A MAN OF CONVICTION WITH A PASSION FOR INDUSTRY WHO CREATED A GROUP THAT IS NOW A MARKET REFERENCE

At the time, the idea behind logistics packaging for automotive components was to put the maximum number of parts in the minimum amount of space at the lowest possible cost. The initial idea was simple but it needed a visionary to think of it and put it in place. Thus, in 1981, Gilbert Maillard, an engineer with experience in the armaments industry, discovered a market niche that would revolutionise the logistics habits of motor manufacturers. In founding I.T.S., the enthusiasm of this man revolutionised the logistics habits of motor manufacturers by redefining packaging. Above all, he enabled the automotive sector to make substantial savings by doing away with metal boxes, disposable cardboard, wooden pallets and thick paper.

INNOVATION:

Born in the Montbéliard region of France, the home of Peugeot cars, Gilbert Maillard, with his passionate interest in technologies and industrial processes, was the first person in France to apply the thermoforming of very thick plastic sheets to the manufacture of honeycomb trays and separators for materials handling. To expand his innovation, he designed the production lines himself, already using computer programs at that time. He very quickly diversified I.T.S. into the filed of mechanical welding, thus offering his customers in the automotive industry a complete packaging solution using metal and plastic. To provide his customers with innovative products, he founded a design office in the Franche-Comté region followed by LOGIPLAST in Paris, and to be competitive he established the I.T.S. welding robots team.

DIVERSIFICATION:

Together with his partners, Gilbert Maillard, the manager, the observer, who is still just as passionate about technology, has not stopped moving the company forward since 1981, focusing on diversifying technologies and markets. As proof of this, in 1989 he founded POLYTECH, which added polyurethane elastomers to the mix. This was followed by the conversion of plastic materials by rotational moulding, a manufacturing process at the height of its development which was not very widespread in Europe. At that time the company already employed over 80 people. At the same time, an Industrial Division was set up to develop business in technical parts among industrial companies in all sectors.

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION:        

From 1990 onwards, the East beckoned. Gilbert Maillard discovered that the internal markets of what is now Central Europe were starting to open up. After numerous trips, he decided to establish a business in the Czech Republic, which led to the creation of I.M.P. in 1993. This initiative of international expansion in Eastern Europe made Gilbert Maillard a trailblazer. In 1996, with a view to uniting the subsidiaries, the GROUPE MAILLARD INDUSTRIE was formed. In 1999 ITER IBERICA was set up in Spain and in March 2003, looking to the future once more, the Group set up business in India, with ZARHAK MOULDERS, a company specialising in the rotational moulding of technical parts. Once more Gilbert Maillard is showing the way forward. The Groupe Maillard Industrie now has six subsidiaries, 495 members of staff and operates five transformation technologies. The GMI Group, which is at the height of its expansion, has become the company of reference in its markets and has acquired a reputation that goes far beyond the borders of Europe.