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The ITI group has always been keen to be involved in the life and economic development of its local region. Its specific know-how means that it holds a part of the historic industrial heritage of the Saint-Étienne area and even the Rhône-Alpes region. These values are what led ITI to join the Mécaloire association, a grouping of companies belonging to the mechanical engineering and metalworking sectors: local industrial partners.
Facilitator of exchanges
Founded in 1995, the Mécaloire association plays a role as a facilitator of exchanges between firms in the mechanical engineering and metalworking industries, and local industrial partners. Its approach is to encourage cooperation, economic development and innovation in its member companies.
Mécaloire’s role is therefore that of an intermediary, facilitating meetings between industrialists in the same geographical area with the capacity to conduct projects together. The Kiffy project is a notable example, the fruit of one of these encounters made possible by Mécaloire. This lightweight tricycle is in fact the result of a cooperation between Norbert Peytour, the inventor, industrial group ITI and Chaudronnerie Fine de la Loire (CFL). This project is one example among other success stories that Mécaloire has enabled to come to fruition.
See the KIFFY
Values
Commitment and loyalty are obviously fundamental values necessary to be a member of Mécaloire. But there are others, shared by the members themselves, which they undertake to adhere to, in particular by signing a code of good practice. Ethics, integrity, loyalty, reliability and honesty are thus the guidelines that are intended to enable all concerned to engage in business relationships based on trust and loyalty – essential to guarantee successful relations between members:
- Transparency and sharing information, as an indispensable condition to develop trust between members and get an idea of the complementary features that give the network its strength.
- A sense of belonging to a “territory”.
- Involvement and reciprocity between members, reflected in a set of rights and duties.
- Mutual assistance and respect for individuality within the group.
- Human value, finally, as the primary resource for enterprises.
4 areas of action
Mécaloire means companies that believe in the force of collective action, who adhere to common values and who get involved in one or more of the association’s areas of action.
- EXCHANGE: Communicating with your peers, escaping isolation and therefore gaining in confidence. Actions proposed: monthly breakfasts, calls for projects, circulation of information. These actions enable the 150 industrial members and partners from the mechanical engineering and metalworking sectors to meet up and get to know each other better.
- MOTIVATE: Creating the desire among the younger generations to join the industry and thereby help to solve the recruitment crisis by making these jobs that young people often know little about attractive to skilled people. In this vein, Mécaloire has launched a project called “Ambassadors”: specially selected and trained employees will go out to secondary schools to present their jobs, their companies and their “territory”.
- FORM ALLIANCES: Developing your business by creating alliances, by submitting joint tenders to big principals. Actions: Annual Business Meeting, awareness-raising concerning the expectations of industrial buyers, regular networking.
- INNOVATE: Developing a spirit of innovation, adopting a methodology focused on creativity, launching the manufacturing of own products. For this, Mécaloire brings its members together at “technical workshops” where they can share the issues they face, it organises the Innov’Meca creativity seminar and is launching new actions to bring up new projects, such as the “Plug’it!” competition.
