START-UP ELLISTAT WON A TROPHY AT THE GLOBAL INDUSTRIE TRADE SHOW FOR ITS ELLISETTING SOFTWARE, A MAJOR INNOVATION FOR THE INDUSTRY. By Sandra Molloy in Eco Savoie Mont Blanc n°15.
Ellisetting, the beginnings
Originally, there was the wheel. " In 1985, I created a software program to control a bicycle wheel stripping machine for a company in Haute-Savoie. "This is the story of Professor Maurice Pillet, who and his team from the Systems and Materials for Mechatronics Laboratory (SYMME) at the Université Savoie Mont Blanc invented the Automated Process Control (APC) concept that forms the basis of Ellisetting's operation.
This applied research on the wheel was the starting point which, more than thirty years later, enabled him and his son, Davy, a former Polytechnique student, to found the Ellistat company. Integrated into the system, the Ellisetting software controls industrial production and enables machined parts to be manufactured from their three-dimensional measurements, produced by conventional inspection tools. Simply import a file and enter the values on the machine's numerical control. " Machine drifts and offsets are compensated for in the long term, at the same level as in the short term. "says Maurice Pillet.
The innovation, which is of great interest to Haute-Savoie's mechanical engineering industry, won a Global industrie award in the start-up category last March at Eurexpo Lyon.
Back to the field
As a research director, Maurice Pillet has been directing his skills towards concrete applications in industry for several years now: "I'm very happy to be able to work with you. I've spent my entire career producing scientific publications; today, I want to create jobs.. "
In 2014, he and his son already launched Pillet Consulting, whose aim was to provide industries with quality consulting. Based on this work at the heart of companies and their research, they developed their first software for a customer, but the tandem wanted to go further. " What was missing was a software tool to help set-up personnel in production. "says Davy Pillet.
So in 2017 they created the intuitive Ellistat software, which gives their company its name, to help industries sort their statistical data and guide them through the analysis (> Data Analysis module).
This is the first building block before launching Ellisetting, which generates a lot of data and meets a business need not only in technical terms, but also in terms of human resources. As a collateral effect, the software also addresses human resources issues. In the Arve Valley, where recruitment difficulties are particularly acute, especially for setter positions, Ellisetting can operate with the help of an operator, enabling setters to concentrate on other tasks with greater technical added value.
Conquering the world
This spring, the start-up raises funds to support its growth and international expansion. We're profitable," says Davy Pillet. So we don't need funds to survive, but to grow."The founding duo were joined by a third sidekick, before a wave of new hires last autumn brought the workforce to ten."We're not looking for specialists, but people who can adapt".explains Davy Pillet.
The team has also taken on a PhD student who is working on a thesis on the subject, which fits in perfectly with the company's spirit of always being one step ahead. "Our development is driven by innovation".Maurice Pillet sums up. And Davy Pillet concludes: " Industry 4.0 isn't about a huge piece of software that can do everything, but about combining specialized bricks that interconnect easily with industry systems."