Aumelec, transforming itself into a 4.0, high-performance… and human site

AUMELEC

Founded: 1991
Field: metal processing
Status: SARL
Workforce: 28 employees
Sales 2025: €3.1M
Production site: Clermont Ferrand
Support: “Réseau Initiative Clermont Métropole” and “Réseau Entreprendre Auvergne
Website : aumelec.fr

meeting with:

Guillaume Collas Chairman of Aumelec since 2023
>> LinkedIn

35 years of expertise and as much innovation

Founded in 1991 by Nicole Dugout, Aumelec was created to meet the technical needs of another local industrial player in the electromechanical sector. The company quickly diversified and opened up to subcontracting for other customers. Thanks to a strategy of continuous investment in both skills and equipment, it began to specialize in metal processing trades: sheet metal work, boiler making, welding, painting, chip removal machining…

For the record, this is only the second time Aumelec has changed hands since its creation. Nicole Dugout sold the company to her technical director, who in turn sold it to Guillaume Collas, the current managing director.

Today, Aumelec brings together in a single workshop a combination of diversified know-how from several metalworking trades. This vertical integration enables us to control production, deadlines, quality levels and… commercial agility.

Our strength lies in the fact that we offer a complete service, with the same high standards as those of the big companies, but in a company on a human scale.

Guillaume Collas

This positioning, based on rigorous traceability, flexibility and manufacturing quality, wins the loyalty of demanding customers in critical sectors – aeronautics, pharmaceuticals, medical, energy, agri-food – where reliability is not an option.

Next step: Industry 4.0… designed for teams

Aumelec’s big project? The creation of a new building in Les Gravanches, scheduled for November 2026, with the support of Clermont Auvergne Métropole and the Territoires d’industrie program. A 4.0 factory, designed from the outset as a connected, high-performance… and human production tool.

This new unit will be designed around a triple objective: industrial performance, environmental sobriety and workplace comfort. The site will be entirely digitized, with the elimination of paper plans and the complete dematerialization of manufacturing files. Teams will have real-time access to all production data directly from their workstations, via intuitive digital interfaces.

The building will also house the latest generation of machines, which are more precise, more energy-efficient and more ergonomic. “The idea is also to reduce drudgery and prevent musculoskeletal disorders. The new equipment must enhance performance without exhausting the workforce,” insists Guillaume Collas.

On the building side, comfort is not a detail: natural light, visual openings to the outside, cooling systems to keep the workshop below 26°C in summer… “I want people to feel good, to be able to see the sky, not to feel like they’re working in a workshop. I want people to feel good, to be able to see the sky, not to feel like they’re working in a closed-in workshop.

Growing talent

Against a backdrop of a shortage of skilled industrial workers, Aumelec has adopted a proactive recruitment policy, with a strong commitment to young people. The company works closely with schools such as Lycée Roger Claustres, Lycée Godefroy de Bouillon and Hall 32, where Guillaume Collas acts as an ambassador for the metalworking professions.

Trainees, work-study students and apprentices are regularly welcomed to the workshop. “Our aim is to encourage vocations. Show young people that our trades are modern, technical and rewarding.

But the commitment doesn’t stop with integration. Internal training and individual promotion are pillars of the Aumelec culture. The example of Lucas, who arrived as a temporary worker on simple tasks, was trained in milling, and has now become an experienced miller on a permanent contract, epitomizes this dynamic. “He didn’t know the job, but he wanted to find out. We supported him. He’s our greatest success story of 2024.

Towards a more feminized industry

The feminization of teams is also on the agenda. While Aumelec currently employs several women in administrative functions, the workshop remains predominantly male – largely due to the current unsuitable premises. The new building includes dedicated changing rooms, which will make it possible to recruit women for technical positions, particularly for fine operations such as polishing.

More and more young women are choosing our career paths. It’s up to us to open the doors for them. A natural evolution for a company that wishes to reflect the society in which it evolves.

A responsible and ethical vision of the industry

Looking ahead to 2035, Guillaume Collas sees Aumelec firmly positioned as a national benchmark in industrial subcontracting. But not at any price. His guiding principle is clear: progress while remaining true to our values.

“We want respectful partnerships and meaningful projects. People have to enjoy working here… and our customers have to enjoy working with us. A customer who wants to impose his law without any exchange doesn’t work.”

This professional ethic, based on respect, dialogue and constructive cooperation, is cultivated on a daily basis. And it has a particular resonance in the projects served by Aumelec: some of the parts produced in its workshops are integrated into cutting-edge medical machines used in the fight against cancer. “We’re not designers, but we contribute. And that makes sense.”