BE 5.0 - SALON INDUSTRIES DU FUTUR MULHOUSE 2025

Dessindus In Colmar, Dessindus combines mechanics and automation under its new presidency

The 120-employee industrial maintenance SME passes the twenty-year milestone by passing on the torch from its founder to a loyal executive. The company is reaffirming its recent development strategy based on two complementary business lines, enabling it to operate in project mode as well. Well established in its markets, but keen to raise its profile, it will be exhibiting for the first time at the Be 5.0 - Industrie du futur trade show on November 26 and 27 at the Parc Expo in Mulhouse.

Dessindus turns a long page on its twentieth anniversary. Paul Di Consoli, founder of the industrial maintenance SME based in Colmar and its neighboring commune of Ostheim (Haut-Rhin), handed over the company at the beginning of the year to Gilles Weisheimer, loyal manager for the past 17 years. The change of chairmanship, which preserves Dessindus' independent, family-run profile, is in keeping with the guiding principle that has been in place for several years: to add electrical-automation skills to the mechanical expertise that has characterized Dessindus since its beginnings in 2004. 

This enhancement of the company's offering - which covers studies, project management for the construction of automated systems, the integration of robotized cells, wiring, the installation of electrical cabinets and control and supervision solutions - has enabled the SME to evolve in two ways: “it takes us towards turnkey services in our traditional maintenance business, and it enables us to move up the chain, towards project management”, describes Ramon Orefice, the manager of this more recent electrical-automation division. Based in Ostheim, this division now employs 23 people out of a total workforce of 120, and will generate sales of between €3 and €4 million, with a target of €12 million by 2023, as a result of “annual growth of 6 to 10%”, calculates the manager. 

The creation of a specific design office to complement the mechanical engineering department (a total of 20 people assigned to these functions at Dessindus) and CMSE certification for machine safety - the company is also MASE (*) and Ecovadis CSR certified - have laid the foundations for this diversification and its success. The know-how thus deployed from two “legs” enables Dessindus to assert its presence in industrial environments in all their diversity, mainly in the Grand Est region of France, with a few extensions in Germany, Luxembourg and Italy. 

Agri-food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automotive, metallurgy, paper, etc., the SME boasts an extensive list of outlets, including renowned references such as Constellium and Arconic (aluminum processing), Novartis (pharmaceuticals) and Essity (hygiene paper). “Thanks to our responsiveness and technical expertise, we are in a position to impose ourselves on major accounts, competing with larger competitors,” emphasizes Ramon Orefice.

New laser and CNC equipment 

To reinforce its diversification into project-based markets and consolidate its strongholds in maintenance, Dessindus has recently strengthened the production resources it has developed in-house at its two sites. Over the past two years, the SME has acquired a 3D laser scanner, a new laser-cutting machine and a numerically-controlled lathe for its machining and boiler-making activities, which combine milling, turning and mortising for the machining of various types of metal: conventional and stainless steel, aluminum, bronze, brass, etc. The 120,000 euro budget recently allocated to safety certification and the resources devoted to improving the ergonomics of workstations are part of the same objectives. 

The company's workforce of just over a hundred people is made up of a dozen different professions: mechanics, fitters, electricians, automation engineers, boilermakers, locksmiths, machinists, pipe fitters, welders, draughtsmen, not to mention technicians and engineers in the design office. 

In the context of its confirmed growth, Dessindus is keen to add to this diverse workforce. “We'd be happy to take on 10 to 15 people...if we could find them,” says Ramon Orefice. The Colmar-area company is no exception to the human resources challenge faced by its peers in this particular geographical area. It is banking on its atmosphere, its CSR actions and it is also leveraging apprenticeship, with six contracts signed this year. “We're boosting our work-study program, knowing full well that not all young people will stay on. That's the game. And conversely, people who have trained or started their careers elsewhere also come to us,” observes the manager. 

As for the 2024 edition of Be 5.0 - Industries of the Future, it will be Dessindus' first as an exhibitor. Taking part in the Grand Est industrial and digital event at the Parc Expo in Mulhouse is in line with the company's desire to develop a presence at trade shows “to make itself known as a significant regional player”, in keeping with the new dimension the SME has taken on in recent years. 

 (*) CMSE: Certified Machinery Safety Expert / MASE: Manuel d'AmĂ©lioration SĂ©curitĂ© des Entreprises