Frédéric AMOROS-ROUTIE
CEO
Frédéric AMOROS-ROUTIE, tell us a bit about Nexio!
FAR : "Nexio is an engineering and software company with a specific market niche: electromagnetic waves. The company was founded in 2003 and today is France’s largest engineering firm specializing solely in electromagnetic waves. We have grown to 70 employees and count 200 customers in the aeronautics, automotive, defense, energy, and electronics industries. We have offices in Grenoble, Paris, and Toulouse.
We started offering services in 2004. Today we cover the entire electronic product development process. We help our customers select the right technology, provide design support, conduct research, write technical documentation, and complete testing. We are equipped to respond to all electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), lightning, radiofrequency, and radar cross-section (RCS) testing, design, and simulation needs.
At Nexio we strive to capitalize on our experience. In 2006 we implemented a continuous innovation strategy that has driven the development of new products, technological know-how, and methods. We have been engaged in fourteen collaborative R&D projects supported by regional governments, Bpifrance, the Directorate General for Armaments, the French National Research Agency, the French Single Interministerial Fund, the clusters, and the European Union."
What made you decide to join Minalogic?
FAR : " Innovation is important to us at Nexio. And we are open to partnerships in the business and technical arenas. We also seek out opportunities to share our experiences and hear about the experiences of others. So, joining Minalogic was an easy decision, and we have been active members. When we opened our Rhône-Alpes regional office, it was logical to join a cluster so closely aligned with our business. We were pleasantly surprised by the energy and enthusiasm Minalogic’s staff puts in to everything they do, as well as by the quality and diversity of workshops and other events offered to members.
Our goal is to become known in the region for our business, for creating jobs, and for innovating. The cluster is helping us expand our business in the region faster, which will support us in that.
One of the projects that is a direct result of our efforts to build a strong network in the region is our partnership with CSTB (an R&D center for the construction industry) and Grenoble-Alpes University to create an undergraduate degree program in electromagnetic compatibility and an EMC design and testing center for startups and other small businesses leveraging the resources of the Pheline testing lab."
What collaborative R&D projects are you involved in?
FAR : "Nexio has been involved in four collaborative R&D projects focusing on technological innovations. The first three were on near-field measurement, a technology where we are very active. These projects led to the development of our BAT-SCANNER product. The EFT-SAFE project (backed by France’s National Research Agency) investigated near-field techniques for immunity to transitory disturbances like lightning and electrostatic discharge. The ROBUSTESSE project (an IRT initiative) is focusing on circuit board and component aging under EMC constraints. And Nexio coordinated the third project, LOCRAY (backed by the French Single Interministerial Fund), which we worked on with IMEP-LAHC, a Grenoble-based lab. The purpose of the project is to bring near-field techniques and qualification measurements together. The fourth project, FORTISSIMO (an EU Horizon 2020 project) will explore the benefits of HPC for numerical simulation using our CAPITOLE-EM software."
What services have you used since joining Minalogic?
FAR : " Since we joined we have been regular attendees at Minalogic events, from brainstorming sessions to the business and innovation workshop series. The pitch workshop gave us an opportunity to introduce ourselves to other members and learn about their businesses as well. The social media workshop really sparked a change for Nexio: Fabrice, who heads our Grenoble office, has become really active on LinkedIn and Viadeo."
What kinds of partnerships are you looking for as a Minalogic member? Business? Innovation?
FAR : " We are looking for potential business partners in fields related to ours, like general, thermal, or mechanical engineering firms, for example. The idea would be to work together to win new equipment development or consulting contracts where our EMC know-how would be useful in the design and testing phases.
In terms of innovation, we are gearing up for our next collaborative R&D projects set to start in 2018. We are seeking partnerships with end users to help us identify their specific challenges. We are also open to technology partnerships with numerical simulation and measurement experts whether that is instrumentation, sensors, or a related field."
