The mechanical engineering industries
In 2007, the French mechanical engineering industry
achieved total sales of approximately 111 billion Euros with 11,300
companies and a workforce over 60,000. Exporting approximately 40%
of its sales, it ranks sixth in the world.
FIM "Fédération des Industries Mécaniques" (Federation
of Mechanical engineering industries)
Mechanical engineering is at the heart of all the industries today.
It is divided into four major sectors:
Production machinery, equipment and systems for all industrial,
agricultural, commercial activities;
Tools, components, subassemblies and subcontracted parts;
OOptics, precision and measuring instruments and Household
and health equipment.
Besides the mechanical engineering industries
themselves, their customers are: transport industries (automotive,
aircraft industries, railroads), energy production, defense, iron
and steel industry, chemical, food and agribusiness industries
and also end consumers...
The mechanical engineering industries are represented
by FIM, "Fédération des Industries Mécaniques" (Federation
of Mechanical engineering industry). Gathering 45 national trade
associations, each focused on a type of products, market or industry,
FIM defends the economic and technical interests of its member associations
and companies. Acting at the same time as a spokesman, catalyst and
support, FIM helps companies to produce in France and to expand on
the world markets.
An industry involved very early in standardization
The mechanical engineering industries early developed
an interest in the preparation of standards dealing with their products.
Aware of their possible consequences on the national or international
industrial development, they built an active standardization strategy,
and in 1927 created a dedicated service, the "Comité de
Normalisation de la Mécanique" (CNM) (mechanical engineering
standardization committee), within their industrial federation.
On the basis of the five standardisation committees set up at that
time by the "Comité de Normalisation de la Mécanique" (threads
and screws, technical drawings, fitting, piping, machine tool elements),
the work was structured and amplified, and UNM ("Union de
Normalisation de la Mécanique" which succeeded CNM
in 1977) includes nearly 140 standardization committees today.
Valuable assistance of the Industrial Technical
Research Centers, in particular CETIM
The mechanical engineering industries remain UNM's largest financial
contributor, via the contributions paid by the trade associations,
the "Fédération des Industries Mécaniques" (Federation
of Mechanical engineering industries) and the various Industrial
Technical Research Centers (CETIM, CETIAT, CTDEC). UNM's tasks consist
in assisting the industries in the definition of their standardizing
strategy, in the implementation of this strategy in the most effective
possible way at national, European and international levels, and
in ensuring standardization monitoring for its partners, in order
to enhance the economic development of companies.
The Industrial Technical Research Centers are collectively funded
by certain branches of the mechanical engineering industries. Through
collective actions, these research centers bring significant financial
and technical support to standardization (especially CETIM), in financing
the participation of industrial mechanical engineering experts in
the UNM standardization committees. They assist the industries on
technical aspects during standardization meetings, and carry out
prenormative theoretical or experimental actions.
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