“Creation, innovation, design, that’s what makes French know-how different,” believes the president of Technilum

Industry week takes place from November 18 to 24, with a host of events throughout France to introduce professions, sectors and made in France, especially to young people. On this occasion, Agnès Jullian, president of Technilum, a family business which designs and manufactures street furniture, is the eco guest of franceinfo on Thursday November 21.

A thousand middle school, high school and university students from Île-de-France will also be welcomed on Friday November 22 at the Ministry of the Economy and Finance in Bercy.

franceinfo: Is this kind of initiative important? Is it necessary to give young people a taste of industry?

Agnes Jullian : I think it’s essential today. We have lived outside of the industry for too long. These were not professions that were attractive, the industry had a very bad image. We thought it was Zola. And today, the industry is something completely different, especially in France.

Should we also show young girls that industry can be a possible path?

I think there is no distinction to be made, whether men or women, everyone can go into industry. Indeed, there are more and more women who are getting involved, we see it in engineering schools, but we can also have people who come to worker positions, in industries.

You, who are an industry boss, do you have more and more CVs from young women who come to see you?

We make sure we have some. We also make sure to promote those who are already with us. Including through social networks and others, to promote their experience. And I believe that it is essential since today, there is no distinction to be made. But most importantly, the women who are in the industry today are doing quite well. And so this is perhaps also worth emphasizing.

Do we need female role models, women at the head of industrial companies like you?

I may be the only one in the lighting union, which has perhaps been a certainty for quite some time at board level. These are professions which have not been particularly aimed at women. I’ve been there for around thirty years now, so I’ve made my place, but it’s never bothered me to be among men. So I think anyone can be in any position today.

Technilum is street furniture made in Béziers. You are present in around twenty countries. So is it possible today to manufacture in France at competitive prices?

We perhaps do not manufacture at competitive prices if we compare to things which are very exotic and which unfortunately can also arrive on national soil. On the other hand, we manufacture quality equipment which has advantages. We are mainly in criteria which are creation, innovation, design. This is what makes French know-how different today. We have always talked about the French touch. Today, we also carry values ​​that go with French fab, we are a living heritage company and therefore we value real know-how. We also value things that are different from what can be done elsewhere.

Even if it’s more expensive. Because when we see the current budgetary debates with the industry which is involved, whether it is with the reduction in apprenticeship aid, whether it is also the planned reduction in exemptions from contributions, do you think that you can stay competitive?

I think we shouldn’t think about the purchase price alone. We also have to think about the maintainability of equipment, repairability and today the products that we have been able to install, the company is more than 50 years old today, are still in the cities, we know how to retrofit them, we knows how to make them evolve. I think that’s a bit like the future. If we consume cheap products a little excessively, in the end we may not have it, and above all, the communities will not beautify the cities either. It’s a whole. We offer things that are innovative today, but which also allow, beyond the simple fact of lighting, to add functionalities. And I think that it is innovation that goes in this direction and which ensures that French equipment, made in France, can be exported all over the world too.

The industry is involved in the 2025 budget which is currently under debate. I talked about learning supports that should be reduced. The same goes for exemptions from contributions. The government talks a lot about aid to industry and the fight against relocation. Do you feel like you have a government that is on your side?

I have to go back. We made the choice, a few years ago, to make a very heavy real estate investment and therefore to industrialize even more what we were doing in France, which was already a somewhat daring choice. We did it on the eve of Covid, so we are just coming out of Covid. Indeed, it doesn’t send very good messages, but we have to hope that we will be able to get back on our feet.

Isn’t that a good signal?

This is not a good signal, obviously. Afterwards, I have a motto which has always been: It’s not about being optimistic or pessimistic, you have to be determined. On the other hand, in fact, it will not make things easier, so we are not sure of launching as many recruitments on apprenticeship contracts, for example. And we will be vigilant. And indeed, the hardest thing is not knowing what tomorrow will be like. And the hardest part is also when we see projects that were well underway, which due to the disengagement of certain local authorities will come to a halt.

The Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, has just spoken to the mayors who are gathered in Congress, also involved in the budget, 5 billion savings are requested from communities. How can this translate concretely into orders for you who make a living from public orders?

Indeed, we make 30% from exports, therefore 70% in France. This is, as I have just said, a bad signal. On the other hand, we must hope…

A bad signal for competitiveness, but also for order?

For public orders, indeed, even if we do not respond directly to public orders, we respond through senators who themselves respond to public orders. And indeed, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. So that’s a bit of what’s difficult, especially when things were very busy, when we already had more or less in our order books, or at least in existing opportunities, referenced projects that can be implemented. struggling with the new systems and perhaps the disengagement of certain local authorities.

Do you see a kind of wait-and-see attitude in recent months, particularly because of these subjects?

We’ve been hearing it for some time now. We actually heard it, including in the aisles of the mayors’ lounge. And indeed, it is a real concern, and we hope to get past it. This is where we also need to go, perhaps a little more internationally, but nothing is simple.