transport cooperative network 20th anniversary, Digi Mart USA News (Lyon, France): Growing together without losing independence. Since its founding in 2006, France Plateaux has been built around this ambition.
Gathered at a general assembly in Lyon on October 17 and 18, 2026, its members celebrated two decades of history, marked by network development and a commitment to preserving the identity of each company.
In 2006, seven companies, all specialized in flatbed transport, decided to join forces to found France Plateaux. The initiative was led by Bertrand Loisel, head of Transports Loisel in Ille-et-Vilaine and the group’s current president.
The group expanded quickly, and in 2007 nine companies joined from twelve applications received. Selection relied in part on a probationary period and an ethical charter.
Members are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises with about thirty employees and average annual revenue of roughly five million euros. In 2010, the group became a cooperative public limited company.
It also set up a joint sales force, France Plateaux Services, and introduced group purchasing in 2013. An internal freight exchange allows members to trade goods among themselves, giving them greater weight with suppliers and helping develop their business.
The shared sales force generates between 7 and 8 million euros of freight each year for members. The network now comprises 57 companies, with cumulative revenue of 310 million euros and 1,650 vehicles, including flatbeds, extendable flatbeds, flatbed cranes, equipment carriers and oversized convoys.
Beyond the figures, the group has gradually strengthened its staff, adding a secretary general in 2020, a communications officer in 2022 and a CSR mission officer in 2025, reflecting its intention to expand support on environmental and social issues.
“Each of us is solid. Together, we become indispensable,” summed up Bertrand Loisel, president of France Plateaux.
Two decades later, this solidarity remains meaningful. In 2026, two takeovers allowed Seingier and Solygotrans to continue their activities within the group.
In July 2026, the Joigneaux group took over Transports Seingier, also a France Plateaux member. Based in Pont-à-Marcq, in northern France, the company generates more than four million euros in revenue, with a fleet of 24 trucks and about thirty employees.
The acquisition allows the Joigneaux group to strengthen its presence in the region.
On October 1, Solygotrans, one of the seven founding companies of France Plateaux, also changed hands. Based in Saint-Romain-en-Gal, in the Rhône department, it was taken over by three members: the Niocel group, present in Cantal and Puy-de-Dôme, Transports Loisel and Transports Saint-Ouen in Eure.
It currently employs 27 drivers and generates revenue of 4.2 million euros.
In both cases, the companies, their teams and their expertise remain within the group rather than joining an outside group. These two operations concretely illustrate solidarity among members.
Solygotrans also hosted the Lyon general assembly marking the network’s twentieth anniversary.
“Solygotrans helped give birth to France Plateaux in 2006. Twenty years later, members of the group are ensuring its continuity.
Our clients and our teams keep the strength of a national network without losing what makes our company what it is,” said Samy Bouchet, director of Solygotrans.
The general assembly was also the occasion for France Plateaux to unveil its 2027-2030 collective project. It is built around four priorities: sustaining the cooperative identity, strengthening members’ performance and competitiveness, supporting leaders in preparing the future, and securing companies and their practices.
CSR runs throughout these orientations, with attention to environmental, social and sustainable performance issues.
These priorities aim to address challenges facing carriers, from the energy transition to recruitment, regulatory compliance, business succession, artificial intelligence and executive responsibility. “The course is set: the action plan is for our members to write,” concluded Bertrand Loisel.
