History of the RAJA group

As you may have gathered, we have recently changed our name from Rajapack to RAJA. A name change with roots in the history and birth of the consortium. Here is the story of RAJA Group and our evolution over time – from local distributor to a European consortium.

The RAJA name takes us all the way back to when the company was established in 1954, when Rachel Marcovici and Janine Rocher laid down the foundations for what we know today as ‘RAJA Group’. It is with this in mind that we now go back to the roots and streamline the names of the consortium across Europe – in all 18 countries we are now called RAJA as one big family.

Back to the start

As I said, Rachel Marcovici and Janine Rocher laid down the foundations in 1954 for what we know today as the RAJA Group. The company that was then started by 2 women, in a France in conflict, is today a multinational packaging giant with subsidiaries in 17 European countries. In 2018, we had a combined turnover of €631 million with 1900 employees.

…But where does the name really come from? And how has the company evolved from these 2 female founders to a multinational corporation? You’ll find the answer to that now..

1954 – ‘Cartons RAJA’

The name is a combination of the first two letters of the first names of the founders, Rachel Marcovici and Janine Rocher. Rachel and Janine began their work in the shadow of the romantic Eiffel Tower in central Paris, where they had a simple shop specialising in used cardboard boxes as they were cheaper to buy than brand new ones.

The late 1950s

Later in the 1950s, France is finally recovering from the aftermath of World War II. The low cost of used cardboard combined with a good dose of initiative, energy and entrepreneurship from Rachel Marcovici means that RAJA cardboard is rapidly flourishing. The company expands with 2 new product lines, they get 10 employees and at the same time can boast a turnover of 1 million Francs. The RAJA adventure is underway and is called at the time “Cartons RAJA”.

1962 – 1982 – Danièle Kapel-Marcovici

I 1962 starter vår nåværende direktør og leder, Danièle Kapel-Marcovici – datter av Rachel Marcovici, å jobbe som selger for firmaet i en alder av 16 år. Her jobber hun iherdig i 10 år før hun får stillingen salgs- og markedsdirektør. I 1982 blir hun direktør av produktlinjen ‘pappesker’. I løpet av de neste 10 årene optimaliserer hun driften i hele virksomheten og strukturerer alle aktiviteter i de sentrale strategiske teamene som for eksempel innkjøp, katalogsalg, produktmarkedsføring, regnskap, logistikk, IT og HR. I 1975 er Danièle salgs- og markedsdirektør og sørger for at markedsavdelingen gir ut sin første produktkatalog noensinne. En 24 siders, sort/hvit-brosjyre med 365 produkter. Hele 10 kopier ble trykket opp.

1990, 1992 – RAJA Group

In 1990 ‘Cartons RAJA’ simplifies the name to just ‘RAJA’. In 1992 the turnover has increased to 316 million Francs. Almost 5 times as much in 10 years and they are up to 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. At the same time they buy up BINPAC in Belgium and AID-PACK in England. AID-PACK which later becomes Rajapack England were specialists in strapping and had a turnover of 2 million pounds at that time. This expands the business horizon further and the company grows and grows.

2001 – A digital journey begins

RAJA started the digital journey in 2001, continuing the development of its multi-channel marketing and sales strategy by creating its first online sales platform www.raja.fr

2003 – 2012 … The pace of internationalisation

From 2003-2012 RAJA continues to expand the company in Europe and establishes subsidiaries in Spain, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Here in Norway RAJA has been represented since 2011. It is during this period Cenpac, our then largest competitor in France, is acquired and becomes part of the RAJA Group. This makes us now the largest player in packaging in France.

2015, 2017, 2019 – Further expansion..

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

…
The company and our history continues to grow and grow – and we continue to deliver quality packaging and superior service to our customers. RAJA Group has now been around for over 65 years, this is something we are very proud of. Our long history and heritage makes us even more dedicated to continuing the hard work and putting the customer at the centre of everything we do