User:Rémy050969/Saint-Jean Industries

** Saint Jean Industries** is a French automotive equipment manufacturer founded in 1962 and best known for its COBAPRESS process. Its history is closely linked to the Di Serio family, which is the sole shareholder.

1962 to 1982, birth of the Saint Jean foundry
Saint-Jean Industries was founded on 1 July 1962 as SARL Garavoglia Frères in Belleville in the Rhône department, with a capital of 130,000 francs. The name was changed 27 days later to Venet Garavoglia Frères.

At the time, the company specialised in the manufacture of castings for small stamping equipment. It employed 6 people, rising to around twenty a few months later.

The company underwent a number of name changes: Fonderie Venet-Garavoglia (1969), Fonderie Venet (1977), Fonderie Saint Jean (1980) and its current name Saint Jean Industries from 1991.

Shortly after the first oil crisis in 1973, the foundry hit a rough patch, with redundancies. In 1974 Thomas Di Serio joined the company.

He improved manufacturing, developed the customer base and took an interest in new technologies. Six months after joining the company, he took over, bought out all the shares and became Managing Director. He was convinced that a small business could not remain competitive in the mass-produced parts market, and decided to abandon this type of market in favour of technical parts. He then embarked on a vast programme to restructure his team and modernise his facilities, and filed his first patents [ref. needed].

From 1983 to 2000, the invention of Cobapress and its use in cars
The 1980s saw the start of major changes in the company. In 1982, the company exceeded the FRF 30 million turnover mark with a workforce of 75. In 1983, a [neutrality is disputed] customer, Stronglight (a supplier to the cycle industry) issued an ultimatum: moulded cranks were not strong enough and if the Saint Jean foundries did not find a solution, they would be forged. Thus was born the Cobapress process, which takes its name from the different stages in the manufacturing process: **Co**uler **Ba**sculer **Press**er. It involves carrying out a forging operation one after the other on a foundry preform. According to several sources [Which ones?], this manufacturing process offers advantages in terms of cost and part weight reduction compared with traditional foundry and forging processes.

This invention enabled the company to expand internationally from the end of the 1980s. In 1988, an alliance was formed with the German group Aluteam, giving rise to a new structure: Aluteam-Saint Jean. Aluteam was taken over 100% by the Austrian group Amag in 1991 and renamed Saint Jean Industries. A year later, the company regained its autonomy, with the Di Serio family taking over all the shares.

In 1993, Saint Jean Industries licensed the Cobapress patent to PSA, which decided to test the process on a Citroën ZX triangle. A few years later, PSA and General Motors became the company's first major customers. The historical example often cited is the multi-link rear axle of the 406 coupé. It consists of a pivot, a longitudinal arm and an articulation support manufactured using Cobapress technology.

Negotiations began at this time with other manufacturers, but the small size of Saint Jean Industries worked against it. To remedy the situation, a partnership was formed with the SIFCOR group, involving the transfer of a licence and the establishment of a new production site to achieve the volumes required. Other alliances are also envisaged, particularly internationally.

From 2000 to 2009
From the 2000s onwards, the company began to expand more and more internationally.

In 2000, it sold a licence to the American group Superior Industries International Inc, which built a dedicated 45,000 m2 production site at Heber Springs in the United States. Cobapress technology is now recognised by most of the world's car manufacturers.

In 2002, Emile Di Serio, son of Thomas Di Serio, took over the reins of the company. Production was refocused on automotive equipment and sub-assemblies. In the years that followed, Saint Jean Industries decided to intensify its growth strategy, particularly internationally, through the sale of patents, the construction of new sites and takeovers.

In 2003, a production site was opened at Slavonski Brod in Croatia. Thomas Di Serio's stated aim was to transfer traditional know-how to this site, where competition is fierce.

2004 saw the company take its first steps on the Asian continent. An industrial partnership was established with Korean company Myunghwa Industries to operate Cobapress. At the same time, a sales office was opened in Shanghai, China.

In 2005, the company [neutrality is disputed] diversified into the manufacture of parts for heavy goods vehicles and acquired the assets of Lyon-based foundry Duranton Sicfond. The takeover failed[ref needed]. Following the sharp fall in the truck market, orders from its main customer plummeted in 2008. The foundry was placed in compulsory liquidation, triggering strong reactions about the fate of the employees at the time [ref. needed].

In 2006, Saint Jean Industries took over the ground support components division of the US group Superior Industries International Inc, which had a licence to use the COBAPRESS process.

In 2008, the Di Serio family acquired a 62% stake in Aluminium Giesserei Rackwitz GmbH in Leipzig, Germany. This foundry specialises in casting and machining aluminium parts for the automotive, motorbike and HGV industries.

From 2009 to today
Following the 2008 financial crisis, the automotive market fell sharply in the year that followed, and many players in the automotive industry found themselves in difficulty. This climate of uncertainty led to a reorganisation of the sector, and for Saint Jean Industries a change of attitude to no longer depend solely on one market. This was followed by strong organic growth to integrate new related activities and new know-how [ref. needed].

In 2009, the Di Serio family took over the Beringer family business, which is renowned for its motorbike braking systems. The stated aim was to industrialise these top-of-the-range products. A year later, a new range of Cobapress calipers and master cylinders was launched, the fruit of a partnership with Saint Jean Industries.

In 2010, the Norwegian company Fundo AS, a specialist in aluminium wheels, went into liquidation. Innovation Norge contacted Saint Jean Industries, which proposed a plan to take over Fundo's assets and all its patents. In 2011, this takeover will give rise to Saint Jean Wheels and the Cobawheels technology.

That same year, Saint Jean Industries acquired a majority stake in the French company Fournier alongside the FMEA (Fond de Modernisation des Entreprises de l'Automobile) rank 2, also becoming a shareholder in the French company Auto-Cast Industry. Fournier has two sites in Lorraine, in Harol and Thaon-les-Vosges, and its main activities are precision mechanics and prototyping. Auto-Cast Industry is a foundry based at Changé in Mayenne, specialising in the manufacture of cast iron and stainless steel parts. These two entities will become Saint Jean Industries Lorraine and Saint Jean Industries Laval respectively.

In spring 2011, Saint Jean Industries took over the Plan-les-Ouates site, near Geneva, from Swiss manufacturer RUAG. This was a titanium, aluminium and Inconel module manufacturing unit that the Bernese seller had decided to close as part of a strategy to refocus on special products and niche applications in the aerospace industry. The deal was supported by the Geneva Economic Development Office and the Fondation d'aide aux entreprises. It gives the French buyer the opportunity to extend its activities into the aerospace sector.

In 2012, Fonderie du Poitou Aluminium was placed in receivership, and it was the offer made by Saint Jean Industries that was selected by the Nanterre court. An early announcement was made by the President of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, in the midst of a politicised election period. [ref. needed]

On 10 April 2013, an extension to the Croatia site was inaugurated at a ceremony attended by the Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development, as well as the Minister for Economic Affairs.

In September 2016, Saint Jean Industrie acquired the German company Fastner GmbH, which specialises in the machining and assembly of aluminium parts. Fastner then became SJI Stuttgart. This acquisition enabled Saint Jean Industries to expand its aluminium lightening offer, which is now essential to manufacturers for the autonomy of electric vehicles or the reduction of CO² emissions. Fastner GmbH brings its expertise in the assembly of complex aluminium sub-assemblies, thereby rounding out the group's range of products and innovative technologies.

Construction of a new production plant in China, in the city of Changshu, began in 2018. As China is the world's largest automotive market and the proportion of electric vehicles is set to increase considerably, it was [why?] for the Saint Jean Industries group to have a presence among China's future carmakers. The plant will offer its customers COBAPRESS, low-pressure casting and gravity casting processes.

In September 2022, the Mayenne foundry was placed in receivership.

The Cobapress process
Cobapress is a manufacturing process for aluminium components. The process has been patented by the French family firm Saint Jean Industries.

Cobapress is a combination of casting and subsequent forging, hence the artificial name of the process: COuler (casting), BAsculer (ejection), PRESSer (pressing, forging). Parts manufactured using Cobapress are used, for example, in the automotive industry for essential chassis parts.

Cobapress is therefore positioned between forged and cast parts in terms of price and material properties (with the exception of modulus of elasticity). This also applies to the freedom of design in the construction of the parts.

The easily castable AlSi 7Mg0.3 alloy is generally treated. The strength values that can be achieved are between those of castings and forgings. With this alloy, strength values in the order of 200 to 220 MPa yield strength and 300 to 325 MPa tensile strength with an elongation at break of 8 to 10% are achieved.

(By way of comparison: forging produces other expanded aluminium alloys. The strength values that can be achieved by forging AlSi1MgMn, which is often used in car manufacturing, are of the order of 360 MPa yield strength and 380 MPa tensile strength with an elongation at break of more than 10%.

In conventional casting, cast alloys are used and strengths of around 200 MPa yield strength and 270 MPa tensile strength with around 6% elongation at break are achieved. The modulus of elasticity, which is important for many applications, is around 68 GPa.

Description of the procedure
In the Cobapress process, a blank is first cast using a refrigerated oscillating caster. This blank is cleaned and the burrs and sprue are removed.

It is then homogenised (heated at high temperature for several hours). This homogenised blank is then forged in a forging press; the resulting burrs must be removed again.

Finally, a heat treatment (solution annealing, quenching and artificial ageing) is carried out to obtain the desired strength properties. Optionally, the parts can be shot-blasted at the end to increase the fatigue strength values.

Avantages of COBAPRESS

 * Production of difficult geometries not achievable by forging
 * Lower price than forged parts
 * Higher strength than castings

Prices
Since the creation of the COBAPRESS process, Saint Jean Industries has received several awards.


 * 1997: Victory trophy for self-taught drivers,
 * 2010: SJI named supplier of the year by General Motors
 * 2011: Ernst & Young International Business Award
 * 2012: SJI named a major supplier to PSA Peugeot Citroën
 * 2014: Tesla rewards SJI for its innovations
 * 2016 : PSA rewards Saint Jean Industries doo for its quality performance

Organisation of the sites
The Saint Jean Industries group comprises 10 production sites:


 * Saint Jean Industries S.A.S. (siège social), Saint-Jean-d'Ardières in 🇫🇷, 400 employees
 * Saint Jean Industries d.o.o., 🇭🇷 : 450 employees
 * Saint Jean Industries Inc., 🇺🇸 : 430 employees
 * Saint Jean Industries Lorraine, Harol and Thaon-les-Vosges in 🇫🇷, 110 employees
 * Saint Jean Industries Laval, Changé in 🇫🇷, 85 employees
 * Saint Jean Tooling, Saint-Jean-d'Ardières in 🇫🇷, 50 employees
 * Saint Jean Stuttgart, Ilsfeld Auenstein in 🇩🇪, 185 employees
 * Saint Jean Valladolid, Mojados in 🇪🇸, 65 employees
 * Saint Jean Changshu, Changshu City en 🇨🇳, 100 employees

Applied industrial techniques

 * Aluminium :
 * COBAPRESS
 * Gravity shell
 * EPGS
 * Low pressure
 * Machining and assembly
 * Titanium et Inconel :
 * Machining and assembly
 * Cast iron and steel :
 * Shell moulding
 * Machining and assembly

Customers
• Stellantis

• Ford

• General Motors

• Honda

• Renault

• Audi

• Volkswagen

• Aston Martin

• Volvo

• BMW

• Maserati

• Ferrari

• Iveco Bus

• Areva

• Porsche

• Lamborghini

• Jaguar

• Exagon Engineering

• Tesla Motors

Related articles

 * Foundry
 * Aluminium
 * Automotive
 * Industry

Notes and references
