It comprises essentially small and medium-sized companies, 85% of which employ less than 100 people.
Rhône-Alpes region, France's top centre for mechanical engineering with over 100,000 jobs. Rhône-Alpes exports 75% of production.

Six industrial activities are well-developed in Grenoble-Isère:

• Manufacture of machines and equipment - 14,500 jobs and 360 companies.
• Metal-working, comprising metal construction and boilermaking, and powder metallurgy - 5,000 jobs and over 300 companies.
• Surface treatment and general mechanics - 4,600 jobs in 340 companies.
• Production of tools and metal components - 2,600 jobs and 74 companies.
• Precision engineering - 2,400 jobs in 132 companies
• Automotive equipment - 40 companies, with 1,700 jobs

1,240 students in higher education

• Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Hydraulique et de Mécanique de Grenoble (ENSHMG) - each year 150 engineers graduate.
• Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Génie Industriel (ENSGI) - 190 students and 70 engineering diplomas.
• Unité de Formation et de Recherche de Mécanique (UJF) - 600 students.

Grenoble is France's leading university centre for research in mechanics and metal-working.

400 researchers and faculty members, affiliated to CNRS, Grenoble-INP and Université Joseph Fourier, and 200 PhD students, work in six laboratories.

 Continuous training and professional organizations :

• INPG, UJF and Université de Savoie started the Atelier Inter-établissements de Productique, production management workshop. It acts as a resource centre resources for training automated production system designers and users.
• Udimec funds and manages two training centres (CFAI - Centre de Formation d'Apprentis de l'Industrie).
• L'Union des Industries Métallurgiques, Electriques et Connexes - Udimec
• La Fédération des Industries Mécaniques - FIM
• Le Centre Technique des Industries Mécaniques - CETIM

  International Groups:

Air Liquide Electronics Systems, Alcan, Alstom Power Hydro, Boxal France, Calor, Caterpillar, Federal Mogul, Tecumseh Europe

Isère-born market leaders:

Celette, ECM, Paturle Aciers, Poma, Radiall, A. Raymond

Fast developing small and medium companies:

Minitubes, Ecopla, LSQ Composites, Vaco-Microtechnologies