JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #85 - November/December 2013 - 4

point of view: bespoke equipment

PEI, 150 years of innovation
and customized solutions

interview
Jerôme Hubert,
CHairman & CeO

Pinette Emidecau Industries (PEI)

Pinette Emidecau Industries (PEI) may be celebrating its 150th
birthday this year, but the engineering specialist and builder of
large-scale mechanical machinery is by no means a devotee of the
past. PEI is banking on innovation, and 60% of its business is devoted to the composite industry. Here is an interview with the head
of PEI, Jérôme Hubert.

J.H.: PEI is both an en-

Jerôme Hubert: I took

over Pinette Emidecau
Industries (PEI) following
my career as an automotive
engineer. I wanted a challenge, and to develop a company using my own strategy.
I believed in PEI because I'd
worked with the company,
which was a supplier to
Matra Automobile where I
worked in 1985-90, specifically on composite parts for
the Renault Espace.

JCM: What is your vision for
PEI in terms of things like export growth, or technologies?

About
Pinette Emidecau
Industries (PEI)

JEC Composites Magazine:
You took over PEI in May
2011. What motivated you?

gineering company and a
builder. I am very attached
to these two aspects and
to what I consider to be
our four pillars: knowhow,
innovation, partnerships
and international development. We have a foothold
in several sectors, which
are aerospace, ground
transportation and energy
(fossil-based, wind and
nuclear). Composites account for 60 to 70% of our
business. The rest covers
activities like test benches
for the oil-drilling industry,
or sheet-metal machinery.
We are also present in niche
segments where they want
to integrate composite solutions.
I believe strongly in

I believe strongly
in partnership
with other SMEs.

partnerships with other
small- or medium-sized
businesses, whether they are
French, German, or from

other countries. We already
have a number of partnerships in tooling, ultrasound
non-destructive testing, and
plastic injection. Partnerships enable not only the
emergence of new technical
solutions, but also comprehensive packages that have
the critical size needed for
certain projects.
Innovation is a major line
of development, in my
opinion. For example, we
have in-house research
programmes on high temperatures (above 400°C)
and on minimizing energy
consumption.
JCM: In your opinion, what
are PEI's best achievements
in the composite market over
these past five years?

Pinette Emidecau Industries, better known by the acronym PEI or internationally by its business name Pinette,
is an engineering specialist and builder of large-scale
mechanical machinery.
Specializing in hydraulic presses and test benches, the
company creates automated forming and ultrasound NDT
lines for high-performance composite materials, for the
benefit of aerospace and automotive manufacturers. Its

4 jec composites magazine / No85 November - December 2013

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #85 - November/December 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #85 - November/December 2013