Eldim : The R&D Gamble

Over the past decade, Eldim, a "soft" startup in the words of its founder Thierry Leroux, has become one of the most renowned high-technology companies of Basse-Normandie. At the outset, the former LETI researcher gambled on sound R&D to turn the company into the world leader on the optic metrology market. His choice has paid off: Eldim is going into a new expansion phase.

Thierry Leroux is not the kind of entrepreneur who flaunts his stuff on TV or hogs the newspaper and magazine headlines. He doesn't make untimely announcements on his company's growth, either. The Eldim leader is the kind of person who patiently builds his project, preferring to lay solid foundations than publicize short-lived projects. Hardly surprising then that the R&D Department of the small company accounts for one-third of the staff of 48 people but that should jump to a hundred over the next three years. Ongoing R&D at the company has fueled the constant development of new products, hence of new markets, meaning the company needs more room. Indeed, the General Council of the Calvados Department has just decided to back Eldim's growth by releasing an 181,500-euro envelope. "Our new research topics specifically our joint research with the CNRS on the characterization of radiotherapy beams will be needing more room," summed up Thierry Leroux.
A Technology with Multiple Applications
R&D is Eldim's big trump card. As the company gradually renews its range of viewing angle measurement products, the cornerstone of its reputation with flat screen makers, the small Normandy-based company is pushing back the limits of the technology, hence meeting industrialists' demands. Indeed, the latest screen technologies for television have prompted the Norman engineers to perform outstanding feats. Surprisingly, the measurement principle that Eldim has applied to screens can also be used for many other applications. "We are now conducting research on the technology for taking very fine and accurate microelectronic measurements. We have managed to measure objects with nanometric accuracy," pointed out Thierry Leroux. However, his reaction to the application is staid despite the commotion it might cause when the application hits the market. As usual, the entrepreneur from Caen does not want to cut corners but consolidate his assets.
Meanwhile, Eldim is still developing a program jointly with the CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission) to use the technology to try and optimize biochip performance. The Caen engineers are also working with researchers from the French National Museum of Natural History. "We're studying human perception of brightness and attempting to fathom why a surface is seen as brighter or duller," explained Thierry Leroux. He added that the Louvre Museum was considering the technology for the study of the glaze on old paintings. "At the same time, we keep improving our theoretical grasp of the technology so we can understand its limits. We are attempting to force the technology to the wall while optimizing the sensor and optic parts. In certain fields, there still is a margin for progress," he reported. He then added, "A small company such as Eldim has to have several irons on the fire even if it isn't always easy. We are now big enough to launch development programs that are increasingly forward-looking since we know, or think we know, what are our customers' needs."
Fast-Growing Optics
The US Air Force is an Eldim customer, "Our products are instrumental for their aircraft stealth studies, among others," explained Thierry Leroux. Eldim could just make do with being a highly successful company in the lead on the optic metrology market that is touted as the model for anyone wanting to create a company. But its special optical needs and the fact that the number of companies specializing in this field worldwide is dwindling have forced the Caen-based company to build a high performance lens manufacturing facility. "This is a field where the technologies have been changing fast over the past years. So we have tried to keep apace of the changes by investing in optic design digital technologies, among others," said the Basse-Normandie entrepreneur. For instance, Eldim has a digital finishing machine; now there are only some fifty worldwide, owned by some thirty companies, Zeiss and Canon, among others.
Today, optics only account for 20% of Eldim's turnover. However, the company has seen a 70% yearly growth in this field. Its main assets in this area are its ability to design optic instruments and its ownership of a high-performance lens manufacturing workshop. The synergy between the designing engineers and the workshop fuel the ongoing advances of the manufacturing facility. As a result, Eldim draws on outstanding skills and expertise, explaining why the company has recently been awarded several tenders. For instance, the small Normandy-based company designs many components in calcium fluoride (CaF2), specifically for the SINFONI (SINgle Faint Object Near Infrared Investigation) project. "We have made the field correction lenses for the Future ESO Survey Telescope project. We are also involved in the CAMCAO (CAMera for Conjugate Adaptative Optics) project managed by the University of Lisbon. We are making components in CaF2 for them," explained the Eldim CEO.
"We don't have any sales policy for this field of optics. Until now, we have relied on word-of-mouth because we first wanted to prove what we could do," underscored Thierry Leroux, in keeping with his strategy that has built a winning company. "Our strength is that we are a team that was built up gradually, and that has not lost its soul. By successfully synthesizing different technologies, we have managed to design and manufacture products that appeal to our customers. But its long-term work that requires thoroughness," he concluded.
Contact : Thierry Leroux - Phone: [phone] - Fax: [phone] ,This article is an extract from the Basse Normandy newsletter to be found under the following website:,http://www.basse-normandie.net/lettre/english/juin-03/entreprise_en.html

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