Hutchinson: French Military Technology
Schlumberger-EMR: Better Oil Drilling
Eric Claviere, Exporter to France
Corrections or additions?
These articles were prepared for the July 14, 2004
issue of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Celebrating Princeton’s Many French Friends
The French have always been, and continue to be, an integral part of
the Princeton scene. Twenty years ago “Frenchy’s” gas station on
Nassau Street offered help to travelers with its sign “On parle
francaise” in the window.
In the 1980s, in the reign of Mayor Barbara Sigmund, Colmar, a town in
the Alsace region of France, became Princeton’s sister city. Colmar
gave Princeton a statue, “Le Petit Vintner,” which now sits on the
grounds of Borough Hall. Last week Princeton sent a delegation to
Colmar to celebrate the anniversary of the Statue of Liberty.
Four years after its founding, Ecole Francaise de Princeton, located
at All Saints Church, has 65 students, ages 3 to 10, who speak both
French and English.
The celebration of Bastille Day on July 14 – the holiday that
represents the overthrow of the French monarchy and the start of the
French republic – helps Americans remember how France supported the
United States in its struggle for independence. For years Trinity
Church held a midsummer gala with Bastille Day as the theme. Every
year but this one, Palmer Square has hosted a Bastille Day waiters’
race, with wait staff from area restaurants vying to see who could
travel fastest without spilling the champagne from its glass.
So when France’s political choices incite French bashing elsewhere,
the 5,000 French expatriates who live in the Princeton area can
celebrate Bastille Day with the support of their co-workers and
neighbors. Herewith some of U.S. 1’s French connections:
The French may have invented smokeless gunpowder, but it is more
famous for products made with a different kind of granule –
confectioners sugar, used for pastry. The American kind, say those in
the know, is like popcorn. Chefs and amateur cooks of the Martha
Stewart variety use the more refined French kind.
It is no accident that Central New Jersey boasts the United States
headquarters for two different French baking equipment manufacturers.
Native Frenchman Olivier Frot, owner FBM Baking Machines on Route 130
in Cranbury, imports and distributes authentic French ovens and
equipment such as dough mixers.
Hatsuo Takeuchi, born in Japan, trained as a chef in France and opened
the United States headquarters for Demarle Inc. at 8A Corporate Plaza,
also in Cranbury. It is the USA office of the French baking equipment
company that is based in Lille, located in northern France.
On the Internet and wholesale, Demarle sells Flexipans, non-stick,
flexible cake tins and baking trays, made from knitted glass fabric
and silicones. These flexible pans and molds bend to pop out the
products, so they do not have to be greased. Each one can be used up
to 2,500 times. Takeuchi also sells a non-stick mat, Silpat, that
costs less than silicone paper. It is used to bake Danish pastries,
biscuits, and shortbreads. His customers include hotels, pastry chefs,
Subway sandwich shops, and the likes of Martha Stewart, who recommends
his cookie liners.
Takeuchi grew up in a small town in Japan, went to school in
Switzerland, and spent five years in France, first in the Alsace and
then in Paris as a pastry chef. “I was interested in doing something
in foreign trade,” he says. “I returned to Japan and worked as a
corporate chef for an import and export business, and I learned how to
import and how to export. I knew it was hard to find certain materials
in America.” He started this division in New York and moved to
Cranbury in 1993.
A tribute from an enthusiastic chef appears on the website: “I have
over 100 Flexipan mats now within my facility. I use them for all
style of pastries. I use them for baking and freezing as well. Before
the opening of my pastry shop, I received so many orders from the big
companies like Louis Vuitton, Jean Paul Gaultier, that it was really a
big challenge for me to keep these high level customers satisfied and
to produce so many cakes in one go. So I did use Flexipan very often.”
Four years ago Demarle merged with another baking tray company, Sasa
Industry, which has more expensive products that fit only European
ovens.
As for those ovens – no self respecting pastry chef will bake in an
American oven. All the good baking ovens come from Europe, according
to Olivier Frot, of FBM (as in French Baking Machines). This importer
painstakingly differentiates between food preparation and baking
equipment. “Baking and food service – we don’t shake hands, we don’t
know each other,” says Frot. “We are two breeds of people.”
“In America there is no manufacturer of baking equipment,” says Frot.
“Food preparation ovens go into kitchens, restaurants, and big food
service cafeterias, but the U.S. does not make anything that will
please a master baker or pastry chef. All this equipment has to come
from Europe.” Some equipment is relabeled, he cautions, to appear like
it is made in America, but all is made in Europe, primarily in France,
Italy, Germany, and Sweden. “France and Italy for everything, Sweden
for ovens, and Germany for mixers and ovens.” The German firm, Miele,
which has a demonstration kitchen on Route 1 North does not have
commercial ovens. “You would not find Miele in any commercial
application except dishwashers.”
Frot sells his ovens and other kitchen equipment to commercial
bakeries, upscale hotels, country clubs, retail bakeries, upscale
groceries, and specialty breadshops. His inventory, most made by
Panimatic and Bongard, includes bins, silos, and bulk flour handlers;
bread & roll equipment such as molders, panners, dividers, and
rounders and croissant equipment & supplies, and more.
FBM equipped the kitchens of Chez Alice on Nassau Street (owned at the
time by Frot’s first wife). He also equipped the kitchen of the Little
Chef on South Tulane Street and the Witherspoon Street Bread Company.
A small oven for the Little Chef would cost $10,000 and the complete
kitchen equipped as a European pastry shop could be under $150,000,
says Frot. Enter Witherspoon Street Bread Company and you will see a
huge Bombard oven, worth from $30,000 to $50,000. The outfitting of a
bakery this size – including mixers, dough processing machines,
dividers, molders, proofers – would cost about $300,000. Frot
anticipates a nice sale coming from the Whole Foods Market that is
being constructed at Windsor Green.
“Executive chefs who are not baking-oriented understand the importance
of quality pastries, desserts, and bread. They buy quality breads from
the outside but will hire a pastry chef to do beautiful desserts. Now
things are changing. Pastry chefs are bringing bread into the kitchens
gradually. At the Ritz Carlton for example, a very talented pastry
chef would bring commercial bakery ovens and machinery to achieve this
goal.”
Frot has put a lid on the size of his business. “We try to be under $5
million a year. It is a comfortable number for me, with the niche
market we are going after. I could hire more people. I could try to
sell cheaper stuff and go after pizza parlors and smaller mom and pop
shops, but this is not what I enjoy. We are the best within this
niche.”
“We are under 10 people, and as owner and supervisor I spend most of
my time in sales. I travel as little as possible and we probably
conclude 95 percent of our sales over the phone. We are the exclusive
distributors of our brands.” He has about a dozen competitors, and
except for a couple of importers on the west coast, they are clustered
in the New York and Philadelphia area to be close to the port.
Frot was born in a bakery, in a typical mom and pop shop in Paris. “I
learned everything from day one.” At 21 he joined the French army and
the following year “I developed a need for freedom.” In 1980 he came
to Houston, Texas, working for an oven manufacturer, and he never went
back. He came to New Jersey in 1983 and stayed, though his actual
locations have changed. He and his second wife, who is from Costa
Rica, have two children under four.
Frot and Takeuchi are in Las Vegas this week to exhibit at a chef’s
convention, where the sugar will surely fly. Frot’s company is an
equipment sponsor for the first time, and is bringing a tractor
trailer full of ovens and equipment for the World Pastry Team
Championship. He is bringing 12 ovens for 12 teams from 12 countries.
“Top top top notch,” emphasizes Frot. “The U.S. team is made up of
three chefs from France, and of course there will be a French team.”
Later this summer he will return to Las Vegas for the International
Baking Industry Expo.
Here’s the question. Where does Olivier Frot, the discriminating
French consumer, buy his bread? He used to go to Wegman’s, because it
was convenient and “a good source for bread in general,” or to
Witherspoon Bread Company. Now, says Frot darkly, Wegman’s has engaged
in shipping partially baked bread, frozen. “I have noticed that the
quality has decreased substantially so I am no longer as loyal a
customer. I go back to Witherspoon Bread Company.”
– Barbara Fox
Demarle Inc. USA, 8 Corporate Drive, 8A Corporate Plaza,Cranbury 08512. Hatsuo Takeuchi, president. 609-395-0219; fax,609-395-1027. Www.DemarleUSA.comFBM Baking Machines Inc., 2666 Route 130, Cranbury 08512.Olivier Frot, owner. 609-860-0577; fax, 609-860-0576.Top Of PageHandbags by LongchampLongchamp USA is the North American wholesale and retail salesorganization for the French manufacturer of upscale, primarily leatheraccessories. Longchamp products, sold only in upscale boutiques suchas Luttmann’s on Witherspoon Street, include handbags, luggage,wallets, briefcases, pocket diaries, and gloves, as well as scarves,ties, and some jewelry.Marti Carroll, right, CEO of Longchamp USA, expanded her warehouse in2001 to 35,200 feet on Route 130 North in Yardville, and it has 22employees plus four outside sales representatives, two independentsales reps, and an account analyst. Total parent company sales aremore than $150 million in 80 countries.Founded by Jean Cassegrain in 1948 in Segre, outside of Paris,Longchamp originally made leather coverings for pipes, but soonexpanded into other small leather articles. In the 1960s and ’70s thecompany further broadened its offerings with a line of light-weightluggage and a popular foldable-canvas travel bag.Moving into the retail business in 1979, it began establishingboutiques in the Far East and then in 1988 opened one in Paris. The”Pliages” brand of handbags in leather and nylon came on the scene in1993. Philippe Cassegrain took over the company from his parents in1980 and still runs it today.Carroll says that handbags comprise 80 percent of her business, butLongchamp also offers three collections of luggage. Though shepresents 15 new handbag collections a year, the core of the Longchampbusiness is in five areas: tumbled calfskin, nature (simple classiclines with no hardware), Roseau (with bamboo hardware), Pliage(folding bags) and Planete (a dressier version of the folding bags,trimmed in same color leather). For next spring Longchamp is adding atennis slip-on shoe and a T-shirt to its product line.Carroll grew up near Norristown, Pennsylvania, where her father was anengineer and her mother taught home economics. She graduated from PennState in 1967 with a degree in fashion merchandising. She had atraditional retail career, rising to group vice president of theFederated chain before joining the French firm in 1995. She and herhusband, a civil engineer for Landmark Engineering, live in WashingtonCrossing, and their son works for Intel.Carroll’s success, she believes, is keyed to her protecting the brandimage. Her limited distribution policy runs counter to the strategy ofthe Gucci and Fendi brands, which can be found on nearly everydepartment store shelf. She limits distribution to Longchamp boutiquesin New York, Boston, Palm Beach, Coral Gables, and San Francisco andto upscale department stores such as Saks and Nordstrom’s. A selectnumber of independent boutiques are also allowed to carry theLongchamp line. A grand opening for the company’s sixth North Americanboutique, in Las Vegas, is planned for October 21.In keeping with Longchamp’s specialty image, Carroll advertises in theNew York Times as well as magazines like Vogue, Vanity Fair, HarpersBazarre, W, and Elle. She has also placed her products in movies likethe upcoming remake of “Shall We Dance,” a Miramax film with SusanSarandon, Richard Gere, and Jennifer Lopez.Longchamp USA, 435A Route 130 North, Yardville 08620.Marti Carroll, CEO. 609-581-5555; fax, 609-581-5559. Home page:www.longchamp.com.Top Of PageHutchinson: French Military TechnologyWith five locations in Trenton, the half-century old HutchinsonIndustries keeps armies moving. Its “runflat” devices allow vehiclesto operate even when their tires are flat, and its tire beadlocks lockthe tires to the wheel rims. Together they provide the mobility thatis critical in combat conditions.With additional products such as military tires, wheels, and completewheel, tire, and runflat assemblies, Hutchinson also sells to thesecurity and commercial markets.Hutchinson’s worldwide connections with France go back to 1853, whenan American of British extraction, Hiram Hutchinson, set up productionin what had been an ancient royal paper factory near Montargis inFrance. In 1898 his heirs sold the assets to French investors, and thepresent Hutchinson company was founded. In 1991 the fourth largestpublicly-traded oil and gas integrated company in the world, Total,acquired full ownership of Hutchinson Worldwide.Hutchinson Worldwide had 24,564 employees at the end of 2003, 95manufacturing plants in 18 countries worldwide. Annual turnover was2.575 billion euros. Hutchinson Worldwide’s principal activity sectorscomprise industrial (which includes the defense and securitydivision), automotive, consumer, and healthcare. In Trenton Hutchinsonhas about 85 workers, and in addition to the Southard Street locationit also has sites at 642 East State Street, 84 Parker Avenue, 250Ewing, and 106 Mulberry.Hutchinson Industries (TOT), 460 Southard Street, Trenton08638. Pascal Seradarian, president. 609-394-1010; fax, 609-394-2031.Home page: www.hutchinsoninc.com (Hutchinson Industries);www.hutchinsonrubber.com (Hutchinson Worldwide)Top Of PageSchlumberger-EMR: Better Oil DrillingIn the vanguard of local technological entrepreneurship, well beforethe term “Einstein Alley” was even a pipe dream for politicians, thecompany that was to become EMR Photoelectric (recently named PrincetonTechnology Center or PTC) was established by a group of Princetonfaculty members. Later the firm was bought by France-basedSchlumberger.As liaison from Princeton University to Schlumberger, William Happer,professor of physics and chair of the University Research Board, is acheerleader for Schlumberger and PTC. Describing Schlumberger’soverall activities in the oil industry, he says, “I think they’re thebest in the world. They do good things for their shareholders and forthe world.” Halliburton, he says, is their primary competitor.Happer talked about a particular strength of Princeton’s Schlumbergersite: “PTC makes one item that Schlumberger is famous for –photomultiplier tubes – which are efficient ways to see faint amountsof light. Very few people can do them as well.” The word”photomultiplier” actually describes the tube’s function – itmultiplies light. When an electron from a light source hits a surface,other electrons come off the surface and create a current. Aphotomultiplier bombards this small number of electrons to multiplytheir effects in order to get readable measurements of the originallight signals.When coupled with crystals, PTC’s rugged photomultiplier tubes havemany applications, including use as detectors in well logging tools.”Once you drill a well,” explains Happer, “you have to decide at whatdepth you might get oil and how much you are likely to get.” Exxon,Mobil, BP, and other oil companies pay serious money for Schlumbergerto lower instruments into the drill hole for a well. For example,Schlumberger might recommend making penetrations at a particular depthwhere there are porous rocks and hydrocarbons; they would alsoestimate how much oil might be there.Photomultiplier tubes are also used in space and, in fact, throughoutphysics, anytime researchers want to detect a faint light veryefficiently. “In space,” says Happer, “the photomultipliers aredetecting cosmic rays through a piece of plastic or a special crystal.Light will be emitted and the photomultiplier looks at that light toanalyze the amount of energy in the rays.” He adds thatphotomultiplier tubes are used in homeland defense to keep radioactivematerial out of country; these dangerous materials produce a gammaray, and a crystal stops this ray, emitting light that is detectedwith a photomultiplier tube.Accounts of how the company began differ, and no one from Schlumbergerwould consent to an interview. As for the history of EMR andSchlumberger, the Schlumberger website says that EMR Photoelectric wasfounded in 1941 by the Schlumberger Well Surveying Corporation. ThePrinceton University website says that EMR was established in 1949 andbought by Schlumberger 10 years later.According to the PTC website, PTC became a leading supplier ofphotomultipliers used in the space program in the 1960s, and throughthe late ’70s, the company had strong revenues from aerospace sales.Business doubled when oilfield activities expanded in the early 1980s.PTC’s current products include detectors (for Logging While Drillingoperations), optical sensors, and other sensors.Schlumberger, PTC’s parent company in Paris, calls itself “the world’spremier oilfield services company,” employing more than 45,000 peoplein 100 countries. It has two primary business segments. SchlumbergerOilfield Services supports support oilfield development from formationevaluation and directional drilling through the building of oil wellsas well as operational support. WesternGeco, has seismic processingtechnologies to use in exploration, development, and productionenvironments. In 2003 Schlumberger’s operating revenue was $10.1billion.In 1999 Schlumberger added another layer of connection to thePrinceton area, beyond PTC. Chairman Euan Baird invited PrincetonUniversity to develop a special relationship with the company thatpromised to strengthen both Schlumberger’s campus recruiting andcollaborative research relationships with the university. In fact, atleast 30 Princeton alumni have gone to work for Schlumberger, inparticular at the Schlumberger-Doll Research laboratories inRidgefield, Connecticut.In addition, meetings with Princeton researchers have yieldedsponsorships supporting research in concrete formulations forwellheads, magnetic resonance, viscoelastic surfactant solutions,enhanced decision-making in uncertain circumstances, biological carbontrapping in the oceans, and materials research. Schlumberger has alsoprovided financial support for the science and engineering componentof the university’s Freshman Scholars Institute.Schlumberger has come a long way in its development of sophisticatedmeasurement tools to support well logging operations. Two brothersfounded the Schlumberger Well Surveying Corporation 1934. According tothe company website, Conrad Schlumberger “conceived the revolutionaryidea of using electrical measurements to map subsurface rocks.” Hisbrother Marcel began working with him in 1919. “Initially, it waspretty primitive,” says Happer. “They would drive stakes in the groundand measure the resistance of the dirt where people were thinking ofdrilling – it was before the days of electricity.” Later, they wouldtransmit electric waves into the ground that a person could hear, withsomeone listening and trying to understand the implications of thehumming.As reported in the Oil Daily last month, Schlumberger CEO Andrew Gouldis expecting double-digit growth in the company’s earnings andrevenues, based on a three-pronged strategy: “First, the companyalready has a strong presence in the Eastern Hemisphere and deepwaterregions, where the greatest growth potential exists.” The other twofocal points are growth through technology and integrated projectmanagement. With these and other changes in place, Gould maintainsthat the outlook is for “an environment in which Schlumberger willthrive.”– Michele AlperinEMR Photoelectric/Princeton Technology Center (SLB), 20Wallace Road, Princeton Junction 08550. 609-799-1000; fax,609-897-8502. Home page: www.slb.com.Top Of PageCool Shades by Somfy SystemsWith about 60 people working in Cranbury, Somfy Systems manufacturesand distributes motors and electronic controls used in interior andexterior shading systems throughout the United States, Canada, andMexico. Products that incorporate Somfy Systems’ motor/remote controlcombination range from projection screens in boardrooms to retractableawnings and rolling shutters to indoor window treatments. A rollingscreen at the Liberty Bell uses Somfy motors as do those in manyfamous homes.Somfy Systems is the North American subsidiary of a conglomerate basedin the French Alps that operates in 45 countries. “We sell to awningsuppliers, to OEMs, and to fabricators, but not to consumers,” saysMargaret Cook, marketing assistant.Somfy Systems, 47 Commerce Drive, Cranbury 08512. MichaelLee, president; Scott Ionin, vice president and CFO. 609-395-1300;fax, 609-395-1776. Www.somfysystems.com; www.somfy.com.Top Of PageRhodia Inc.Rhodia Inc., a global specialty chemicals manufacturer, is based inParis and has its United States headquarters in Cranbury. It was oncepart of Rhone-Poulenc, and one of that company’s early claims to fameis that it produced the first batches of penicillin in 1943, based ona culture that its discoverer, Sir Alexander Fleming, had given theInstitut Pasteur a number of years earlier.Now Rhodia manufactures chemicals found in everyday products, rangingfrom cosmetics to detergents to automobiles. Rhodia’s major marketsare in home and personal care, making ingredients that go into tolaundry detergents, household soaps, and other cleaning agents.”Rhodia does not produce any consumer products itself,” says DavidKlucsik, Rhodia’s director of external affairs, “but we are abusiness-to-business manufacturer that produces ingredients that gointo other people’s products.”Rhodia employs about 575 employees in the Princeton area and 2,800people across North America in its soon to be 19 locations; worldwideRhodia employs 23,000. Rhodia has 113 production facilities as well asfive global research and development centers, one of which, theCranbury Research and Technical Center, is on Prospect Plains Road.Rhodia generated net sales of $6.9 billion in 2003 and does businessin 150 countries.Rhodia’s chemical business extends into these areas: silicone andsilica products for products like the soles of sneakers and car tires;engineered plastics for automotive components both under the hood(e.g., manifolds) and outside the car (e.g., bumpers); ingredients fornutraceuticals like calcium phosphate, an over-the-counter dietarysupplement for building strong bones; Vanillin, a manmade vanillaflavoring; and ingredients for agricultural products.Rhodia is also one of the largest worldwide producers of bulk aspirin,according to Klucsik. In Europe, but not here, Rhodia makes nylon, andlargely in other parts of the world, Rhodia produces ingredients forpaints.Another major part of the business is sulfuric regeneration, saysKlucsik. “We provide sulfuric acid to the refinery industry and otherchemical industries. After they use it, they ship it back to us forpurification, or regeneration.”The early history of Rhodia began in 1858 in Vaise near Lyon, France,when Marc Gilliard and Jean Marie Cartier began producing chemicalsfor use in the leather and textile dye industries. Two years later theWittmann et Poulenc Jeune company (later Poulenc Freres) was foundedto manufacture chemical and photographic chemicals. The date of theactual founding of Rhone-Poulenc is placed at 1895.The company from which Rhodia came, Rhone-Poulenc, produced bothchemical and pharmaceutical products, but in 1998 the pharmaceuticalbranch merged with Hoechst in Germany to form Aventis, leaving thenewly named Rhodia as an independent company focusing on specialtychemicals. Aventis US is located in Bridgewater and still has majorproduction and research facilities in Lyon.On the Cranbury campus of Rhodia Inc. about 100 researchers work atthe Research and Technical Center, where they largely do appliedresearch for specific customer formulations, says Klucsik. “When acustomer requests, for example, something that will produce more orless suds or special features in a toothpaste or an agriculturalproduct, our researchers collaborate with customer researchers orspecs to provide specific features for products.” One example he citesis the feature that allows the new Mr. Clean Carwash to dry spot-free,dispensing with the need for a chamois cloth.Last month Rhodia sold the specialty phosphates business that employs85 people in Cranbury and 1,000 more in seven other North Americanplants. Four years ago it had paid $848 million for a Britishphosphate manufacturer, Albright & Wilson, and the debt service – $3billion in 2001 – was an ongoing burden. Bain Capital paid $550million for Rhodia’s entire specialty phosphates business, and thedeal is expected to close by September.Rhodia has not been doing well since the recession began, saysKlucsik, although there has been some improvement recently. “Thechemical industry as a whole has been under strong economic andcompetitive pressures. The recession in manufacturing worldwide andthe exchange rate between the dollar and the Euro have both takentheir toll on Rhodia’s financial performance and that of otherEuropean companies that are Euro-based.”– Michele AlperinRhodia Inc. (RHA), 259 Prospect Plains Road, CN 7500,Cranbury 08512-7500. Myron Galuskin, president, Rhodia Inc.609-860-4000; fax, 609-860-0074. Home page: www.us.rhodia.comTop Of PageIsochem – SNPEIsochem North America Inc., 101 College Road East,Princeton 08540. Dan Slick, chief executive officer. 609-987-9424;fax, 609-987-2767. Home page: www.snpe.comRepresentatives at the sales office for Paris-based chemical firm,Society of National Powders and Explosives, declined to beinterviewed. The name has changed.Top Of PageL’Oreal USA, Cosmetic GiantL’Oreal USA Logistics Center in Cranbury, which opened its doors nineyears ago, is the largest U.S. warehouse of the cosmetic giant basedin Paris and Clichy, France. As shown on the cover of this issue, boththe French and the United States flags are flown at this property.L’Oreal Group has 42 plants worldwide, with more than 14,000 employeesin manufacturing sites and over 3.9 billion units produced. One ofseven such distribution centers in the United States, the Cranburyfacility of 525,000 square feet handles more than 1,000 products andis currently shipping 231 million units per year to all mass-marketpoints in the United States east of the Mississippi River.In its search for new technologies, the center has implementedA-frame, loose pick dispensing, full-case sortation, and narrow aisleracking to support its operations.One of the most impressive aspects of the center’s distribution systemis the autopicker equipment that routes orders directly to the pickingmachine, according to an article written by a Rutgers MBA student,Melisa Sloan, in the Supply Chain Management newsletter (December,2003). “It selects the items without any human intervention and dropsthem into cartons. Having toured many other distribution facilities, Iwas impressed that the L’Oreal facility was a far cry from the typicallow-wage labor pool pushing shopping carts up and down the warehouseaisles with lists of items to be “picked” from the shelves.”L’Oreal’s history, as described in its website, began in 1907 whenEugene Schueller, a young French chemist, developed an innovative andsafe hair-color formula that he called “Aureole.” He formulated andmanufactured his own products, which he then sold to Parishairdressers. Two years later he registered his company, the “SocieteFrancaise de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux,” which would becomethe future L’Oreal. As early as 1912, he began to export his productsin Europe. Today they are present in all countries of the world, andL’Oreal calls itself “the most international of all cosmetics groups.”Although the company started in the hair color business, it branchedout into other cleansing and beauty products. Today the L’Oreal Grouphas over 500 brands and more than 2,000 products in all sectors of thebeauty business: hair color, permanents, styling aids, body and skincare, cleansers, and fragrances, makeup, toiletries. The products arefound in all distribution channels, from hair salons and parfumeriesto supermarkets, health and beauty outlets, and direct mail.The L’Oreal Group is also active in luxury goods and in thedermatological and pharmaceutical fields. One of its subsidiaries,Galderma, has its North American headquarters on Cedar Brook Drive(see below).Like EMR and many other France-based firms, L’Oreal exercises strictcontrol over communications and requires reporters to submitinterviews for approval before they are published. This article isbased only on publicly available information.L’Oreal USA (formerly Cosmair Inc.) Logistics Center, 35Broadway Road, Cranbury 08512. 609-860-7500; fax, 609-860-7510. GeorgeBlizard, vice president of administration; also at Forsgate Complex,100 Herrod Boulevard, Dayton. A North Brunswick site has been closed.Home page: www.lorealusa.com.Top Of PageL’Oreal’s R&D Lab: GaldermaOne thinks of Paris as the inspired origin of such glamour luxuries asperfume and face cream. A French label has the eclat, the veritable”ooh-la-la” that makes women the world over reach for their creditcards. So it should not be surprising that a French cosmetic firm wasthe first to found a center exclusively for research on skin diseases.Twenty years ago, at a time when big pharmaceutical firms weredevoting only a small portion of their resources to dermatology,L’Oreal set up a laboratory for serious dermatologic research andpartnered with Nestle to found Galderma, a pharmaceutical companylocated on the Riviera near Nice, also with a facility in Cranbury.Galderma was one of the first biotechs to get significant funding frompharmaceutical firms.Worldwide, the firm has a headquarters and production facilities inFrance, laboratories in France and Japan, a marketing office in FortWorth, Texas, and a production facility near Montreal. Braham Shrootopened the Cedar Brook Drive facility with 20 employees (U.S. 1,February 4, 1999). Shroot, who has left the firm, holds the patent onthe company’s signature acne product, Differin. Galderma also hasproducts for rosacea and eczema and is developing treatments forpsoriasis.For four years Michael Tuley has been the site director of the NorthAmerican laboratory, known as Galderma Research and Development Inc.The son of a banker in Dallas, he went to Baylor University, Class of1984, and earned a PhD in statistics from Baylor. He worked for theVeteran’s Administration and joined Galderma in 1991 in its Fort Worthmarketing office. He and his wife moved to Sophia, Galderma’sheadquarters in the south of France, and their three sons spent thefirst year in a French school and the second year in an internationalschool. Princeton was his next assignment. Tuley has 65 to 70employees in 54,000 square feet.Galderma Research and Development Inc., 5 Cedar BrookDrive, Suite 1, Cranbury 08512. Michael Tuley, site director.609-409-7701; fax, 609-409-7705. Home page: www.galderma.comTop Of PageEric Claviere, Exporter to FranceSeven years of dirt bike racing from ages 15 to 22 may not be standardpreparation for a startup export business. But for Eric Claviere,above, CEO of JTC European Inc., that experience is part of theunusual blend of business knowledge and personal relationships that hewill use to create connections across the Atlantic. Having raced semiprofessionally in France and in Europe and been rated in the firstfive men in Motorcross Supercross competition in France, Clavieresays, “As a result, I know many people in this sector.” He plans touse his relationships to satisfy demand on one continent with productsfrom the other.Claviere, 35, and his wife “had wanted for a long time to have aforeign experience,” and the opportunity came two years ago when hiswife’s company, CNA Insurance, offered her a job in New Jersey. “Afterall the family were installed (and that included his now three andsix-year-old sons), says Claviere, “It was my turn.”He tried to find a job, but sending out 50 to 100 resumes yielded nobites. At that point, “I decided it was time for me to create my ownbusiness, because I have good relationships in France, and I know manydifferent networks.”Claviere also has deep experience is the audiovisual equipmentbusiness, where he has worked for the last 10 years. His most recentposition in France before coming to Princeton was as sales manager forPanasonic’s LCD projector department, where he had 20 people on histeam. Consequently, he is very familiar with the sales networks anddealers in France, which work somewhat differently from those in theU.S.He also sees potential in the SUV/pickup truck business, which is newfor Europe. “In France,” he says, “only five companies sell this typeof product and many people want them.” There are five independentdealers, not big names but, as he says, “little dealers who sell theAmerican way of life.” Since none of the large U.S. automobilecompanies export to France, he sees a niche for himself in bulkpurchasing in the U.S. at a good price for these five French dealersand maybe similar ones across Europe.The last family of products that interests Claviere is airconditioning systems. Previous to the heat wave last summer, he says,French cultural norms and relatively dry weather dictated thatadministrative buildings, hospitals, and similar installations not beequipped with air conditioning systems. But now a strong demandexists, he says. However, there are only five companies in France thatcan supply the necessary products, compared to 100 air conditioningcompanies in the U.S. He admits that in this area many issues willhave to be resolved before exporting can be successful/ For example,the French systems for supplying gas and electric power are differentfrom those on this continent.Claviere is looking for “the good product for Europe.” “Many peoplewant to export French products to the U.S. market, and I’m trying todo the reverse. In the U.S. there is a huge market of products that wedon’t have in France and Europe.”Global monetary markets should favor his new business, he believes.”The Euro is stronger now than the dollar.” Claviere’s goals, asoutlined in his letter of introduction, are to “connect French andAmerican companies and help them to identify potential customers; tohelp smaller companies be competitive in the global marketplace; toidentify new economic areas and technologies that are profitable; andto develop product-specific sales and marketing plans.”Claviere’s initial challenge, he says, will be to find solid companiesin the United States in his four target sectors who want to exporttheir products and who also offer good warranties and good productinformation. But if companies in other sectors are interested, headds, “I have an open mind. If someone has a good product and wants toexport, but doesn’t know anyone to export to, the advantage of mycompany is that I know very well the business in France and Europe. Itis not only a question of buying and selling products, but what isimportant for the future is developing relationships.”Claviere is optimistic about his chances for success. He notes thatfor a long time there have been good relationships between France andthe U.S., “even if there is bad weather about some decision.” He wasalso reassured to find some solid French laboratories, like Galdermaand Schlumberger, in the Princeton area.Although his business began only in April, he has already managed tosend two containers of ATV products to France, one with Suzuki and theother with Honda products. Although he currently works out of hishouse, by the end of the year he plans to have an office in thePrinceton area.Claviere seems to have resolved one financial issue that could make orbreak a potential exporter – accumulating the necessary cash on handfor the purchase of products in the United States. For example, forthe two containers of ATVs, he needed $100,000. He says that he hasused personal savings but is also working with French companies thatare willing to pay the money on his account. “They trust me,” he says,”and they know I am a very serious professional.” He also works with aprivate New York bank with an office in France that provideswarranties to these French companies to cover their investments.Claviere’s father is employed by a big company that manages smallerfood stores called marchees, and he manages 10 markets in Paris.Claviere himself graduated with a baccalaureate in economics from aFrench lycee, but did not go on to a university. “After that,” hesays, “I was more a self-made man, not one with many diplomas. I gotmy experience directly from the business world.”– Michele AlperinJTC European Inc, 36 Nassau Place, Princeton Junction08550. Eric Claviere, CEO. 609.716.8723; fax, 609.716.8723.Next StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
