Alain Rousset, president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and strongly committed to the railway sector and to industrial production infrastructure, came to visit our company on 1st February of this year. He met the employees and discovered the innovations conceived by Galland. It was a significant event and was promising in terms of projects at a time when the region is looking to boost mobility by investing in rail networks.
“He wanted to see everything, to learn about everything, from the research department to the machinery of production and the stocks” was the enthusiastic reaction of Christophe Khouya, CEO, and Philippe Galland, the company’s president.
The top elected official of the region is no stranger to Galland. “He began his career in industry and has remained very close to this sector. He knows the problems we are confronted with and he can appreciate innovations : as it happens we showed him the monitoring system of our oleopneumatic tensioning device, the AERO, developed with the Bordeaux company Preditic”, remembers Christophe Khouya. Galland and the Region have been partners for a long time, thanks to ADI Nouvelle-Aquitaine (editor’s note : this is the strong arm of the Region for economic development, innovation, attractiveness
and the accompaniment towards transitions) which supports the development of the connected catenary, and thanks to the “Usine du future” (factory of the future) certification which was awarded to our company in 2020.
The railway : a priority in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Beyond being just a courtesy visit, this meeting took place in a context favorable to railways. Indeed, the State has given the Regions full powers to develop the railway network. Railways are a priority of Nouvelle-Aquitaine which has invested heavily in lines over the last few years : Alain Rousset champions the idea that an eco-responsible area must rapidly turn towards railway networks. In order to renovate lines, to prepare for the future TER and RER trains, the Region has set up Ferrocampus, a center of expertise and training, in Saintes (Charent-Maritime), of which Galland is a linchpin.
“Our company can be a key innovating player for the future of railways in the regions. This was the message we conveyed to Alain Roussel on 1st February. We simply offer him our know-how in the domain of the catenary” says Christophe Khouya. “When I showed him out, Alain Roussel said to me : we will be seeing each other very very soon, because a lot of railway projects are part of our plans for the region.”
Galland will be there, Mister President !
