The RAJA Group story

As you may have heard, we have just changed our name from Rajapack to RAJA, a change rooted in the history and birth of the Group. Here is the story of RAJA Group and our evolution over time from local distributor to European group.

The RAJA name takes us all the way back to when the company was established in 1954, when Rachel Marcovici and Janine Rocher laid the foundations of our, now international group, we know today as ‘RAJA Group’. It is with this in mind that we have now gone back and chosen to streamline the names of all the companies in the group across Europe – in all 18 countries we are now called RAJA, like one big family.

‘ Back to start:

As I said, Rachel Marcovici and Janine Rocher laid the foundations in 1954 for what we know today as the RAJA Group. What was then a company started by 2 women, in the middle of ‘struggling France’, has today grown into a multinational packaging giant, with subsidiaries in 17 European countries. In 2018, we had a combined turnover of €631 million and employed 1900 people.

…But where does the name actually come from? – and how has RAJA grown from the 2 female founders, to a multinational group? – Find out here.

1954 ‘Cartons RAJA’:

The name RAJA is a combination of the first 2 initials of the founders’ first names, RachelMarcovici and JanineRocher. Rachel and Janine start their business in the shadow of the romantic Eiffel Tower in central Paris, with only one shop they specialise in recycled cardboard boxes, as recycled boxes are cheaper to buy than brand new.

The late 1950s:

In the late 1950s, France is still recovering from the aftermath of World War II and the low cost of recycled paper boxes coupled with a good amount of go-getter energy and entrepreneurship from Rachel Marcovici means that RAJA cardboard boxes quickly flourish and the company expands with 2 new product lines, they get 10 employees and at the same time boast a turnover of 1 million Francs. The RAJA adventure has started and is called at that time ‘Cartons RAJA’!

1962 – 1982 Danièle Kapel-Marcovici:

In 1962, our current President and CEO, Danièle Kapel-Marcovici, daughter of Rachel Marcovici, starts working as a sales representative for the company at the age of 16. She worked there for 10 years, then became Sales and Marketing Director and, in 1982, Managing Director of the Paper Boxes product line. Over the next 10 years, she optimises the entire operation of the company and structures all activities around the key strategic teams such as; purchasing, catalogue sales, product marketing, accounting, logistics, IT and HR. In 1975, while Danièle is Sales and Marketing Director, RAJA’s marketing department publishes the first ever product catalogue. A 24-page, black and white brochure listing 365 products and 10 copies are printed.

1990, 1992 RAJA Group:

In 1990, ‘Cartons RAJA’ (as the company was called at the time), simplifies its name to RAJA. By 1992, the company’s turnover has grown to 316 million francs (almost 5 times as much as 10 years earlier) and they have 190 employees.

1994 – 2000 RAJA an international group:

From 1994 – 2000 RAJA becomes an international company. They expand with subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Germany, while acquiring BINPAC in Belgium and AID-PACK in England. AID-PACK, which later becomes Rajapack England, specialises in strapping and had a turnover of £2 million at the time. This expands the business further and the company grows and grows.

2001 A digital journey begins:

RAJA begins their digital journey in 2001 and continues the development of their multi-channel, marketing and sales strategy, with the creation of their first online sales platform www.raja.fr

2003 – 2012 … Speed up internationalisation:

From 2003 – 2012 RAJA continues to expand its business in Europe, establishing subsidiaries in Spain, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden. Here in Denmark RAJA has been represented since 2011. It is also during this period that Cenpac, at that time our largest competitor in France, is acquired and becomes part of the RAJA Group. This means that we are now the largest player in France.

2015, 2017, 2019 – Further expansion…

In 2015 RAJA expands once again and acquires Morplan; a giant in retail packaging and shop equipment in the UK. In 2017 UdoBär is acquired and this year (2019) we can boast that STAPLES Solutions activities in France, Italy and Spain have become part of RAJA.

…

The company and its history continue to grow and grow – and we continue to provide quality packaging and unparalleled service to our customers. RAJA Group has now been around for over 60 years, which we are really proud of and our long history and heritage, makes us even more dedicated to continue to fight and put our customers at the centre of everything we do.