Once a land of industry, always a land of industry. As the birthplace of Michelin, Clermont Auvergne Métropole has been shaped by industry. It’s only a short step from there to saying that it has shaped French industry.
Far from turning the page, Clermont Auvergne Métropole is equipping itself to write a new chapter in its industrial epic by building on its DNA: creating effective alliances, innovating and percolating projects in the service of transition. The result: Clermont Auvergne Métropole X Mond’Arverne Communauté = Clermont Arverne Industrie, a certified industrial territory. Here’s a look at the arguments that won us the label… and the benefits it brings.

01

A historic industry with a wealth of experience

In 1889, Michelin set up its first factory in the center of Clermont-Ferrand. With eight sites throughout the metropolis and a workforce that peaked at 28,000 in the 1980s, the group has shaped urban development and fueled the region’s demographic boom.

In 1919, the Banque de France set up its banknote production facility in Chamalières. The same year, the daily newspaper La Montagne was born in the center of Clermont-Ferrand. Why this retrospective? Because this century-old story laid the foundations for Clermont-Ferrand’s industrial territory, with its dozens of hectares of industrial land to be transformed, its cutting-edge know-how and its industrial technologies.

Did you say rebound culture? And you’re right: this is Clermont!

Diversification, the proof by 7

In the face of major industrial reorganization worldwide, Clermont-Ferrand has jumped on the bandwagon of innovation and diversification. In 2024, Clermont-Ferrand’s companies, researchers and other business gas pedals are flourishing in seven major sectors:

Sustainable mobility industry Renewable energies

Circular economy and sustainable materials Agri-food industry

Engineering and technologies of the future Health and well-being Cultural and creative industries

Their secret? Combining the technological expertise of industrial giants with the agility of start-ups to meet ecological and social challenges.

Extended zone of influence

To earn the Territoire d’industrie label, Clermont Auvergne Métropole relied on what it does best: finding the right partners within its network. Mond’Arverne Communauté? It’s obvious: the challenges we face don’t stop at the borders of the region. The two communities have long collaborated on issues of tourism, attractiveness and industrial development. A case in point? The planned relocation of the Banque de France. Banknote production will be relocated from Chamalières to a new plant in Vic-le-Comte, within the Mond’Arverne Communauté. What’s involved? A structuring project worth 250 million euros that will remain in the Clermont Arverne industrial region, and freed-up land to be redeveloped by the metropolis.

It’s all there!

Clermont-Ferrand is home to all strata of the industrial fabric, from international, publicly-listed locomotives to ETIs, SMEs and VSEs, and internationally-renowned start-ups in permanent contact with the vital forces of education and research. Research laboratories, competitive clusters, incubators and gas pedals support the vitality of this ecosystem, helping to invent the industry of tomorrow. The result? A DNA programmed Territoire d’industrie!
>> discover Clermont-Ferrand’s innovation ecosystem

02

Industry, back to the future

What are the advantages of the Territoire d’industrie label? Until 2027, multi-year government funding for structuring projects, support for industrial investment, access to funding under the France 2030 plan… A real boost for Clermont Arverne Industrie.

1.reinvesting industrial heritage

One of the objectives of Territoire d’industrie is to mobilize former industrial sites, making them sober and sustainable by building “factories on factories” to meet the needs of industrialists and facilitate productive activities.
Clermont Auvergne Métropole and its partners are 100% aligned with these challenges. Just look at the redevelopment project for Cataroux Park, Michelin’s former historic site, now open to new functions, without losing any of its identity.

> All you need to know about the Cataroux project

Another mega-project in the pipeline is the 20-hectare redevelopment of the vast industrial wasteland of the Cristal Union sugar refinery in Aulnat, which has been awarded the France 2030 turnkey site label.

2. Reclaiming industry in green team mode

Territoire d’industrie is more than just a label; it’s a budget envelope made available by the French government to support projects that are in line with sustainable reindustrialization.

100 million euros nationwide for the “Territoire d’industrie en transition écologique” green fund are earmarked to finance ecological transition projects or expenditure on industrialization, renovation, decarbonization and improvement of production tools. As part of the Territoire d’industrie program, the company aims to structure a local sector for the recovery of polluted soil and construction debris.

> all you need to know about the ecological transition in the Clermont-Ferrand area

3. Boosting the innovation ecosystem

As you may have gathered by now, Clermont Auvergne Métropole benefits from an agile partnership environment – which has also been awarded the French Tech label – covering the entire innovation chain. Clermont Arverne Industrie will accelerate this dynamic.

The aim? To make the region a veritable springboard for industrial innovation, by mobilizing additional resources in priority sectors. For example, developing new modes of economic exchange to strengthen the agri-food sector around short circuits and the circular economy. Or accelerating the structuring of the eco-mobility sector by promoting the development of technological building blocks in partnership with industry.

> Discover Clermont-Ferrand’s innovation ecosystem

4. An industrial dream

Clermont Auvergne Métropole knows how to provide training in all industrial trades, and very well indeed. You only have to set foot in Hall 32 to be convinced. At the crossroads of the public and private sectors, this hybrid totem pole concentrates all the resources needed to train the future lifeblood of industry. It’s the perfect place to attract candidates and meet companies’ needs.

Industry doesn’t attract enough women, who account for just 27% of industrial jobs at Clermont Arverne Industrie? Clermont Arverne is a winner of the European Urbact program with its Femact Cities project, which finances targeted actions to facilitate career guidance by combating gender stereotypes.

> Dive into the metropolitan talent pool