OPmobility organized a site’s visit for its individual shareholders on June 19th, 2024.
Almost twenty individual shareholders had the opportunity to visit ∑-Sigmatech R&D center, located in Ste Julie, near Lyon, to discover the Group’s testing and pilot production means for exterior systems.
Opened in 2002, this site is the global R&D center of the Exterior business group, where the teams design, offer and validate exterior bumpers and tailgates that are innovative in terms of their size, aesthetics and the functions they integrate. On this 16,000 m² site, more than 450 engineers, of 14 different nationalities, innovate every day to build the future of mobility.
This visit was an opportunity to discover the parts already in production of the 3 OPmobility business groups which are active on vehicle exteriors: Lighting, Modules and Exterior. Visitors had access to the site’s pilot line, in particular the assembly and painting resources and the new 2,700-tonne dual-compound press, commissioned in March 2022. The testing resources of the site laboratory, support for the whole world, were presented, in particular the shock tests, the vibrating bridge or the devices for material characterizations. Innovation highlighted tailgate and bumper demonstrators whose designs allow great freedom of style and integrate lighting or safety functions, as well as the latest innovations in decoration or use of recycled or biosourced materials. The site’s actions to reduce its carbon footprint were also praised, including energy management and solar panels, making it possible to cover 30% of the Sigmatech site’s energy consumption.