for a little over a year, the city forézienne is part of the family “French Tech”. Its strong point? The design, but not limited to: medical, industry, logistics… These young shoots of Saint-Etienne innovate on all fronts.
Since the summer of 2015, Saint-Etienne is part of the second “promotion” of the cities of French Tech. Its strong point? The design, but not only. Medicine, sport, logistics, robotics: five brilliant young shoots, which we present here are innovative in many directions.
Logistics: Boa Concept injects intelligence into the warehouse
Best example of this diversity: the sides of the very “design” – studio of digital creation Webqam, Boa Concept is the other young pushes saint-etienne to be included in our final top 100 French start-ups. Accustomed to growth rates three-digit (+100% in 2016, +230% in 2015, +180% in 2014…), the company founded in 2012 by Jean-Lucien Rascle and Chantal Ledoux does not, however, in the digital in the strict sense of the word. But rather in support of: his “conveyors smart” equip the warehouses for the logistics of e-commerce players such as Oscaro.com, Gémo, Motoblouz. What is the principle? Electronic modules that can be installed in a turn of the hand on the conveyor belt or the conveyor roller of the client, to “map” and to optimize the operation transit of the goods. And especially to adapt to all the changes that the client is going to do. Practice for e-retailers and logistics providers, the activity of which usually involves very large variations… Evidence that the concept is of interest to the profession: this year, the company has signed 9 new contracts, and has more than doubled its workforce to 25 employees.
Industry: Siléane, nothing is too robot to our factories
Put the intelligence in the “factories of the future”, it is also the niche of Siléane. Since its creation in 2002 by Hervé Henry, that successful innovative SMES (€10 million turnover, 70 employees, of which three-quarters are engineers) has developed a range of four robots for the industrial world. Rovaldy can be used to hang and get high speed parts mounted on frames to be subjected to a surface treatment (galvanizing, metallization…), Créadécor to reproduce to perfection the act of a craftsman (a drawing with a drizzle of chocolate on a piece of candy, for example), Flowpick is an expert in “pick and pack” high-speed (up to 300 moves per minute). The last-born, Kamido, is able to determine the best way to sort and pick products that are presented to him in bulk. Their common point? Cameras that control the “hands” of the robot, and a good dose of artificial intelligence. Its original market (agri-food), Siléane is a party to the conquest of many manufacturers in the automotive (PSA, Renault), environment (area where Kamido-made wonder in the selective sorting), logistics…
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Textile: BV Sport, the secret weapon of the runners
This is not really a start-up company (the company exists since 1996), but it is like: the true takeoff trade BV Sport dates back to 2007, when it was purchased by Salvatore Corona. The latter, which then comes to sell his CONSTRUCTION company, then a small structure (150 000 euros of revenue, an employee)… but a huge potential. “The founder, Michaël Prüfer, also olympic champion in the kilometre launched in Albertville in 1992, was a visionary: he invented a technology of compression stockings suitable for sportsmen of high level, which would greatly improve the oxygenation of the blood during the effort.” Adopted by the team of France of football in 1998, the innovation of dr. Prüfer knows a great success of esteem in the environment of professional sport. Salvatore Corona was imposed in almost all the football teams in L1 and L2, in star clubs like Real Madrid, Arsenal, or Liverpool, with the French delegation to the latest J. O., And best known amateur sportsmen, “which today represent over 90% of our sales”. Runners, trail runners, marathoners, triathletes: the boom these disciplines has helped the company, now present in 2,500 points of sale, and has now its own production unit in Saint-Etienne. It has also diversified into t-shirts, socks, and other gloves on techniques to this target very challenging, but still too franco-French taste of the leader. “The next challenge for BV Sport, it is the export: it weighs 20% of our sales today, but is expected to increase to 50% in three to five years”. What boost a turnover that is already experiencing double-digit growth for the past 10 years.
Medicine: Keranova account in put full the eyes
Already at the helm of Eye-Tech Care, with one of the finest success stories of the “med tech”, French inventor of a system of non-invasive treatment of glaucoma, the doctor in eye surgery Fabrice Romano was in the habit to make full eyes. Investors, in particular, since its first start-up has accumulated 40 million euros in funds raised since its inception. And his latest, Keranova, already has 4 million after one year of existence (more than 1 million from Bpifrance for good measure). His idea? Industrialize a process developed by researchers at the University Jean-Monnet of Saint-Etienne, to automate and shorten a large number of gesture in chirurgie of the eye, and thus reduce by 90% the number of interventions purely manual. The key: interventions safer and faster. What interest after the founder a thousand of operating theatres in the world.
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Design: Nov’In a lab saint-etienne to Las Vegas
Among the big scores of innovations French spotted by the organisers of the highly regarded ces in Las Vegas, there are names already well-known to the French Tech Awox or Hôli… and a young shoot forézienne: Nov’In. This earned him an Innovation Award for the edition 2017 of the most important trade fair high tech in the world? The “smartcane”, rod smart is produced in partnership with Fayet (the French manufacturer of the faithful baton of Dr. House), designed to detect anomalies (fall, fall) and give the alert if the possessor of the cane meets with actually a concern… But the way it was invented also deserves an oscar: co-founded by Ismaël Meïté and Vincent Gauchard, Nov’In is one of the pioneers of collaborative innovation. “We operate as an ideas box digital,” explains Vincent Gauchard. People who have imagined an innovative product without having the means or skills to develop it we submit online”. On its discussion platform, dozens of members then add their grain of salt, fine-tune the concept and even the design till the manufacturing. They were 400 to co-develop the backpack designed for the sports session of the midi Karkoa (with compartments to separate work wear business of sport, housing isotherm for the drink, etc). The contributor of the idea and the more active members are interested in the sales of the final product, designed and marketed by Nov’In. The principle of crowdfunding applied to innovation, in sum,… With initial results encouraging: sales of Karkoa, now available in several models, have made more than triple this year.