Tornier and Bioprofi le merge

The shareholders of the two firms have decided to join forces and merge the orthopaedic products specialists.



René Tornier started his company after the second world war, building it up to become an international yardstick for the manufacture of joint replacements and surgical implants. It employs 425 people, of which 300 in Grenoble-Isère. In 2006 it reported $100m sales, up 30% on the previous year. It is the world leader for shoulder joints, but also markets a range of products for hips, knees, elbows and ankles. Bioprofi le has been part of the US group Nexa since 2005. It controls the whole of the production process for pyrocarbon prostheses (a technology originally developed by France’s Atomic Energy Commission at its Grenoble research centre) from design to manufacture and distribution. Bioprofi le Nexa employs 70 people, including 25 in Grenoble, reporting $10m sales in 2006, up 100% on the previous year. The two companies will be able to make the most of their complementary skills.

They have both mastered innovative technologies Bioprofi le for pyrocarbons, Nexa for biomaterials and Tornier has the experience and sales network of a market leader. They should consequently be well placed to extend their international reach and offering in particular artifi cial hands and feet.

Job qualification and trade renewal in Grenoble-Isère

Under this title, a study published by AEPI in March 20071 confirmed, with all the necessary fi gures, that the number of jobs was growing twice as fast in Grenoble-Isère than on average in the rest of France. Highly qualifi ed jobs were enjoying spectacular growth, visible even abroad. Nor were the most innovative sectors developing at the expense of less well qualifi ed jobs. The attractiveness of the Grenoble area was benefi ting the whole of the Isère department, spreading prosperity more evenly across a diversifi ed fabric of trades.

In the 1980s and 1990s2, Grenoble-Isère experienced a rise in the number of jobs twice as high as the national average. But this certainly did not happen by chance. It was very much the result of a determined effort. For the last 30 years public investment in advanced technology sectors, backed by policies encouraging partnerships with research centres and higher education, have attracted high-profi le industrial projects to Grenoble- Isère and encouraged the infl ux of new business. The conclusions of the AEPI study on the changing pattern of qualifi cations between 1982 and 19992 attest to this point. Rising employment levels start by benefi ting the most highly qualifi ed (43,000 more jobs over the relevant period), with much higher growth than elsewhere in France (80% more senior management posts, compared with a 62% increase in France; 139% more engineers, compared with an 87% increase nationally).

The Grenoble urban area stands out for the technical specialization of its job market. It has the highest proportion of engineers in France (6.4%), ahead of Paris (6.1%) and Toulouse (5.8%). It ranks second for the proportion of senior executives, who account for 19.3% of all jobs, ahead of Toulouse (18.5%) but behind Paris (22.5%). Neighbouring Lyon is in fi fth position with 15.8%. The high level of qualifi cation and technical specialization of industrial jobs refl ects sustained growth in innovative sectors. These jobs play a decisive role in the local economy. Such high standards mean fi rms have the capacity to innovate, designing, manufacturing and marketing new products, as well as constantly upgrading existing production processes. This makes it that much easier to adapt to long-term changes in the economy. Some sectors have a ratchet effect that drives the whole economy. Information and communications technology accounts for 500 companies and more than 38,000 jobs in Grenoble-Isère. Major framework projects such as Minatec, Alliance-Crolles 2 or Minalogic have contributed to their development and consolidated Grenoble-Isère’s leading position in France and its status as a major centre in Europe and the world at large. Microelectronics and nanotechnology add up to 21,700 jobs, with a further 3,000 in public research. Computing and software technology employ 12,000 people, with 1,500 others working in public research.
Some 5,700 students are doing courses directly related to these subjects, with 3,400 degrees awarded annually. The number of senior executives, which is well above the national average in the Isère area and more particularly the Grenoble area (which accounts for 70% of all jobs in Isère), is undoubtedly a key factor in the local dynamic. But the positive trend observed during the 1980s and 1990s has continued, picking up speed in recent years. Statistical analysis of a range of indicators for 1999 to 2006 reveals more solid growth. The Grenoble area has been gaining about 3,500 salaried jobs a year in the private sector, almost three times more than over the previous two decades (during which the annual gain was 1,300 jobs). This impressive performance is due to the drawing power of the various hightechnology sectors and the changing face of certain trades. The high-tech sectors, particularly electronics, are driving the job market. Companies such as STMicroelectronics, Soitec, MGE UPS and BD have increased their workforce in strategic activities (studies, R&D, marketing, purchasing, etc.). The 2000s consequently seem to be confi rming the trend for more jobs for senior executives and intermediary

professions in industry and business services. But unlike previous decades the drop in the number of less qualifi ed jobs has stopped, and there has been a rise in the number of employees in retailing and consumer services. On the other hand conventional industrial activities – paper, chemicals, metal working – which employ large numbers of workers, are still shedding jobs and fi nding it hard to compete on international markets. By and large growth in highly qualifi ed jobs has consequently not been achieved at the expense of less well qualifi ed jobs, a feature specifi c to Grenoble-Isère. Unlike the dominant trend in France, over the last 20 years Grenoble-Isère has registered a substantial increase in the number of employees, compensating the decline in the number of industrial jobs. Currently 22% of all jobs in Grenoble- Isère require no qualifi cation. But these jobs are very different from their equivalent in the 1970s and 1980s. The pattern of poorly qualifi ed jobs has changed a great deal, declining in industry and construction, expanding in consumer services and companies. And such jobs have achieved stronger growth in Grenoble-Isère than elsewhere because a dynamic economy has eased the conversion. Forward-looking economic planning has clearly benefi ted the whole of the economy. The job market now seems to be focussing on two growth sectors: very highly qualifi ed jobs, and others demanding little or no qualifi cation. Growing demand for the fi rst category is creating jobs for the second group. It thus seems possible to reconcile the goal of attracting or training growing numbers of top grade executives and engineers with the objective of maintaining a healthy level of employment for unqualifi ed workers. It is certainly our ambition as part of a balanced economy. 1 Les Cahiers de l’Isère, n°16, AEPI, 68 pages, March 2007. 2 Latest census data published (1982 and 1999) by France’s National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee).

Le Magasin, the place for contemporary art

Le Magasin is a large metal shed, typical of such structures designed by Gustave Eiffel. It was originally built for the 1900 universal exhibition in Paris, but was dismantled and reassembled in Grenoble to serve as a vast warehouse.

The area around it gradually degenerated into an industrial wasteland and in 1986 the building was converted, under the supervision of architect Patrick Bouchain, to become one of France’s two centres for contemporary art (Cnac). The term «Magasin», borrowed from Tatlin’s 1916 exhibition of avant-garde art in Moscow, seemed an appropriate name for the venue, subsequently imitated by Stockholm and Bremen.
So welcome to the Magasin! Despite having 2,000 square metres of fl oor space there is nothing to sell here! Unlike conventional museums which purchase and exhibit works, the Magasin does not own a collection nor does it have a permanent exhibition. It only opens for its many temporary exhibitions. Focussing on the creation of contemporary art and its display, the Magasin is almost more interested in artists than art.

The central exhibition area, named La Rue, features an enormous glass roof covering 900 square metres, (70 metres long and 20 metres high) and is ideal for showing monumental installations. La Rue is emblematic of the overall project, to build bridges between art and society, and almost as excessive as the big names who have exhibited their works here Olaf Breuning, Daniel Buren, Jim lsermann, Paul Morrison and many more.

La Rue is a place for unbridled creative expression original graffitis on building- site hoardings, a corrugated iron wave 13 metres high, a line of caravans, and even a series of suspended skeletons. Artists take over the space and shape it as they wish, taking full advantage of its enormity to produce extra-extra-large-size art. Grenoble has made a name for itself pioneering technology, but the same mindset reaches beyond the limits of corporations and business, investing culture. Here too art is on the move.

This summer until 2 September,
Le Magasin will be hosting three contemporary artists:
LATIFA ECHAKHCH will be occupying La Rue with an installation, entitled «Il m’a fallu tant de chemins pour parvenir jusqu’à toi» (I have explored so many trails just to reach you).
With «Negotiation of Purpose» Le Magasin retraces the work of the British artist GAVIN TURK whose work involves explicit references to his illustrious predecessors, from Magritte to Warhol, taking in Klein and Duchamp.
The American TROY BRAUNTUCH often associated with the Picture Generation, likes to distinguish the action of looking at a picture and the process of grasping its meaning. He will be here in Grenoble for his fi rst monographic exhibition in France.