Nicolas Stori
CEO - cofounder
 

Nicolas Stori, tell us about Astrée Software :

NS : "Astrée Software was founded in late 2011 by me, Nicolas Stori, and Pierre Jourdat and Didier Vially. All three of us had formerly held management positions at Courbon. We wanted to offer an innovative approach to Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and simplify MES implementation to make the software more accessible to smaller manufacturing companies. We developed our Aquiweb MES, which is now known as the simplest and most intuitive MES on the market. Aquiweb is very hands-on and flexible enough to adapt to all production processes.

As an MES developer and Factory of the Future stakeholder, Astrée Software has a particularly strong capacity for innovation. Our core values of innovation and simplicity continue to drive our development strategy and our relationships with our customers.

Aquiweb brings a number of advantages. It makes working in a manufacturing environment more attractive. On the shop floor, users have a modern digital tool that has the familiar feel of the tools we use in our everyday lives on our tablets, smartphones, and online. The technology lets users take photos to document their decisions (non-compliant products, defective parts, etc.) and receive alerts by SMS, email, or vibration signal.

We have seen strong growth for six years in a row (800%) and are now in the Technology Fast 500 EMEA and Champions de la Croissance 2018 rankings. More recently, we made it into the Financial Times FT1000 for Europe. We are ranked 208th among software developers in France and first in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region."

What made you decide to join Minalogic?

NS : "Astrée Software became a member of Minalogic because of a collaborative R&D project to develop simple industrial maintenance tools backed by the French Single Interministerial Fund. The project gave us an opportunity to work with INSA, Schneider Electric, Corim, ACOEM, and Hikob.

Minalogic has a well-structured process to support these kinds of projects at every step of the way, right up to certification, which is crucial to obtaining government approval."

What collaborative R&D projects are you involved in ?

NS: "As I mentioned, there is the Easymaint project to assist medium-sized manufacturing companies with the transition to Industry 4.0.

The aim of the project is to develop an early troubleshooting solution to detect machine malfunctions and, ultimately, increase equipment uptime. The solution combines wireless sensors and software, connecting machines and CAM (computer-assisted maintenance) software either directly or via the MES.

Additional features for the CAM and MES software are also being developed to facilitate troubleshooting and make maintenance more efficient. The solution does not require any special IT skills (programming), which makes it accessible to a broad range of users.

As a partner on this project we are contributing our MES component and our know-how in the field."

What services have you used since joining Minalogic?

NS : "Minalogic supported us with the French Single Interministerial fund call for projects. We have also taken advantage of targeted introductions and networking activities that have helped raise our profile..

Minalogic also invited us to take part in a panel talk on Big Data at the Advanced Manufacturing Meetings in Clermont-Ferrand.

To date, the cluster’s support with the French Single Interministerial Fund project has been major for us."

What types of partnerships are you looking for as a Minalogic member? Business? Innovation?

NS : "Like all businesses, we have to innovate to stay ahead of our competitors while continuing to grow our business.

Minalogic provides us with opportunities in both areas, with a multidisciplinary network of 400 members that includes businesses, schools, and research organizations capable of supporting our own R&D programs. The network also includes potential customers and recommenders for our solutions."