Comité Expansion Economique du Puy de Dôme

201
Puy-de-Dôme,
© Fotolia.com - Joël Damase
an ideal destination
for entrepreneurs
© Photographe Daniel Massacrier - Service Communication - Ville de Clermont-Ferrand
© Photographe Daniel Massacrier - Service Communication - Ville de Clermont-Ferrand
Puy-de-Dôme,
Easily accessible
There is often disparity between an outsider’s perception of the
Puy-de-Dôme and the reality of the infrastructures found here. Today,
the area is still perceived as being landlocked and remote, whereas it is
in fact located at a strategic North-South / East-West motorway junction,
it has an international airport and plans to build a high-speed rail line to
Paris and Lyon…
The Puy-de-Dôme is not just known for its famous volcano, which is
classified as one of the “Grand Sites de France”, or for its wide range
of cheeses. The strength of our county lies in its determination to exploit
its natural sources, industrial fabric, human potential, the beauty of its
heritage, ancestral know-how and research productivity.
Another asset is its property market, which is more accessible than in
other comparable cities and now is a good time to invest. Local institutions
and decision-makers have done just this for the purposes of developing
research and promoting technological innovation, certain that this is the
means to achieve competitiveness and growth and to create jobs.
A new way of life and possibilities
for development
We also have an objective to promote the image of our rural, protected
region, by industrialising sustainable development. For example,
Auversun in Clermont-Ferrand manufactures photovoltaic panels, which
will equip the French scientific bases of the Paul Emile Victor Institute in
the Antarctic.
A dense industrial fabric
The Puy-de-Dôme has a rich and varied industrial fabric, which is
currently being restructured. It includes international companies such
as Michelin, the only CAC 40 company to have its head offices in the
provinces, Aubert & Duval in les Ancizes, Alcan in Issoire and small and
medium-sized companies, which are among the most successful in
France in their sector.
© Aubert & Duval © J. DAMASE
© Société des eaux de Volvic
anidealdestination
for entrepreneurs
The Puy-de-Dôme has character and style. It is a
pleasant city with a total population of 400,000
inhabitants (Clermont-Ferrand plus suburbs). All major
equipment and services required in the region are
centred in the town and operate as part of a network
with other towns in the county.
© ADDT63 / planetepuydedome.com
The wood industry has emerged from the exploitation
of forests in the Livradois-Forez and the Combrailles
regions for the first and second stages of processing.
After the largest unit in France of EO2 wood pellets
opened in the Combrailles at Saint-Germain-prèsHermet, DIWOOD, the largest wood pellet company in
Belgium, has recently opened in Arlanc. Various projects
are currently being set up to make use of unexploited
raw materials for both timber and fuel wood.
Tourism is developing, at all times preserving our
exceptional environment, notably the mountain areas,
with a special mention for the region’s ultra-modern,
attractive equipment, such as the tourist train project to the top of the
Puy de Dôme volcano, currently underway, which will be unique in France.
2
Recent investments on an international scale (aluminium industry –
lithium at Alcan in Issoire, titanium at Aubert & Duval in les Ancizes) will
ensure the industrial future of the county for the next 25 years.
Centres of excellence in the materials, mechanics, automobile and
aeronautics sectors are now located in the competitiveness clusters
Viaméca and Elastopôle.
©Jérôme CAMBIER / MICHELIN
> Vehicles designed and produced by engineering students who will take part in the Shell Eco Marathon
Upstream, Auvergne Valorisation identifies laboratory projects and
provides financial support.
Universities and Research
ENSCCF © J. DAMASE
With 30,000 students, the Clermont universities have reached a critical
size. The Clermont Université PRES - Research and Higher Education
Centre has recently been created by the Université d’Auvergne, Université
Blaise Pascal, Vet’Agro Sup, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie and
Institut Français de Mécanique Avancé. Its mission is to ensure the
visibility and attractiveness of the university site on an international scale.
This is the result of an agri-food industry that has sustained a high level
of performance and innovation, while retaining a niche market with local
products such as cheese, meat, wine…
The Puy-de-Dôme extends a warm
welcome to entrepreneurs
Photothèque Limagrain © François Berrué - Jérôme Chatin
The Comité Innovergne works with various regional partners to assist
during the creation, incubation and maturing phases of company and
technological innovation projects.
In addition, INRA, the largest centre in the region, with 770 employees
and 350 researchers, is located near Clermont-Ferrand and the
competitiveness cluster Céréales Vallée has developed thanks to this
centre and the Limagrain Group, which is the 3rd largest multi-national
agricultural cooperative in the world and is located in the Limagne plains.
The Comité d’Expansion Economique, which manages and produces
the directory of activity areas, will meet your specifications in your search
for premises. Our region and business parks aim to provide complete
satisfaction. The Business Park Charter issued by the Puy-de-Dôme
Council and Auvergne General Council illustrates our commitment to
sustainable development.
An ideal place to set up your business, where service networks will extend
a warm welcome to your colleagues and families.
And because a company, whatever its business, brings added value to our
region, we will be here to listen to your needs.
JacquesFOURNET
President of
the Comité d’Expansion Economique du Puy-de-Dôme
© APRV
Quality of life and quality of a workforce recognised for its reliability
have also enabled the Puy-de-Dôme to acquire a place in the luxury
goods industry. A century and a half after the leather work industry that
manufactured horse harnesses, Pierre COTTE, in Lezoux, now produces
high-quality handbags and belts, some of which are specifically made
for one of the most prestigious retailers on the French market, and the
HERMES Group has opened a factory in Sayat producing leather goods,
most of which will be exported.
The Clermont Université PRES is one of the national sites selected as
a campus with potential. Two projects have already been chosen: the
construction of a Bio-clinical Research Centre and the relocation of the
Magmas and Volcanoes Laboratory. The laboratory’s research work,
which links us to our volcanic heritage, has reached a level of excellence
and over the last twenty years has grown to have the largest number of
volcanology researchers in the world.
3
The Puy-de-Dôme has successfully reached
its objective to open up the region physically
and digitally.
With three motorways (A71, A75 and A89),
the county has become a vital crossroads,
linking Northern Europe and Spain.
The recent opening of the Millau viaduct
means that it takes just 7 hours for a lorry
to reach Barcelona from Clermont-Ferrand.
The region has instantly become more
attractive to investors. Finally, a high-speed
train network, currently under discussion, will
make Clermont-Ferrand an ideal place for
investment projects and exchange economy.
> Devised by the Comité d’Expansion Economique du Puy-de-Dôme
At the Heartof Networks
Synpa
The high-speed train line project, an essential alternative to the highspeed line between Paris and Lyon, could shorten the journey between
Clermont-Ferrand and Paris to only 2 hours. The North-South motorway
network (A71 / A75) has done just this as it has become the alternative to
the Rhône valley network in terms of distance, driving time and cost, as
most of the A75 is toll free.
On the East-West network (A89), the opening of the new “barreau de
Balbigny” extension is planned for 2012 and lorries will be able to travel
between Bordeaux and Turin in less than 10 hours.
The volume of heavy goods vehicles on the motorways crossing the
region will soon increase – around 3,400 to 4,400 heavy goods vehicles
per day on the A71 /A75 and 1,000 to 2,000 per day on the A89.
Today, the motorway network supplies 100 million consumers in just
one day.
Exchange economy
Exports from the Puy-de-Dôme have increased despite the economic
crisis, representing 2,659 million Euros in 2009. Exported products are
essentially industrial - pharmaceutical and chemical, rubber, plastic and
mechanical products and capital goods…
Connected to the aeronautic maintenance centre, the South Aeronautic
industrial zone – Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport – covers an area of
more than 11 hectares, linked directly to the 3,000 m runway by a taxiway
reserved to the zone and only one kilometre away from the motorway
network to Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Montpellier: an area big enough to
park large carriers such as a Boeing B747 and to build 9 hangars, each
one able to hold an aircraft such as an Airbus A320 and A340.
A number of carriers and logistics experts combined forces by joining
Auvergne Logistique Développement (the Development of Logistics in
Auvergne), which offers tailor-made solutions through just one contact. It
has 3,000 members, a 300 million Euro turnover, 300,000 m2 storage…
The latest logistics organisation to arrive in the region is the DACHSER
Group, which has chosen the Aize Business Park in Combronde, situated
at the A89 and A71 motorway intersection, to open its 3rd Euro hub. The
second largest logistics company in Europe has not chosen this European
intersection at random. From here it can reach 80% of the French market
within 24 hours. Eventually, the Euro hub will link Spain and Italy with the
rest of Europe. An investment of 10 million Euros should enable around
one hundred jobs to be created.
Dedicated business parks such as the Auvergne Logistics Park offer
sections of land near the consumer and employment areas.
© SEACFA
© Multi Transports - Le Studio Photo
On an annual basis, the airfreight activity at Clermont-Auvergne airport
remains modest, but there is an increase of 800 tonnes per year.
> A89 / A71 motorway intersection at Combronde
To satisfy market needs, professionals in the sector offer all kinds of
services: logistics project strategies, creation of warehouse management
software, product reception inspection, store management, preparation of
orders, packaging and inspection before dispatch, forwarding…
> Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne airport
4
© Multi Transports - Le Studio Photo
Logistics and sustainable development
© CSP
The Environment Forum is in fact tackling an ambitious project to
encourage alternatives to road transport for the transport of goods.
From the CAP (vocational training diploma) to the master’s degree,
they cover all needs in the logistics chain: honour’s degree in logistics
management, master’s degree in engineering and international logistics
(the ESC business school), 5 years graduate studies in engineering and
logistics projects (Polytech), 2-year vocational diploma in transport,
advanced certificate in industrial logistics, logistics methods and
operations technicians, BEP (certificate of technical education) in logistics
and sales, and in road transport driving and services, professional
baccalaureate in transport operations, logistics, storekeepers, lorry
drivers…
> CSP, whose head offices are
in the Puy-de-Dôme, is the only pharmaceutical
company in France to offer specialised
transportation for health products, involving
the complete logistics chain from factory
and laboratory supplies to delivery.
© CSP
The cost of energy and the 2nd French Environment Forum have
encouraged companies and local authorities to take a new look at
logistics, in order to reconcile economic and sustainable development.
An intermodal strategy has been adopted in the Puy-de-Dôme so that rail,
road and air transport can function coherently together.
Auvergne was one of the first regions to sign the “CO2 emission objective”
charter. Companies in Auvergne represent 20% of national companies
that have signed this charter, a commitment to reduce CO2 emissions.
The group of operators responsible for the development of rail freight in
Auvergne is mainly composed of road carriers and logistic experts (64%),
shippers (10%) and SNCF Géodis (15%). FEROVERGNE aims to transfer
330,000 tonnes to rail, which is the equivalent of 13,200 lorry trips the
first year, increasing to 500,000 tonnes, which is 20,000 lorry trips, the
following year.
Another example of sustainable development in transport is the DERET
transport and logistics Group, based in Clermont-Ferrand, which delivers
to urban centres using electric propulsion delivery vehicles.
Finally, the region employs personnel with a wide range of professional
qualifications, from vocational training diplomas to Masters degrees,
issued by the AFT.IFTIM, CCI Formation, Polytech, ESC Group…
5
© Numtech
Communication infrastructures have
shot up in Clermont-Ferrand and the
county over the past 10 years thanks
to the involvement of local authorities.
The network in and around Clermont
is very high rate with virtual reality
facilities, and elsewhere in the county
everyone has access to broadband
Internet.
> Measurement in NOx - Year 2015
© ISIMA
Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT)
Very high bit rate
It also entertains close relationships with higher education and research
institutes.
Today’s network of 175 km of network connects 190 sites around
Clermont-Ferrand: business parks, public research centres, universities
and higher education institutes, hospitals, clinics, local authorities,
libraries… and this is by no means an exhaustive list; and new companies
and public services are joining every day.
Access to very high bit rate allows companies to scale up in speed and
therefore in competitiveness. The rate has gone up from around ten
megabits per second to more than one gigabit per second. The neutrality
of the network encourages a competitive approach and therefore more
attractive prices.
The Auvergne Regional Council high-speed programme has borne its fruit,
enabling the region to be at the forefront in digital technology.
An ICT environment
There are several laboratories whose reputation extends into Europe:
• LIMOS (Computer Science, Modelling and Systems Optimization
Laboratory) which researches and studies IT tools in the areas of
design, representation, evaluation, forecasting, monitoring and complex
system optimization
• The Corpuscular Physics Laboratory renowned for its IT expertise
in calculation grids
• LASMEA (Automatics and Electronics Materials Sciences Laboratory)…
One area of La Pardieu business park is entirely devoted to ICT and
research.
PRATIC is a unique county structure reserved for professional organizations
(small companies and institutions) that provides resources and
accompaniment devoted to good practices in ICT.
At the heart of this park, Pascalis (a business nursery and ‘hotel)’ offers
a range of services: secure very high rate access, meeting rooms, high
tech conference room, training and demonstration room, cyber cafe,
and a specialized documentation centre.
The Virtual Reality Centre
© Horizon Photographie
Clermont Communauté
Architects: Philippe MOINARD
Pascalis has also signed an agreement with the Busi incubator to host
projects in its nursery, promoting exchanges between companies,
developing synergies and partnerships.
6
Several information and communication projects have originated
in research programmes at the local Universities and Engineering
Schools, in particular ISIMA (Higher Institute of Computer Technology
and Modelling). Pascalis also manages research contracts with several
industrial partners (Michelin, Capgemini, IBM, France Telecom…).
3D technology, already used by a number of sectors, particularly
aeronautics, aerospace, the automobile industry and medicine, is the way
of the future.
As a result, Clermont Communauté has chosen to open a virtual reality
centre at Pascalis. It functions on a partnership basis with an international
consortium involving several large groups, such as Eon Reality, Christie
Digital, Nvidia, Hewlett Packard and Microsoft.
The centre offers its users various cutting edge equipment such as an
immersive cube, used for demonstrations with full immersion in a virtual
scenario, a stereoscopic screen used for 3D projections and manipulations,
and a training room, for the teaching of 3D techniques and technological
development tools.
RV
© AP
© APRV
Engineering schools and training centres also play an important role in
Auvergne TIC, creating a direct link between the world of education and
the business world.
Finally, a presentation of ICT in the region would not be complete without
certain well-known names: IBO (leader in information management
systems, with the recent acquisition of a new data centre), Neyrial, Adista,
Overscan and others.
ICT and the environment
There are already users at Pascalis such as the company Ubiq Usine, which
develops complete software solutions using 3D visualisation to personalize
manufactured products..
Another user is Soluscience, a company that creates software solutions
to bring together several doctors, with the aim of establishing remote
diagnosis for a patient. The centre will considerably improve navigation
when dealing with large data volumes.
The Vesalis start-up has developed a biometric robot capable of
simulating personalized make-up, automatically and in real-time, based
on photography and face analysis. This technology is used in security
(video surveillance and moving crowd recognition).
Auvergne TIC
Auvergne TIC is a regional cluster with 70 members, all from the Auvergne
ICT sector. This cluster of excellence, comprising small and medium-size
businesses, large groups, training centres, research laboratories and
institutes, participates in the development of a global and regional offer
for ICT markets. Auvergne ICT also provides assistance in recruitment and
promoting, both in France and abroad, the skills of regional companies
in this sector.
It includes a number of highly innovative companies such as:
• VEODIS 3D, a specialist in the modelling, analysis and use of 3D data,
•C
IPAM, a specialist in automatic identification solutions using Radio
Frequency Identification and Datamatrix codes,
• YANSYS, designer / publisher of medical firmware for private
physicians and healthcare agencies…
• Corporate IT departments of large companies including France
Telecom, Michelin, Aubert & Duval and Limagrain have also joined this
regional ICT network.
© PRATIC / Jean-Michel Gueugnot
Illustrating the application of ICT to several domains, the Seth Group
comprises several innovative SMEs in the environmental protection
sector, proposing a global management solution regarding problems of
air pollution:
NUMTECH models atmospheric events by studying their complexity and
the effects they have on the environment. Following on from the studies of
industrial emissions in the atmosphere conducted by its parent company
NUMTECH, CEIES specialises in the environmental impact on human
health. AIRbe, specialists in carbon profiles and the analysis of product
life cycles, has also joined the group. Weather Measures was founded
to conduct regular meteorological assessment campaigns. Finally,
SILLAGES Environnement, a company specializing in the mechanics of
environmental fluids, interior air quality, acoustic profiles and industrial
risks, uses digital information for the calculation of modelling and carries
out experimental wind tunnel simulations.
For more general purposes, NUMTECH, BIO BASIC ENVIRONNEMENT,
BIOVITIS/GREENTECH, and SOL SOLUTION between them created the
E2IA association, whose vocation is to promote excellence and innovation
for the eco-technologies sector in Auvergne, by initiating research and
development projects in collaboration with public research laboratories.
Since its initial objective of creating a group of companies with shared
objectives, E2IA has progressed to the level of “Cluster of Excellence”
label.
It is composed of 15 members, SMEs and institutions (e.g. SETUBIO,
ECHALIER, VEODIS 3D, F.E.M…) research laboratories (Environmental
Research Federation…) and institutional players.
E2IA has 390 permanent staff working in the region, of which 80 doctors
and engineers and 1 environmental lawyer. Current projects focus on the
assessment of environmental assets, odours and global climate change
impacts, working towards a sustainable economy.
H2SCI (Human Health Safety of Chemical Industry) is a dynamic joint
venture between the E2IA and Auvergne TIC clusters, focusing on ICT,
security and the environment.
Auvergne TIC and E2IA, both certified Clusters of Excellence, are today
able to support and accompany collaborative projects instigated by their
members.
7
© Limagrain and its subsidiaries
The issues facing the agri-food sector are
manifold: sustainable agricultural production
methods, preservation of the environment,
feeding the planet, guaranteeing food
security.
The chain conducts research to establish
links between food and health. The Clermont-Ferrand Human Nutrition Research
Centre (CRNH), an example of excellence in
this area and the first establishment of its
kind in France, was created in 1992. Today
its receives international recognition for its
work.
Food & Nutrition
The Centre of Excellence for Meat
Auvergne is often portrayed as a giant cheeseboard, and with good
reason; the French dairy industry ranks the region 4th for national butter
production and with 25% of national cheese production, it is the largest
French regional PDO (Protected Designation of Origin for Cheese) zone.
Based on existing relationships between Inra(1), the Universities of
Clermont-Ferrand, Cemagref(2), ADIV(3), the former ENITAC(4) and Louis
Pasteur agricultural college, the Centre of Excellence for Meat in
Clermont-Ferrand, is one of the major resource centres in the world for
research and development of meat and meat products.
© The Volvic Mineral Water Company
> Moulding Fourme d’Ambert cheese
Only the county of Puy-de-Dôme, dominated by large dairy groups such
as Beuralia, the only national butter production site of the SODIAAL group
and the Fromages Richemonts company…, produces AOP cheeses
under three appellations: Saint-Nectaire, Bleu d’Auvergne and Fourme
d’Ambert.
With 4,200 employees, the county of Puy-de-Dôme has the highest
number of agri-food industries in Auvergne, producing particularly for the
beverages industry.
So Auvergne accounts for one fifth of all of France’s mineral water
production.
It’s true that the presence of large French food groups such as Danone
and of distribution groups (Leclerc and Intermarché), not to mention
independent operators, has led to the exploitation of many natural
springs such as Sainte-Marguerite, Saint-Diéry, Source de Laqueuille,
Le Mont-Dore, Rozana and Arvie…
Moreover the Volvic mineral water brand has been largely responsible for
promoting the powerful image of the purity of volcanic water.
And near other springs rich in minerals, thermal treatment centres have
sprung up as tourist attractions.
As part of the Centre of Excellence for Meat, ADIV carries out applied
research work and studies of collective interest on behalf of international,
national and regional public organisations. These research programmes
and the close relationships maintained with the world of research through
the Centre of Excellence for Meat, allow ADIV to fulfil its principal function
as an Agro-Industrial Institute of Technology, and to be a proactive force
in terms of development and technology transfer.
This transfer takes place as part of collective R&D programmes supported
by inter professional organizations, trades unions, chambers of commerce
and business groups: but also in the form of individual customized
support for businesses.
Every year, around 150 customised operations are delivered in areas
defined as a priority for the profession:
• Process engineering, Technology and Product Quality
• Hygiene and Food Safety
• Environment
• Nutrition and Health
• Techno-economics
• Pre-Engineering
• Professional training
A multidisciplinary team of 45 engineers, doctors and technicians
endeavour to answer enquiries from businesses and also work at
anticipating the development of their needs in emerging areas
of operation.
The Centre of Excellence for Meat helps to create a skills network within
the meat sector, allowing businesses to thrive in an environment that is
conducive to development and innovation.
© ADIV
© Société laitière de Laqueuille
The agri-food industry
The meat industry, another key agri-food sector, plays a major role in
the Puy-de-Dôme, with meat cutting and processing operations. Poultry
products (André Volailles, Domaine de Limagne, Le Clos Mally…),
charcuterie and cured meats (Polette, Limoujoux, Porc Centre…) most
often carry a Montagne label or Label Rouge appellation.
The majority of companies are grouped under the umbrella of the URIAA-A
(Auvergne Regional Union of Agri-food Industries). Some are authorised
to display their products under the “Bravo l’Auvergne” umbrella brand.
> Project for a robotized meat cutting system (SRDViand) initiated by ADIV and several major
players in the French meat sector in conjunction with 2 research laboratories.
(1)
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French National Institute for Agronomic Research - (2) Agricultural and Environmental Engineering Research - (3) Association for the development of the meat industry
- (4) Higher Education Institute for Agricultural Engineers
JSMTV (Muscle Science and Meat Technology Days), one result of
this collaboration, are organised once every two years to provide
information and discussion on research, research applications and
the concerns of economic operators in the meat product sector.
French speaking research and development teams in the public,
professional and private sectors are invited to present the results of
their work to those involved in the technical, economic and scientific
aspects of the meat production and processing sectors.
Seeds, cereal ingredients and bread
Groupe Limagrain, the fourth largest seed company worldwide through
its subsidiary Vilmorin & Cie, the European leader for functional flours
through Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients, and the 2nd largest French
industrial baker through Jacquet, has its head office in the Puy-deDôme, where it employs almost 1,000 people out of the 6,000 employed
worldwide.
Its work is based on 4 different topics: Sustainable Cereal Production,
Cereals for Human Nutrition and Health, Cereals for Animal Feed and
Cereals for Agro-materials.
© Jean WEBER / INRA
© Limagrain / François BERRUÉ - Jérôme CHATIN
In order to promote its members’ produce, Limagrain has invested
in agro-industrial chains, just like its historic seed chain. Thanks to
considerable investment in research (140m in 2009/10), the Group has
established a leading market position in specific corn and wheat varieties
that are suitable for cultivation in the Limagne region. As a result of its
merger with Domagri in December 2009, almost 50% of land in the
county devoted to the cultivation of major field crops now belongs to
members of the Limagrain Cooperative.
Within the framework of sustainable development, the aims of its work
are:
• to innovate in order to produce more and better via seeds and
agronomy, the vectors of innovation,
• to provide for the food needs of consumers,
• to provide for the food needs of animals,
• to answer needs to exploit the energy and industrial potential of cereal
products.
The Céréales Vallée competiveness cluster naturally benefits from
combined state and Regional Council of Auvergne funding, and more
specifically the initiative to develop agriculture and food in Auvergne.
This scientific project, coordinated by INRA, is the link between plant
and animal production, sustainable development and human nutrition.
Healthy nutrition
The Group’s ambition is to make the county of Puy-de-Dôme one of the
European leaders for the production of improver wheat, rich in proteins
and with a high baking quality. Locally, the chain is centred around
two mills, the Société Meunière du Centre in Gerzat and the Moulin de
Verdonnet in Bouzel, and two bakery products factories with Jacquet
and La Gerbe d’Or at the Biopôle Clermont-Limagne. Jacquet has just
doubled its sandwich loaf and hamburger bun production lines with an
investment of €35m.
Agri-food and food supplement industrialists, faced with the challenges
of food and its direct link to health, have joined forces with the
laboratories, research centres and training programmes of the Auvergne
Nutravita Food and Health group.
Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients has set up a semolina corn chain, with
a corn mill in Ennezat and a cereal ingredient research centre (Ulice)
in Riom.
The German group Brüggen, which has interests in this area, has based
its new European factory in Thiers. The ambition of the German group
is to become one of the main European producers of breakfast cereals.
The Puy-de-Dôme is a major county for cereal research, symbolized
by the Céréales Vallée competitiveness cluster which is based on
close collaboration between Limagrain and INRA (National Institute
for Agronomic Research). As a public research body, INRA carries
out research work of international significance, particularly into the
sequencing of wheat with the establishment of the first physical map
of the bread wheat chromosome 3B. Céréales Vallée is a federation of
almost 500 major players in cereal chains around one ambitious goal:
“Inventing tomorrow’s cereals!”
(5)
Healthy nutrition can prevent many metabolic diseases such as type 2
diabetes, hypertension and obesity. The work of the CRNH allows us to
identify recommendations on nutrition with a view to preventing some of
these health problems.
This chain is fully represented in higher education programmes, from
DUT (University Technology Diploma) to Masters level (engineering/
biological engineering, cellular and physiological biology, development
of pharmaceutical and nutritional products, quality and nutritional
management).
In the latest development. ENITA, the Higher Education Institute for
Agricultural Engineers, has merged with the Lyon veterinary college
to become VetAgroSup, thus becoming the 3rd largest educational
establishment in this field. VetAgroSup also contributes to the work of
competitiveness clusters.
> Composition presenting the diversity of products involved
in human nutrition
© Florent Giffard / INRA
> With sales of €1,233m, in 2011 Groupe Limagrain is building a new International
Research Centre for green biotechnologies.
As for ENGREF(5) based in Clermont-Ferrand, it is one of the three
branches of Agro Paris Tech (alongside ENSIA(6) and INAPG(7)), thus
constituting the largest European College of Living Science and the
Environment.
French National College of Rural Engineering, Waters and Forests - (6) French National Food Industry College - (7) Paris Grignon National Agronomy Institute
9
© ENSCCF © J. DAMASE
Auvergne has one of the leading
pharmaceutical industry sectors in France
and there are more than 5,000 students
in the health, plants and nutrition sector.
On a wider scale, life science technologies
are firmly established in the Puy-de-Dôme
in the agri-food, plant and health sectors.
> Students of organic chemistry
Health & Biotechnologies
© Sanofi Aventis
Major pharmaceutical laboratories include MSD, Riom (Centre of
Excellence for sterile production of Merk & Co, INC in Europe) and
Sanofi Aventis (production of active principles of innovative medicines),
employing 640 people in the heart of the Livradois Forez Nature Park.
Local companies, such as the Théa laboratories, ranked 8th in the world
and 6th in Europe in ophthalmology, have become leaders on their market.
Others have reached a strategic position on the French and
international market: Veto-Centre (leader in pharmaceutical products
on the pet care market) TVM (leader in veterinary ophthalmology),
Europhartech (laboratory specialized in solid drugs for human and
veterinary use, and food and nutritional complements).
GIMRA
The GIMRA Auvergne Association of Pharmaceutical Companies has
37 members, with 3 institutional structures and 34 companies, including
those mentioned above, which research medicines, food complements
and cosmetics.
GIMRA companies employ more than 4,200 people. Around half of these
work in 7 regional subsidiaries of national and international groups and
the other half in companies that have their head offices in Auvergne
and more than 1,000 employees outside the region.
Businesses with head offices in Auvergne alone turn over more than
400 million Euros.
© Florent Giffard / INRA
All professions involving the development of medicines, from research
in new molecules to the production of medicines, their marketing and
distribution, can be found in the region.
Innovation is a key area in research
work carried out in collaboration
with universities, the CHU (university
hospital) and research organisations
(INSERM, CNRS, INRA…). The
competitiveness
cluster
IRP
(Pharmabiotic Research Institute)
was set up in 2009, and part of its
work involves the pharmaceutical
standardisation
of
probiotics
throughout the world.
Finally, the capital of Auvergne has
recently hosted various events, such as
the French Society of Pharmacology and
Therapeutics Congress and the Young
Drug Companies Annual Meeting.
10
Health, research and industrial
partnerships
Health research and company start-ups focus on 4 fields: cancerology,
genetics, nutrition and neurosciences.
Teamwork involves inter-regional collaboration on projects such as those
run by the CLARA (Lyon Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Cancer Centre), the only
cancer centre today able to conduct “proof of concept” projects, which
rely on a network of clinical and industrial researchers.
The aim is to bring research projects to a level of maturity that is sufficient
to enable a company to develop and provide therapeutic solutions or
diagnoses to patients.
New developments include Analgesia Partnership, the only existing
platform of this type that can offer complementary skills during the
important stages of preclinical and clinical R&D in a new analgesic
molecule.
The existence of a cluster working on the treatment of pain in ClermontFerrand is the result of basic and clinical pharmacological research on
analgesics and collaboration between academic and industrial structures.
It was created thanks to the INSERM unit “the basic and clinical
pharmacology of pain” and its clinical investigation centre.
The ENSCCF (Higher National School of Chemistry) in Clermont-Ferrand
and four companies (Ans Biotech, Aplys Pharmaceuticals, CERB,
Neuromax, some based in the Biopôle Clermont Limagne Business Park)
are working together on the project.
© EUROPHARTECH
©Top Clean Injection Group
Another example is a team from Clermont-Ferrand that in 1990 created
the CICE (International Centre for Endoscopic Surgery), the first of
its kind in France. There are only two in France today. The CICE has
become a training centre of reference for gynaecology interns as well
as for specialists in other fields (ENT, orthopaedics…) from around the
world. Working alongside it is the CENTI (Centre for Endoscopy and New
Interventional Techniques) where teams keep up to date with the latest in
surgical technology: use of robots, 3D images…
The artificial digestion platform, also unique in France, has been set
up by a team of researchers - nutritionists and pharmacists from the
Université d’Auvergne. It enables researchers to test food, medicines,
food complements, bacteria and yeasts in vitro and to collect samples
from modelized digestive tracts at all levels.
The CBRV (Biomedical Research and Development Centre) offers the use
of laboratories and work areas to young companies just starting out.
© Laboratoires Cyclopharma
Established companies are also involved, and these have close links
with Universities and research organisations (INRA, CNRS, CEMAGREF
and INSERM) and Engineering Schools (VetAgro Sup, Polytech, Clermont
School of Chemistry…).
© MSD Philippe Chagnon - ESSOP
> Inspection of thermoformed blisterpacks in an IS07
clean room destined for the medical market
For example, Cyclopharma, the only French company in its sector, which
is conducting cutting-edge research into nuclear medicine. The company
produces mildly radioactive sugars, including GLUCOTEP ® (18FGD), for
use by TEPscan, to detect the nature of a tumour. Today, it is tackling
new challenges in medical imagery, taking part in clinical trials carried
out in France on the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
Biopôle Clermont Limagne
Today, in this business park dedicated to life science technologies, there
are more than 700 people working in forty companies, mostly occupying
high-level positions: 40% technicians and 20% researchers in genomics,
post-genomics, diagnoses, traceability and plants.
Eleven of the companies have already filed 330 patents and spend 36%
of their turnover on Research and Development.
An incubator offers laboratories equipped with specific materials
for biotechnological activities to young companies.
The Business Park also offers rented premises measuring between
250 and 600 m2.
These young companies co-exist on the site with more established
companies such as Metabolic Explorer, which specialises in the
development of production techniques by biological means for industrial
chemical components. The company has invested approximately ten
million Euros in an industrial pilot and the addition of a purification unit
to the fermentation unit.
The BUSI incubator, which assists company start-ups specialising
in innovative life sciences, engineering, ICT and human science projects,
is also based in the Biopôle Clermont-Auvergne Business Park.
BUSI provides business assistance and support for companies during the
pre-creation stage (financial, legal, strategic and scientific assistance)
and during the creation stage (assistance with financing, support in the
search and organisation of partnerships).
> Quality control laboratory
> Simultaneous use of PET (Positron Emission Tomography) and radioactive tracers is
extremely useful for the diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of some cancers.
The head offices of the Cyclopharma Laboratories are in the Biopôle Clermont-Limagne.
11
© IFNA
Research on materials, leading companies
in the rubber and polymer industry,
mechanical industry and mobility
engineering, engineering schools (IFMA,
Polytech, Clermont School of Chemistry,
ISIMA etc.) make the county of Puy-deDôme a key player in two competitiveness
clusters: Viaméca and Elastopôle.
More specifically, Auvergne is by
far France’s foremost rubber-producing
region (tyres, industrial rubber).
Materials & mechanical
engineering
Manuthiers is a case in point, having abandoned its cutlery forge 50 years
ago in order to provide innovative processes for transforming plastics via
the production of thermoplastic components and manufacturing injecting
equipment.
Top Clean Packaging, in Peschadoires, which originally specialized in
luxury cardboard packaging for cutlery (1927), gradually moved over
to plastics. Nowadays, it deals with the entire added value clean room
process: design, manufacture of technical plastic parts, carrying out
secondary operations, manufacturing packaging, the packaging process,
quality control. At the start of the 2000s, it became an international group,
with 80% of its activity given over to the medical sector.
Another example is CEP, France’s top “small” office items company (injected plastic objects), is the only company in the world to develop flexible
tubes for the major cosmetic brands, using an injection process that
broke away from the extrusion process.
The recent Polydyam Auvergne project, which was developed in this
area, involved creating an innovation platform for industrial testing which
concerned the way vehicles connect to the ground (tyres, suspension,
brakes, transmission). Among its aims is developing new elastomer
applications for cars. The project is backed by the Mecaforum race tracks
consortium, various Auvergne SMEs, Michelin and 5 research and training
centres.
Finally, Issoire is where large groups such as Alcan and Aubert and Duval
are based, supplying aluminium and special alloys for the aeronautics
industry, as well as being the location of Valéo’s global centre of excellence for rubber.
In the Ambert area, technical textiles are produced by ten or so companies including Joubert and Omerin.
In Les Combrailles, at Saint-Eloy-les-Mines, there is also France’s only
Rockwool site, this being one of the largest three sites of the world’s
leading rock wool company.
While braided products for the automotive industry account for around
40% of Joubert’s turnover at its Ambert premises, it has also produced an
innovative snow chain made from composite materials, as well as working
on projects for heavy goods vehicles.
The most striking example continues to be Michelin, which built up
its international development from its head and operations office in
Clermont-Ferrand, the only CAC 40 company head office that is located
outside the Ile de France.
Innovation and new markets are also on the agenda for Omerin, which,
though very well known for manufacturing cables designed to resist
extreme temperatures (-190° to +1400°) for railways, the navy and aeronautics, also invents decorated cable. The unique manufacturing process
it uses has been subject to an extensive patent application.
The group is very much involved in the Elastopôle competitiveness cluster (rubber and polymers), as is Trelleborg (Europe’s leading industrial
pipework and rubber company) and Socamont (which manufactures coloured and black rubber mixes for use in a very wide variety of fields:
bicycle tyres; electrical, telephone and computing cables; car parts, etc.)
© JOMERIN
© JOUBERT productions
© Manuthiers
Within the Thiers region, the plastics industry has expanded mainly
through cutlery via “thermoplastic and thermoforming” injection
processes. While today Thiers continues to head the list in the cutlery
industry, accounting for 70% of France’s cutlery output, as well as exporting all over the world (mainly to European Union countries and the US), it
has also diversified into other activities by exploiting the know-how and
skills of its workforce.
The Issoire area, meanwhile, has become a reference centre for optimization of materials, from aluminium to composites, especially for the
transport sector.
Aubert & Duval © J. DAMASE
Specific materials in each economic area
Certified in 2007, Elastopôle is looking to become a European reference
centre for rubber and polymer materials aimed at sustainable
development.
There are various other research and educational bodies such as the
CNEP, which is based in Clermont-Ferrand, and which is a subsidiary of
the Université Blaise Pascal. This organization provides unique expertise
in the study of how polymer materials age, as well as working out how
they will behave over time. It is also involved in studying failures and
measuring initial properties of polymer materials.
More generally, the University and the Engineering schools, including
Clermont School of Chemistry, provide first to eighth year university
student training courses focusing on materials and processes
(developing materials, industrial design, modelling and calculation, process
engineering, etc.).
> Omerin, the world’s largest insulated silicone cable manufacturer and Europe’s largest
glass fibre braider
12
© LASMEA
And it was also through the association with the manufacturing industries
that specialist secondary school training courses in engineering, electricity, electronics, plastics, composite materials and physics were developed.
Automotive know-how
As a centre of excellence which has grown through the presence of
Michelin and a variety of fields of expertise from Clermont-Ferrand, its
many companies produce car parts and fittings. The Michelin Ladoux
research and testing centre in Clermont-Ferrand has become a worldwide
reference. Alongside major groups such as parts manufacturer Valéo,
which manufactures wiper systems in Issoire, a network of SMEs and
SMIs specialize in forging, engineering, plastics, rubber, composites,
surface treatments, braids and cable casing, packaging, electrical and
electronic components.
This is why companies such as Préciforge have been classified as topof-the range suppliers for European car construction companies. With 8
production lines (700 to 1,600 ton presses), Préciforge has an annual
processing capacity of over 15,000 tons of standard steel, alloys, microalloys and stainless steel.
EMI (Electro Mécanique Industrie), part of the RGM Group, designs and
develops complete mechatronic systems.
A further special meeting point is SATCAR (The Week of the Art,
Technology and Culture of Automobiles and Highways), which has
become a European reference. Each event welcomes more than 1,000
professionals, scientists and researchers, and holds international
congresses and business conventions in Clermont-Ferrand.
Finally, with regard to research, we should mention the Laboratoire
Régional des Ponts et Chaussés, which has set up a structure that is
unique in Europe: the fog room. This perfectly reproduces dense and
less dense fog situations and is therefore of great interest to sign
manufacturers and car manufacturers.
© MICHELIN
The VIPA project, which resulted from the Lasméa GRAVIR programme
(artificial and robotic vision), involves guiding urban vehicles using GPS
and cameras.
A further example involves reliability and factoring in the durability of
systems in the design process, as illustrated by the CARMAT project. This
collaborative R&D project is based around a consortium of 4 industrial
partners who have entrusted various departments (Phimeca, Lasméa,
IFMA, CETIM, etc.) with increasing the reliability of the pump unit for
France’s artificial heart.
More specifically, Phimeca, a spin-off from the LaMI laboratory and IFMA,
is also France’s foremost uncertainty engineering company. As an expert
in probabilities as applied to engineering, Phimeca is looking to become
the international reference in this field.
Advanced mechanics and mobility
engineering
Laboratories and engineering schools are working together on various
projects. IFMA trains expert engineers in advanced mechanics and
industrial engineering. With regard to technology transfer, via its MEC@
Prod platform, the school is proposing CAD and CAM services, metrology,
high-speed machining, sheet metal machining, bar cutting etc.
This centre of excellence naturally stands out with regard to the existing
potential in terms of research – training, transfer of technologies, industrial
tools and production sites already operating in the Puy-de-Dôme.
Meanwhile Polytech Clermont-Ferrand gives engineering diplomas in bioand civil engineering, electricity, mathematics and modelling, and physics.
The project contract between the State and the Region identified
a research orientation now called “Innovapole”. This mobilizes 16
laboratories with regard to engineering (computing, automated systems,
mechanics, process engineering) and core sciences (mathematics,
physics, chemistry). It has 2 aspects:
• developing computing tools for research, services and industry
(including development of the Auvergrid calculation grid),
In each case their training programmes are backed up by links with
universities, laboratories and a research federation, including:
• LaMI, mechanics and engineering
• Limos, computing for mobilizing and optimizing systems
• LGCB, chemical and biochemical engineering
• CEMAGREF, TSCF: information technologies and systems for
agrosystems, and LISC: engineering for complex systems
In this respect this engineering centre backs the “ViaMéca”
competitiveness cluster, the scope of which extends to the Massif Central
and the Rhône Alpes.
• LAIC: imaging, computer graphics and algorithmics
As part of its “Intelligent and Robotic Systems” theme, it has recently
certified the autonomous vehicle project with monocular guidance
developed by Lasméa, the Apojée research department and manufacturer
Ligier.
> Modelling physical phenomena
• Lasméa, sciences and materials for electronics and automated systems
• supporting research into intelligent vehicles, machines, systems,
materials and innovative processes.
Certified in 2005, Viameca aims to become a world reference with
regard to special products on the machinery, vehicles and structure units
markets. Via the projects selected, its aim is to develop innovation in
mechanical engineering.
> The lunar tyre is based on Michelin TWEEL,
a revolutionary concept in non-pneumatic wheels
© PHIMECA
These are just a few examples, and a good many companies with this
know-how available to them for the automotive industry have come
together within the AUTOMAC association with a view to jointly responding
to the requirements of their customers.
> VIPA: intelligent driverless vehicle. Tested at the PAVIN experimental site.
© François Pétiard
At the end of the chain, in the packaging sector, CELTA (Rossman Group),
which is one of Europe’s leading high-volume and heavy corrugated
board packaging manufacturers, is ISO 9001 certified, registered for the
automotive and petrochemical sector.
• The TIMS research federation of the CNRS, which structures much
of Clermont Ferrand’s potential in the engineering sciences.
Finally, at the point where materials and mechanics meet, CASIMIR
(Centre for the support and stimulation of industries through innovation
and research) assists manufacturers in their technological problemsolving.
> EMI Calculator
The centre provides diagnosis, expert advice, project assistance, analysis
and tests, and technological monitoring.
13
Aubert & Duval © J. DAMASE
There is a long-standing tradition of aeronautics
in the Puy-de-Dôme.
Historically it was at the Michelin factories in
Clermont-Ferrand that the Bréguet lV was produced
and at Aulnat that the first hard runway was built
during the First World War.
The Atelier Industriel Aéronautique dedicated to the
maintenance of military aircraft opened at the same
time.
Michelin returned to the aeronautics industry in
1946, creating the radial tyre for aircraft.
Aeronautics
Tradition and Innovation
Aubert & Duval © J. DAMASE
The industry has gradually improved and become more structured,
upstream in the design and production of materials and downstream
in maintenance. A hundred years later, around one hundred
companies employing more than 10 people (11,000 jobs), within the
AVIA (Development of the Aeronautic Industry in Auvergne) and the
competitiveness clusters Viaméca and Elastopôle, make Auvergne one of
the leading aeronautics regions in France.
Metal production and metal work are carried out by large national and
international groups. Most of them are involved in the AIRBUS A380,
A350 XWB, A400M, the new A320, Boeing B737, B777 (USA and Japan),
Rafale… and focus their strategies on the production of pre-machined
structural parts.
Aubert & Duval, a subsidiary of Eramet, designs, develops and processes
at high-temperature (forging, stamping, rolling, powder foundry and
metallurgy) special steels, superalloys, aluminium and titanium alloys.
The group has just begun building a factory to manufacture titanium
ingots (UKAD) the result of collaboration with the Kazakh UKTMP group
(second largest producer of titanium in the world) and Airbus, with an
investment of 47 million Euros.
Another of Aubert & Duval’s projects on the same site is the construction
of a 30-tonne capacity vacuum induction melting furnace with an
investment of 36 million Euros. Only two other furnaces in the world have
this capacity.
deal directly with major aeronautics customers, such as EADS, Dassault…
They contribute to the development and manufacturing of complex
sub-assemblies. The aeronautics division of the SLICOM Group
(ISO 9001, EN 9100, NADCAP) manufactures and repairs civil and
military aircraft parts and assemblies (planes and helicopters) for major
constructors and equipment manufacturers (Europe, Canada, India,
China…).
With 350 employees at the airport platform in Aulnat, the company
handles all manufacturing and repair processes of aircraft parts and
sub-assemblies: sheet metal work, welding, specific tubing, surface
treatment, machining, assembly…
The REXIAA Group encompasses Rex Composites, specialists in the
manufacturing of high-performance composite materials, and Issoire
Aviation, which specialises in metal soldering as well as aeronautics sheet
metal work and the assembling of hybrid composite/metallic parts.
With an ISO 9001/EN 9100, PART 21, PART 145, its customers include
Eurocopter, Dassault, Sagem, Aircelle…
Issoire Aviation also develops its own products, notably the APM (Philippe
Moniot) range of aircraft. The APM20 Lionceau was the first certified
all-carbon aircraft in the world. The latest creation is the APM40 Simba,
a four-seater for advanced training, entirely created through the digital
chain and Catia V5.
NSE Intégrations (ISO 9001, PART 21, PART 21G, PART 145) is an
integrator of composite and electronic mechanical systems in Land, Sea
and Sky Defence and civil aeronautics.
© ALCAN
© NSE Intégration
In July this year, Alcan Global Aerospace launched Airware, its technology
for aircraft of the future. M42.5 M will be invested at the Issoire
production site and research centre. Issoire will be equipped with the
very first industrial foundry in the world capable of producing advanced
low-density alloys (aluminium-lithium).
Forward-thinking small and
medium-sized companies
and first-class sub-contractors
> Prototype of Airware fuselage safe
> Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) measurement tests
14
Second and third-line sub-contractors
These involve all production sectors: fine sheet metal work, alloys, forging
/ cutting, welding / sheet metal work, mechanics, wiring, technical wires,
composites, maintenance, trims, non-destructive testing,…
© ISSOIRE AVIATION
In recent years, such companies have invested heavily in productive
equipment: 5-axis high-speed machining, laser cutting, new assembly
technologies (bonding or spot friction welding), new alloys, equipment for
calculations and modelling.
© APOTEM
> The APM40, a multi-purpose aircraft to train
future professional pilots, assuring alone the
mission of the 3 former planes: Training, Trips.
Acrobatics authorised.
They cooperate on a regular basis with technology transfer centres,
including CASIMIR, which has an AIRBUS qualification for its ClermontFerrand laboratory.
The aeronautic maintenance and repair unit of SLICOM Aéro intervenes
on elements and aircraft structures, on metallic and composite structures
of all types of civil and military aircraft (planes and helicopters), with PART
21, PART 145, AQAP 2120 and EN 9110 certifications.
Finally, one example of innovation in surface engineering for aeronautics
is the INNOLUB project selected by unique interministerial funds and
newly-designated by the competitiveness cluster VIAMECA, which aims
to improve the resistance to temperature change of aeronautic parts.
The LMI, Inorganic Materials Laboratory is involved in this project.
Finally, Clermont-Ferrand hosts the Aerolliance International Business
Convention, which brings together 1,000 companies first, second and
third-line manufacturers from the aeronautic and space sector, providing
the opportunity to organise meetings in an aim to find solutions, thus
pooling a wide variety of skills.
An important maintenance centre
Downstream, we find essentially maintenance work with the Ateliers
Industriels de l’Aéronautique, a Defence Ministry establishment which
carries out maintenance work on the Mirage 2000, Mirage F1, Alphajet,
Transall, Prima, Gazelle, Rafale and materials and performs aircraft
modifications and renovations.
Regional (subsidiary of the Air France Group) has one of its two
maintenance sites in charge of its fleet in Clermont-Ferrand. By 2012
the company will invest 20 million Euros in building a hangar measuring
13,500 m2. This new centre will create 40 jobs for highly qualified people,
who will work alongside the existing 500 aircraft maintenance workers.
It will gradually develop Embraer jets 170 and 190 and maintenance work
for third-party customers. Regional also relies on skills available locally for
sheet metal work, composite materials, wiring and cabin decoration and
renovation, all with a PART 145 certification.
Other sectors include: electric and electronic components
(NSE Intégration,…), composites, non-destructive testing (MARLIER)
and interior fittings (Technologistique)…
© SLICOM
Approximately forty companies and thirty partners have grouped together
to become part of AVIA (Development of the Aeronautic Industry in
Auvergne) in order to offer assemblies and sub-assemblies to major
customers and promote business relations abroad.
It has recently become a member of the GIFAS group (French Aeronautic
and Space Industries), which broadens the business horizon of local small
and medium-sized companies.
© SLICOM
AVIA
The latest creation, Enhance Aéro, founded in 2007, employs 70 people
mainly at the Clermont-Ferrand sites in its head offices and maintenance
hangar.
The company supports airline companies in all sectors:
consulting and airworthiness management of the fleet,
line and base maintenance, training of technicians
and crews, flight safety analysis and IT systems dedicated
to technical activities…
AERIA
A showcase for aeronautics in Auvergne, AERIA is an information and
training centre for professions in this sector. Since 2007, 7 new initial
training courses in aeronautics have been set up by the Regional Council.
> A330 air exchanger cowl
Alongside the engineering schools (IFMA, ISIMA, Polytech) and other short
and long-term study programmes in materials and processes, there are
now professional high-school diplomas for aircraft systems and airframe
systems mechanics, aerostructure technicians as well as a vocational
training diploma for aircraft systems electricians, airframe mechanics…
15