Situated in South West France in the Rhône-Alpes and Franche-Comté region, as it name suggests the ‘Plastipolis’ cluster specialises in areas connected with plastics.
The Plastipolis cluster has 4 main objectives:
- Enable the French plastics industry to ‘go upmarket’ and find new applications by using new technology
- Perpetuate and facilitate the penetration of new markets by French companies
- Obtain competitive advantages in terms of the cost, quality and intrinsic properties of the products throughout the sector (both up and downstream)
- Secure the reputation of the plastics competitiveness cluster and its repercussions on the French plastics industry as a whole.
Attributes
The Region covered by the cluster represents one third of the French plastics industry, the 2nd biggest in Europe
The Plastics industry in Rhône-Alpes and Franche-Comté
Businesses and Jobs
33,000 employees
1,000 businesses
8 billion Euros turnover
Research
2,400 people in Research & Development teams,
1,300 of whom are researchers
Training
260 plastics students
150,000 hours of continuing education
4,000 trainees
Multiples possibilities for cooperation with other competitiveness clusters
The cluster is already working with 14 other clusters specialising in various branches of industry
Members
195 members in April 2008
Businesses 142
• French companies: CS Systèmes d’Information, MGI Coutier, Inoplast, subsidiary of Plastic Omnium, Promens, Roquette, A Raymond,
• International companies: Nanoledge (Canada), Smoby-Majorette, subsidiary of the Simba group (Germany), Toray (Japan), Dupont de Nemours
Over 60% are small and medium-sized businesses
Research or training facilities
31 including Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA), Compositec, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Savoie, Centre de Formation de la Plasturgie, Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA) de Grenoble, Ecole Supérieur d’Ingénieur Léonard de Vinci (ESIVL) Paris la Défense,…
27 other bodies are also partners in the cluster including the Rhône-Alpes district council, the county councils of the Ain, Ardèche, Rhône, Jura, Plastics Vallée, the Franche-Comté regional development agency, Visioplasturgie, Fédération de la Plasturgie…
Collaboration in progress on R&D (cf. appendix)
23 projects were earmarked and financed between 2006 and mid-2008 with a total investment of 45.5 million Euros
Examples of public funding:
• Over 3 million Euros allocated by the Fonds Unique Interministériel (FUI) (single interministerial fund) between 2005 and 2007
• Nearly one million Euros paid out by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) between 2005 and 2007
International collaboration
Current
• Participation in European projects via Intereg
• Cooperation with the KC cluster in Linz, Austria
• Cooperation with the Proplast cluster, Alexandria, Italy
• Partnerships with IPT Framhofer in Aix la Chapelle (Germany), CENTIMFE (Portugal) on tooling technology and the Valencia plastics cluster, Spain
Planned
• Cooperation with the Plastics Industry cluster in Ohio, United States
• Partnership with the Munich cluster in Germany
• Partnership with the Guanajuato plastics cluster, Mexico
• Partnership with Brazil (San André region)
Appendix: list of R&D Projects
|
Name and title of project |
Project owner(s) |
|
SCOOP Developing a control system for injection processes |
European Plastics Cluster |
|
BIOPIM Developing the technology for manufacturing complex parts or micro-parts by MIM (Metal Injection Molding), or CIM (Ceramic Injection Molding). |
Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA) |
|
OSOTO Developing 3D digital simulation tools with the help of the design of plastics manufacturing processes |
European Plastics Cluster |
|
MOC Developing a characterisation methodology and testing techniques for thermoset compounds (SMC and BMC) |
Compositec |
|
COMIPOL BAC Developing nano composite films for preventing the development of pathogenic micro-organisms in hospital environments and for food hygiene. |
Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA)-Surface technology laboratory |
|
DASPIV Provider of complete sub-sets including all sensory aspects of parts used inside vehicles |
Plastigray |
|
MOBIDECK Optimising the available surface area in pleasure harbours for tying up boats |
Sodéal |
|
EMABIO Developing and optimising corn flour-based materials for various applications, particularly food packaging |
RG Plastiques |
|
AERDECO Setting up a dedicated system for recycling composite aeronautical waste whilst reducing present costs |
ICAM (Institut Catholique d’Arts et Métiers) Nantes |
|
PANISMART Developing new intelligent composite materials based on hydrogel charged with intrinsically conductive polymer nano-particles (PICs). |
Université de Pau |
|
MOSAINE Developing new technology for decoration on PVC membranes |
Mosaine Concept |
Contact
Invest in France Agency Paris
Laurent BERGEOT
Director, Territories Development
Send an e-mail
+33 1 40 74 74 11