Aurélia Maruéjol

La French Fab and Ugigrip-Vallgrip – Industrials in Motion

What is La French Fab?

La French Fab embodies the excellence of French industry — a movement that brings together companies committed to sustainable and innovative transformation. It represents a forward-looking industrial sector, embracing digitalisation, competitiveness and environmental responsibility.

More than simply a label, La French Fab is a collective and ambitious vision that showcases French expertise and talent, while promoting a responsible industry on the international stage.

Merger and Acquisition Relations of Vallgrip by Ugigrip

An ongoing commitment

Ugigrip-Vallgrip’s commitment to La French Fab

At Ugigrip-Vallgrip, our membership of La French Fab since 2021 reflects our determination to play an active role in the transformation of French industry. We are committed to developing ever more innovative solutions, while placing sustainability and collective intelligence at the heart of our actions.

In practical terms, this involves the continuous improvement of our processes, methods and tools, in line with a participative management approach and our core CAARE (cohésion, agilité, apprenance, respect, épanouissement) values:

  • Cohesion, fostering a united team working towards shared objectives;
  • Agility, enabling us to adapt to a constantly changing world;
  • Learning culture, encouraging continuous development and innovation at every level;
  • Respect, ensuring ethical collaboration both internally and externally;
  • Fulfilment, promoting the well-being of our employees.

Our commitment to La French Fab marks a new milestone in our ambition: to contribute to a competitive, sustainable French industry that upholds strong human values.

Join us in this collective journey in support of the future of industry.

Aurélia Maruéjol

Logo Ugigrip-Vallgrip

A Merger-by-Absorption Agreement to Continue Growing

Our company Ugigrip is pleased to inform you of the signing of a merging-absorption agreement with Vallgrip, its subsidiary of 24 years. This merging-absorption is effective from Wednesday, August 7th 2024.

The primary objective of this merging with Vallgrip is in order to strengthen our position on the technical metal parts market.

Following the management and strategic transformation of our companies, we aim to evolve towards a company that is more agile and more responsive to future economical, societal and environmental changes.

Vallgrip remains a Ugigrip business brand

Merger and Acquisition Relations of Vallgrip by Ugigrip

Our relationships are maintained

Vallgrip remains a Ugigrip business brand

Our relationships with our partners, customers, and suppliers remain unchanged: you will continue to benefit from the same high quality of communication and keep the same points of contact. This is primarily an administrative procedure.

We will continue operating from our premises in Albon (26), and your usual contact within our company will be pleased to provide you with any additional information you may need.

Aurélia Maruéjol

FFC Snow Bike Ugigrip-Vallgrip

Ugigrip-Vallgrip MTB studs made a strong impression at the FFC Snow Bike Championship alongside Eric Barone.

Riding down the snowy and icy slopes of Les Gets by bike — with the glide and grip performance riders expect — is possible!

We achieved this by developing studs specifically for this purpose with Eric Barone, former Masters Downhill Mountain Bike World Champion and snow speed record holder in mountain biking, reaching 227.72 km/h.

We were on site on February 3rd and 4th, 2024, offering our studs and raising awareness among participants about their use in this emerging discipline.

Out of the approximately sixty bikes entered in the race, more than half were equipped with our studs, demonstrating their success and rapid adoption by the community of enthusiasts of this motor-free winter mechanical sport.

(Photo credit: Richard Bord)

Picto + blanc

The Strengths of Our Studs

Studding of Ugigrip-Vallgrip FFC Snow Bike Studs

Safety in the service of thrills

The key strengths of Ugigrip-Vallgrip studs, praised by competitors at the end of the race, lie in their performance and their ability to ensure rider safety:

  • Superior grip, ensuring better control on snow and ice
  • Optimal hold, even in the tightest turns
  • Simplified installation, allowing riders to fit their studs independently
  • Extensive customization, offering the possibility to choose the number and placement of studs according to each competitor’s preferences

Our experts confirm this success

Our team also had the opportunity to test the studs directly on the slopes, confirming their effectiveness and their significant contribution to the Snow Bike riding experience.

Building on this success, we are already working on new innovations to continue pushing the boundaries of this unique sport with our studs.

Stay tuned to discover what Vallgrip has in store for the future…

(Photo credit: Richard Bord)

Aurélia Maruéjol

Bonne année chez Ugigrip-Vallgrip

Best wishes!

The whole Ugigrip-Vallgrip team wishes you its best wishes for 2023.

We wish you all your projects come true and that “Made in France” keeps growing!

Aurélia Maruéjol

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year christmas tree Ugigrip-Vallgrip

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Ugigrip-Vallgrip wishes you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

See you in 2023 for new projects, news metal parts and new challenges!

Aurélia Maruéjol

Vilesta logo_Ugigrip-Vallgrip

Ugigrip-Vallgrip joined Vilesta in the summer of 2021.

Who is Vilesta?

A cluster dedicated to industrial and passenger vehicles, this network of companies based in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region enables each member company to share its expertise, products, and much more.

Through Vilesta, we have joined a dynamic and supportive regional network that allows us to collaborate more closely with our peers, take part in joint projects, contribute our know-how, experience, and solutions, and foster collective intelligence in the design and production of industrial and recreational vehicles.

Aurélia Maruéjol

Raquettes à neige_EVVO_Ugigrip-Vallgrip

Ugigrip-Vallgrip manufactures the ice grip for EVVO snowshoes: when R&D drives innovation

Born in the heart of the Pilat mountain range, just a few dozen kilometres from Ugigrip-Vallgrip, EVVO is a young, innovative brand created by Martin Plastiques Innovation (MPI).

MPI invented the EVVO Snowshoe, which is far more than a traditional snowshoe. It is a “Snowshoe”: a 100% technical innovation developed and manufactured in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, designed for walking, jumping and running on snow without constraint.

For grip on ice, it is fitted with Ugigrip-Vallgrip studs. This led to the development of the EVVO Snowshoe’s 100% rubber sole, inspired by the technologies used in MICHELIN winter and ice tyres, the renowned tyre manufacturer based in Auvergne.

Its unique geometric design and snow and ice grip provide excellent traction and exceptional durability.

Quotation marks pictogram

Interview with Olivier Reboulet

Innovation Manager

Crampons_raquettes-EVVO_Ugigrip-Vallgrip

How did Ugigrip-Vallgrip manage to address your product challenge?

We were looking for a specialist in ice grip (anti-slip studs) for our Snowshoe.

As our project prioritised French manufacturing, it was important for us to find local expertise and to achieve a solution that was both technically high-performing and competitively priced.

What can you tell us about the bespoke development?

The R&D teams at Ugigrip-Vallgrip provided invaluable support through their technical expertise and in-depth knowledge of aluminium and steel studs. We started from their existing product range and combined our respective technologies to adapt it to our specific requirements.

The synergy between our savoir-faire made it possible to create this fully bespoke and innovative product. Working in close proximity also facilitated discussions regarding both cost and performance.

Aurélia Maruéjol

Rolling Steps – Ugigrip-Vallgrip

Like cold-forging, rolling is a metal forming process.

At Ugigrip-Vallgrip, rolling is mainly used to produce threads, knurling, grooves, etc., from a headed blank

It takes place in a second stage, after the cold-forging operation that gives the part its basic shape. This process deforms the part by pressure between two dies to obtain the final shape, according to predefined machine settings.

To provide production finishes, several options are available, such as coating (zinc plating) or heat treatment.

Caution

Important

Rolled Parts and Rolling Comb – Ugigrip-Vallgrip

What should you pay attention to?

It is essential to always consider the volume of the blank in order to anticipate the deformation created during the rolling process.

Why ? Because the part will elongate during deformation, so it is necessary to have sufficient material to produce the final component.

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Portes ouvertes à l'occasion de la semaine de l'industrie