Jean-Louis OLIVIER, Chairman & Executive Officer of SMIE

• What was your most recent turnover?

The turnover generated by our group, its foreign subsidiaries and our subsidiary Smiesud amounted to €5.5 million and that of SMIE stricto sensu to €3.2 million for 2010–2011. For financial year 2011–2012, we reckon on 20% growth. We are improving our performance in new export markets such as Northern Europe, Sweden, Norway and Benelux. Likewise, we have made progress in Brazil, where our business is at the early stage via a distributor.

• Is your business the result of growing interest in anti-collision systems or of your own momentum?

Both. New countries are showing interest in these systems. Our brand is as well known in this field as Frigidaire for refrigerators, which immediately gives us the edge.

• Do you have a special relationship with manufacturers?

First of all, with the Spanish manufacturer Comansa, to whom we supply new display units. Other solutions are available to their customers on a similar basis. Although Comansa was strongly affected by the crisis, ordering resumed in 2011. We are also in contact with Liebherr and Potain.

• Why exhibit at Intermat 2012?

Intermat is a must. We have two reasons for going to the show. First of all, to bring the innovation that our clients demand. This we will do. Secondly, to meet contractors located in Africa, notably North Africa. There is and there will continue to be much to do in these countries.

• Which products will you display?

Driven by occasional demand, competition is rife between manufacturers of anti-collision systems for mobile cranes. For our part, we will display a new system for machinery other than tower cranes for the very first time. We will also display a construction site organisation solution. We have a mobile crane supervisory system, currently used on 21 machines at the EPR site in Flamanville. The same logic flows through the entire chain, from supervision to management. Lastly, I intend to import Swedish-built site lifts from TUMAC so that companies can comply with the new French regulations, in the process of being drafted. We will display these on the SMIE stand.

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