Customer testimonials
In-house training: the CTCPA assists ISA Groupe with the operationalization of their 4th range plant product processing workshop.
24
Mar
Published on: 24/03/2025
The CTCPA supported ISA Groupe in the operationalization of their 4th range vegetable product processing workshop. A look back at the experience with Franck ROCHER, Technical Department Coordinator, and Julien MARECHAL, Vegetable Production Manager.
"CTCPA's support has been a real structuring lever. It has enabled us to avoid mistakes, speed up our compliance and gain a clearer vision of our prospects. We know we can count on them to support us in our future developments."
Introduce us to the ISA Group: structure, vision, values, products...
ISA Groupe is a Groupement Économique Solidaire (G.E.S.) based in Aubigny-sur-Nère (18) for over 37 years. It brings together a Work Integration Workshop (Atelier Chantier d'Insertion) and a Work Integration Company (Entreprise d'Insertion), with horizontal governance favoring exchanges and participation by all.
I'm Franck ROCHER, coordinator of the technical department. My role is to liaise between the supervisory team and management. Within the Atelier Chantier d'Insertion, we have several activities, two of which are the main ones:
We also have a food processing unit, integrated into the Entreprise d'Insertion. This activity, specialized in the "fourth range", consists of preparing raw vegetables (peeling, cutting, rinsing, vacuum-packing) for the local catering industry.
ISA Groupe adapts to local needs and promotes the integration of job seekers through several complementary structures:
The acquisition of transferable skills is at the heart of our approach. Our employees are supported by Christel TOURNIER, a vocational integration advisor, who helps them overcome obstacles such as health, housing and mobility.
We operate in several départements (Cher, Nièvre, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Yonne). By pooling our resources (premises, vehicles, staff), we optimize our impact and strengthen our action in favor of integration through economic activity.
How did you come to contact the CTCPA? What were your needs? What were your objectives? Why did you choose the CTCPA, and how did you hear about us?
We called on the CTCPA to help us structure our food processing unit.
I'm Julien MARECHAL, in charge of market gardening. Before joining ISA Groupe, I worked for 15 years in the restaurant business, before switching to market gardening, driven by my passion for food autonomy. Initially, my project was to create a canning factory to add value to vegetable production. It was during my training at an agricultural college and a week's training in Nantes (Running a canning business) that I discovered the CTCPA.
When I arrived at ISA Groupe, the processing unit already existed but was not yet operational. A colleague was in charge of launching it, but had not had the opportunity to work with the CTCPA. When he left, Franck ROCHER and I took over this activity, and I insisted on the need to collaborate with them.
At the previous Natexpo trade show in Paris, we met Carla LUCET, Head of Development Projects - National Start-up Manager at the CTCPA, who, after listening to our problems, offered us support with the aim of structuring our unit around three axes:
We have already started supplying some customers, such as secondary schools, but we still need to refine our processes.
At the same time, we are members of AREA (Association Régionale des Entreprises Agroalimentaires), which gives us access to a network and useful resources. However, for specialized technical questions, the CTCPA remains our main point of contact. We also have an indirect link with them via the start-up NO. La Crupote, which they support in R&D, and with whom we have been able to exchange useful information.
Our building was inaugurated in June 2022 and our first production run started this year. However, technical difficulties and non-conformities slowed our progress, sometimes necessitating a pause in our collaboration with the CTCPA. Today, we are working with the laboratory, which has validated an initial range of products and their best-before dates.
We chose to start with a limited range, co-constructed with our customers, in particular the Bourges high schools, in order to respond precisely to their needs and avoid unnecessary costs linked to conservation tests. Our objective is clear: to offer products that are genuinely in demand in the region, in line with the ISA Groupe's philosophy, which is part of a dynamic of solidarity and local economy.
How did the support go?
CTCPA's support was provided in several stages by specialized experts. Xavier DEVIS, Technology Project Manager, first worked on the technical aspects during an intervention and visit to our unit, identifying inconsistencies in the building's design. Thanks to his observations, we were able to correct key elements such as the location of equipment and the organization of production flows. Next, Alexandre DUPUIS, Territorial Relations Manager for the Northern Region, Training Coordinator for the North and East and Health Safety Management Project Manager, assisted us with the regulatory aspects, in particular the implementation of our Health Management Plan (PMS), traceability and disinfection, while reconciling organic certification and health requirements, in particular with regard to the use of cleaning products. Finally, Carla LUCET provided us with strategic and commercial advice, helping us to better prepare the marketing of our products.
What particularly impressed us was CTCPA's responsiveness. Whether by e-mail, telephone or on site, we always received appropriate answers, enabling us to clarify complex technical points in a matter of hours, which would have taken us much longer on our own. One of the CTCPA's major assets is its ability to mobilize several experts according to our needs.
The CTCPA's support has enabled us to lay solid foundations for the development of our processing unit, by optimizing our processes and reinforcing our traceability. We remain in contact with them for future developments, such as the integration of a dehydrator or the diversification of our range.
In conclusion, the CTCPA's support has been a real structuring lever. It has enabled us to avoid mistakes, accelerate our compliance and gain a clearer vision of our prospects. We know we can count on them to support us in our future developments.
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CONTACT ISA GROUPE :
"CTCPA's support has been a real structuring lever. It has enabled us to avoid mistakes, speed up our compliance and gain a clearer vision of our prospects. We know we can count on them to support us in our future developments."
Introduce us to the ISA Group: structure, vision, values, products...
ISA Groupe is a Groupement Économique Solidaire (G.E.S.) based in Aubigny-sur-Nère (18) for over 37 years. It brings together a Work Integration Workshop (Atelier Chantier d'Insertion) and a Work Integration Company (Entreprise d'Insertion), with horizontal governance favoring exchanges and participation by all.
I'm Franck ROCHER, coordinator of the technical department. My role is to liaise between the supervisory team and management. Within the Atelier Chantier d'Insertion, we have several activities, two of which are the main ones:
- Market gardening, managed by Julien MARECHAL.
- The nursery, supervised by Alexandre TARDIVEAU, our new technical supervisor.
We also have a food processing unit, integrated into the Entreprise d'Insertion. This activity, specialized in the "fourth range", consists of preparing raw vegetables (peeling, cutting, rinsing, vacuum-packing) for the local catering industry.
ISA Groupe adapts to local needs and promotes the integration of job seekers through several complementary structures:
- ISA Services, which provides personnel for personal services (cleaning, ironing, maintenance of green spaces, handling, etc.).
- ISA Intérim, a classic temping agency.
- ISA 2I, a temporary employment agency that combines temporary assignments with support on the road to employment.
The acquisition of transferable skills is at the heart of our approach. Our employees are supported by Christel TOURNIER, a vocational integration advisor, who helps them overcome obstacles such as health, housing and mobility.
We operate in several départements (Cher, Nièvre, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Yonne). By pooling our resources (premises, vehicles, staff), we optimize our impact and strengthen our action in favor of integration through economic activity.
How did you come to contact the CTCPA? What were your needs? What were your objectives? Why did you choose the CTCPA, and how did you hear about us?
We called on the CTCPA to help us structure our food processing unit.
I'm Julien MARECHAL, in charge of market gardening. Before joining ISA Groupe, I worked for 15 years in the restaurant business, before switching to market gardening, driven by my passion for food autonomy. Initially, my project was to create a canning factory to add value to vegetable production. It was during my training at an agricultural college and a week's training in Nantes (Running a canning business) that I discovered the CTCPA.
When I arrived at ISA Groupe, the processing unit already existed but was not yet operational. A colleague was in charge of launching it, but had not had the opportunity to work with the CTCPA. When he left, Franck ROCHER and I took over this activity, and I insisted on the need to collaborate with them.
At the previous Natexpo trade show in Paris, we met Carla LUCET, Head of Development Projects - National Start-up Manager at the CTCPA, who, after listening to our problems, offered us support with the aim of structuring our unit around three axes:
- The sanitary control plan, to guarantee the quality and safety of our products.
- Labeling, to comply with standards.
- Optimization of processing techniques, in particular to avoid blackening of vegetables.
We have already started supplying some customers, such as secondary schools, but we still need to refine our processes.
At the same time, we are members of AREA (Association Régionale des Entreprises Agroalimentaires), which gives us access to a network and useful resources. However, for specialized technical questions, the CTCPA remains our main point of contact. We also have an indirect link with them via the start-up NO. La Crupote, which they support in R&D, and with whom we have been able to exchange useful information.
Our building was inaugurated in June 2022 and our first production run started this year. However, technical difficulties and non-conformities slowed our progress, sometimes necessitating a pause in our collaboration with the CTCPA. Today, we are working with the laboratory, which has validated an initial range of products and their best-before dates.
We chose to start with a limited range, co-constructed with our customers, in particular the Bourges high schools, in order to respond precisely to their needs and avoid unnecessary costs linked to conservation tests. Our objective is clear: to offer products that are genuinely in demand in the region, in line with the ISA Groupe's philosophy, which is part of a dynamic of solidarity and local economy.
How did the support go?
CTCPA's support was provided in several stages by specialized experts. Xavier DEVIS, Technology Project Manager, first worked on the technical aspects during an intervention and visit to our unit, identifying inconsistencies in the building's design. Thanks to his observations, we were able to correct key elements such as the location of equipment and the organization of production flows. Next, Alexandre DUPUIS, Territorial Relations Manager for the Northern Region, Training Coordinator for the North and East and Health Safety Management Project Manager, assisted us with the regulatory aspects, in particular the implementation of our Health Management Plan (PMS), traceability and disinfection, while reconciling organic certification and health requirements, in particular with regard to the use of cleaning products. Finally, Carla LUCET provided us with strategic and commercial advice, helping us to better prepare the marketing of our products.
What particularly impressed us was CTCPA's responsiveness. Whether by e-mail, telephone or on site, we always received appropriate answers, enabling us to clarify complex technical points in a matter of hours, which would have taken us much longer on our own. One of the CTCPA's major assets is its ability to mobilize several experts according to our needs.
The CTCPA's support has enabled us to lay solid foundations for the development of our processing unit, by optimizing our processes and reinforcing our traceability. We remain in contact with them for future developments, such as the integration of a dehydrator or the diversification of our range.
In conclusion, the CTCPA's support has been a real structuring lever. It has enabled us to avoid mistakes, accelerate our compliance and gain a clearer vision of our prospects. We know we can count on them to support us in our future developments.
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