In these times of questioning around the reindustrialization of the country, Presans brings together actors and experts in industrial resilience to share and confront their experiences and visions. The following people participated in this first episode focused on the production of masks :

  • Frédéric Moret, Industrial Director at Faurecia;
  • Philippe Perrier, Fellow Presans, former Technical Director of the Rafale program (Dassault), a 3D printing enthusiast;
  • Bernard Favre, Fellow Presans, former Director of Research (Renault and Volvo), mobility specialist.

 

I had the privilege of moderating this roundtable in my capacity as a strategic advisor at Presans. It first allowed Frédéric Moret to tell the story of Faurecia’s decision to go into mask production while interacting with our Fellows Bernard and Philippe, as well as with the participants, who actively asked questions via the webinar interface. In the second phase, the discussion revolved around the longer-term consequences of the COVID19 crisis in the automotive industry. This part of the webinar benefited greatly from the perspective of a major equipment manufacturer provided by Frédéric Moret, as well as the sagacity of our Fellows Bernard and Philippe.

Among the wealth of information that this webinar allowed us to share, I would like to highlight three ideas:

  • If the demand for masks continues to be strong, Faurecia can position itself to offer the market a product that guarantees a high level of quality and respect for environmental constraints. The Faurecia brand could then become better known to the public.
  • In addition, the filtration function of the masks, as well as certain related functions (germicide), could one day be achieved by new technologies designed to equip the passenger compartments of the mobility of the future. Reflections on the impact of COVID19 on the automotive industry look set to be exciting.
  • The post-COVID19 mobility equation incorporates the need for increased physical distance between passengers: is this reconcilable with the massification of transport? Difficult question!