JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #119 - Supplement lnnovation report - 56

JEC WORLD 2018
special tools it used to create, but now as
standard products.
For this high-tech market - and because
it is not enough just to guarantee the performance of a new tool - the group has
invested heavily in maintenance activities
through Desgranges Aero, which is dedicated uniquely to the maintenance of cutting tools. Together, sharpening expertise
and a high level of service form an important component of a tool's life cycle management. A team of 15 highly qualified people are assigned to that on a full-time basis.

Fig. 2: Desgranges Operator on CNC machine

interview
jeAn-FrAnçois BAin
Sales & Export Director Desgranges
Group
Vice-President Aerospace Cluster
Auvergne_Rhône-Alpes

What complementarities have come out
of your acquisition by OSG?

Jean-François Bain: Desgranges

has proven expertise in aeronautical
work and provides its parent company
with a complementary perspective
in that area. OSG provides it with
additional skills in the form of technological components, in particular in
materials (carbides) and coatings
(diamond, diamond-like, etc.).
What are the advantages for your
customers?

J. F. B.: These new solutions are

validated in our in-situ laboratory so
that we can propose mature solutions.
This helps Desgranges provide its cus-

From Saint-Etienne to Tokyo:
exemplary growth
The group's history began in France at SaintEtienne in 1946, when Pierre Desgranges
and his two sons-in-law established the Pierre
Desgranges Andrézieux Company. The first
important development occurred in 1995,
when the company was bought out by the
Desgranges Holding, which was created by
Eric Monniot and Hubert Fessy. Over the
next ten years, the holding acquired the Affut'
Rapid company (1998), created Desgranges
Aero (2003), and launched the brand Nexam
Aircraft Cutting Tools (2005).
Another important stage began in 2008, when
Desgranges Cutting Tools became a strategic
supplier for Airbus. In 2014, following a period of intense growth, the Desgranges Cutting
Tools group - which by then employed 75
people, including 15 Desgranges Aero employees in Grisolles (near Toulouse) - acquired
France Atlantique (FIFA), an industrial supply
company created at Saint-Nazaire in 1997.
The buyout brought the group closer to the

tomers with enhanced support to help
them improve their processes and to
reduce cost. Desgranges gives priority
to close collaboration, working directly with its customers 90% of the time.
What is your general approach to the
composite market?

J. F. B.: We have kept up with this
market ever since we started collaborating with the A380 and A350 programmes (carbide, PCD), but we have
made a lot of progress since then by
contributing new CVD diamond coated solutions. We validate these solutions in partnership with machine
and system manufacturers (automatic
drilling machines, digital control), material producers like Hexcel. We are
proposing more improvements in plystack drilling (Ti/CFRP) and carbon
trimming.

For your growth, which countries or
markets are you prioritizing?

J. F. B.: For our international de-

velopment, we are now gaining from
OSG's locations all over the world. We

jec composites magazine / N° 119 supplement - Innovation Report

Airbus factories in Nantes and Montoir-deBretagne.
In September 2015, Desgranges Cutting Tools
parted from the Monniot and Fessy families,
who sold 100% of the holding's shares to the
Japanese industrial group OSG Corporation,
a leading manufacturer of taps. Listed on
the Tokyo Stock Exchange, OSG wanted
to expand its operations, particularly into
Europe. The group from Nagoya has a workforce of 5,250 employees, and sales of more
than a billion euros. The buyout provides the
Desgranges group with a boost, giving it even
more means to innovate and develop.

Fig. 3: Production - Robotized loader

especially promote our catalogue for
Nexam®, our brand for standard tools.
The composite market is a priority
development goal. As for the countries we target, we focus on developing
those associated with the Airbus programmes.
What prompted you to exhibit at
JEC World 2018?

J. F. B.: The composite market is a

priority for Desgranges, so it seemed
obvious to us that we should participate in the trade show. Besides a few
aeronautical gatherings, we expose
only at the Paris Airshow in Le Bourget.
When we visited last year's JEC World,
we were surprised by the quality of the
organization. It seemed to us that visitor expectations were basically technical, and that is why we noted the event
on our calendar and reserved 30 square
metres for our first participation.
More information:
www.nexam.aero
www.desgranges-oc.com

http://www.nexam.aero http://www.desgranges-oc.com

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