bioMérieux opens Grenoble research centre

The Lyon-based in vitro diagnosis fi rm bioMérieux has opened its molecular biology and microsystems centre in Grenoble. With micro and nanotechnology increasingly key to meeting market demands, bioMérieux considered it a strategic necessity to gain a foothold in France and Europe’s leading centre for advanced technology. The seed for the idea was fi rst planted in 1997 when bioMérieux and CEA-Leti set up a joint research unit. In 2001 the need to further miniaturize diagnosis techniques prompted CEA Valorisation and bioMérieux to start Apibio.



The centre, operational since September 2005 and offi cially opened in April, develops analytical tests and systems based on the use of DNA and RNA in infectious diseases, oncology and the control of industrial processes. On the clinical side the new systems enable the diagnosis of infectious diseases such as HIV-Aids and hepatitis-B. In industry they will be used, among others, to check samples of foodstuffs, drugs or cosmetics. The tests developed by the Grenoble centre will streamline diagnosis, making it more reliable and easier to use.

Peter Kaspar, who holds a doctorate in biochemistry, heads the new unit. Before joining bioMérieux he worked in departments supervising research, marketing, management and business development at various pharmaceutical and diagnostics fi rms. There are currently 90 people working at the Grenoble centre, their number ultimately expected to rise to 130. bioMérieux employs more than 5,500 people worldwide and is represented in more than 130 countries. In 2005 it reported €993.6m pre-tax sales, up by 6.9% on the previous year.

Jindal of India gives Rexor a new lease of life.

Rexor, a firm located in Paladru since 1954, produces life manufacturing yarn for the textile industry. In response to demand it switched to producing film, and metal and plastic thread, at the crossroads between three trades metallization, coating and cutting. To continue its development it has found a new investor, the Indian firm Jindal, another example of a successful international alliance.

In 1993 Rexor, a Rhône Poulenc subsidiary nearing the age of 40, was in serious diffi culty. Its parent company appointed Jean-Paul Rousselet as CEO. To put the company back on the rails he decided to diversify out of textile, developing into the graphic arts, insulation and the manufacture of various different types of yarn. Rexor established itself as the market leader in several sectors and started making a profi t again in 1995. In 1996 Rhône Poulenc Films was sold to the Japanese fi rm Toray. Rexor was not part of the package, remaining a subsidiary of what was now Rhodia, which decided to sell it. Jean-Paul Rousselet and a member of the executive team bought Rexor in 1998 and growth continued until 2001, enabling them to invest €5m in new machinery. But the market downturn that followed 9-11 hit the company hard and sales flattened out. Assisted by a merchant banker Rexor set about fi nding a new partner.

Mutually beneficial exchange

Jean-Paul Rousselet contacted suppliers all over the world, including Jindal, a plastic-film manufacturer. When he informed the workforce the company was in the process of being sold to an Indian fi rm, they were worried, in particular regarding the management and long-term strategy. In practice the takeover by Jindal in November 2003 did not lead to the arrival of an Indian manager. Mr Rousselet remained at the helm, promising the staff he would stay on for at least fi ve years. For the time being he is still there and there are no plans for his departure as long as he has new ideas for Rexor. “Jindal, named after its chairman Shyam Jindal, secured us a steady supply of plastic fi lm, our key raw material, and a new approach to negotiation. Now we discuss everything at Paladru, not just purchasing policy. The resulting cut in costs is remarkable,” says Rousselet. Jindal has also given Rexor access to a new market, in fl exible metallized food packaging, and regular or metallized plastic fi lm, a high-volume market that Rexor would never

have entered on its own Rexor, now Jindal’s top international subsidiary, purchases 2,000 tonnes of fi lm annually and operates as an independent company.

Joint research centre

This exchange of good offices was only the first step. Jindal is investigating new technologies and Rexor needs to innovate to stay competitive. So the two firms have decided to build a research centre on a plot of land next to Rexor premises in Paladru. AEPI keeps an eye on Rexor and helps M. Rousselet for developping the company: present and explain Grenoble- Isère economic assets and actors to the Indian firm, provide guidance on development openings and help it qualify for a research tax-credit. Rexor, which currently employs 160 people, plans to double its sales (€25m in 2004-5) by 2010. With increased production, new markets and new acquisitions by Jindal the doors to the future are wide open.

A summer of sport, music and art

Sport, music and the arts have long gone hand in hand in Grenoble-Isère. This summer offers further proof of this happy alliance with a wide variety of competitions, festivals, exhibitions and attractions of national and even international standing. It would be impossible to detail them all, so here is a selection of some of the highlights, some of which are rather unusual.  

The summer’s biggest sporting event is of course the Tour de France cycle race. On 18 July a stage will finish at L’Alpe d’Huez, departing the next day from Le Bourg d’Oisans. The Oisans range will also be hosting the World Mountain Bike Championships, a marathon event on 13 August between Les Deux-Alpes and Le Bourg d’Oisans. The Iron Tour triathlon competition, an even tougher proposition, will start from Allevard-les-Bains on 16 August. And in a completely different vein Saint-Martin-d’Uriage will be hosting a cricket match on 18 June with various events on the sidelines.

Music lovers can naturally look forward to the great summer classics. The Vienne jazz festival, with its open-air concerts in the Roman amphitheatre, will run from 28 June to 13 July. The Brel festival at Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse will be hosting French singers, notably Thomas Fersen, from 18 to 23 July. Down in the valley Grenoble will once again be staging its Cabaret Frappé, from 18 to 29 July in the Jardin de Ville, with concerts and entertainment under canvas. From 29 June to 1 July the Tullins country music festival, now in its 10th year, will be featuring Lucky Peterson, Rachael Warwick and Blankass. In a slightly different style Saint-Antoine- l’Abbaye will be hosting its festival of church music, for organ and choirs, from 5 July to 20 August. For the purists there is the Berlioz festival, in La Côte-Saint-André from 16 to 27 August. This year’s theme is German romanticism, so our homegrown Berlioz will be rubbing shoulders with Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann and Wagner.

For those who are neither sports enthusiasts nor music lovers the exhibition “Lesueur, gouaches révolutionnaires”, at the Museum of the French Revolution in Vizille will be showing exceptional items from the Musée Carnavalet in Paris, from 30 June to 25 September. Perhaps more unusually the “Stendhal mystery tour” offers to take you on an illustrated nocturnal tour of Grenoble every Friday night, with particular attention to the famous novelist. And for a touch of folklore do not miss the mountain pasture fair in Allevard-les-Bains on 24 June, with several thousand sheep as its special guests!

Additional info:
www.isere-tourisme.com
www.vienne-tourisme.com
www.grenoble-isere-tourisme.com