Thermocoax总裁Dominique Mallet访谈录

Thermocoax的HAF 604 认证已被中国延至2022年。值此之际，总裁Dominique Mallet接受了GIIN的采访。

您会通过哪几个关键词介绍您自己和Thermocoax？

DM –在结束国际工业集团任职后，我于2013年年底加入Thermocoax。当时，和这个行业内的众多企业一样，我们面临着全球核市场的不确定性。当时我们的目标之一便是保留技术产品和重大项目中的专业技能，同时拓展国际业务。Thermocoax旗下共有260名员工，分布在4个生产基地（其中包括诺曼底核电专用基地）以及2个产品专业中心。在这些中心实现新产品的开发、设计和工业化流程。中心立足于我们的旗舰技术 – 矿物绝缘电缆、加热硅胶产品以及测量和信号传输系统。

2016年，我们的营业额达到4000万欧元。

除产品外，与竞争对手不同的是，我们公司将大型企业的运营稳健性与创造性和灵活性相融合。

曾经，Thermocoax的首批业务便集中在核工业上。首批给予贵企业信赖的客户是哪些？

DM –事实上，自1957年公司成立以来，核电一直是我们的精髓。当时公司命名为核能研究与开发股份公司（Société Anonyme d’Etudes & réalisations nucléaires）。1982年之后，公司更名为Thermocoax。我们核工业的真正开端始于法国的CEA和美国的通用集团。随后，我们多次携手Framatome、 Areva和EDF开展硕果累累的合作。时至今日，我们是已安装稳压器电加热元件数量居首位的公司。

目前，贵公司在核工业、航天和太空业务版块的业务分部情况如何？

DM –共分为三部分：1/3分配至核工业，1/3分配至航空/太空版块，1/3分配至优质产业。我们并非依赖于某一特定部门的业务循环。每个部门均配备专门的认证资质。我们的优势在于，所提供的产品并非依照产品目录，而是依靠定制需求，这也有助于强化企业的可持续性。

就核电而言，我们在测量系统方面做了大量的工作，尤其是测量核反应堆堆芯的物理量，如温度、中子通量或者水位等。

贵公司进入中国市场已有二十余年。您可否向我们讲述一些在中国市场取得的成功？

DM –上世纪80年代，公司在Framatome的引领下，首先参与中国的大亚湾项目。如今，随着中国自主权的不断增强，我们与当地的主要电力运营商、工程公司和工程总承包公司合作，并建立起强大的合作网络，这些公司也逐渐成为我们的直接合作商。

2016年底，我们和当地供货商展开合作成为了中广核工程公司（CGN）首个 “华龙”机组的中子测量仪表组件供应商，这一领域之前曾被俄罗斯供应商所占据。

公司近期宣布已延长中华人民共和国核安全管理局的HAF 604认证。您可否解释一下该认证？REX对此如何应对呢？

DM – HAF 604认证旨在认可境外公司的贡献。该认证用于确认和管理参与中方项目的供应商群体。这是必不可少的一环。同时，该步骤也遵循自愿的原则，因为认证需要非常行业性和细致性的证明，并且，我们也希望保护公司的技术。

获此认证以及其它资质，对我们而言，是一项富有成效的战略。例如，凭借可执行多种制造标准的能力资质，我们得以成为中国供应商，同时跻身印度和美国之列。同样还参与了英国的HPC项目。

俄罗斯的市场有所不同：俄国市场技术成熟且封闭化，能实现自给自足。对这一市场，我们采取谨慎和把握机会的态度。

您曾提及，借2017年巴黎国际航空航天展之际，Thermocoax将在今年招贤纳士。这一招聘活动是否涉及到核工业？

DM –是的，核工业也有所涉及。今年将有40名员工加入集团。订单数量整体增长超过30%。我们在寻找技术专家方面颇为艰难。我们招聘生产、工业和工程师贤才。

最后，从服务供应商的角度，您对核工业有何看法？您认为它在国际市场上将如何演变？

DM –目前全球核工业已转移至中国，日后将转移至印度。整个行业均面临着巨大的机遇，同时需要接受一些挑战，诸如争议性、实现自身竞争优势、远程保障性能和交付标准，以及应对当地合作商的质疑。就本国和欧洲市场而言，我们需要一个良性而充满活力的生态系统，这也涉及到政治层面，以便推进我们拓展新的领域。

在Thermocoax创新方面，我们联合行业主要参与商，步入了发展阶段：通过与EDF的合作，与CEA和Areva合作项目。我们致力于未来的核安全问题，最后，根据EDF的优秀实践，我们得以推动其它核电标准朝向更可靠更安全的方向发展。我们的一回路仪表组件将获得为期60年的K1级认证。

关于Thermocoax – NDLR –

Thermocoax是一家中型法国企业，专门为核电、航空航天和太空行业的恶劣环境提供散热和传感器解决方案。企业优势之一在于其生产耐高温达2000℃的电缆专业技术。该技术有助于企业开发独特解决方案。

该企业在法国设有两个生产基地（其中一个基地专门致力于核电），在德国和美国均设立工厂。70 %的产品用于出口。

Interview with Dominique Mallet, President of Thermocoax

Thermocoax’s HAF 604 certificate has been extended by China until 2022. On this occasion, its president, Dominique Mallet, is accommodating the GIIN.

How would you describe yourself and Thermocoax in a few key words?

DM – I joined Thermocoax at the end of 2013 after a career within international industrial groups. At this time, just like numerous other companies in the sector, we were faced with the uncertainty of the global nuclear market. One or our objectives then was to maintain our expertise in technical products and major projects, while developing internationally. Thermocoax has a wealth of 260 employees spread over 4 production sites – one site of which is dedicated solely to nuclear in Normandy – and 2 product expertise centres. In these centres we undertake the development, design and industrialisation of new solutions. They are based on our flagship technology – the cable with mineral insulation – silicone heating products, the measuring system and signal transmission.

In 2016, our turnover reached € 40 m.

Apart from these products, that which sets us apart from our competitors is the creativity and flexibility that we associate with the robustness of operation of much larger scale businesses.

Historically, the first activities of the company Thermocoax concentrated on the nuclear industry. What were the first customers to put their trust in you?

DM – That’s true, nuclear has been in our DNA since the company was created in 1957. The company was then called Société Anonyme d’Etudes & Réalisations Nucléaires (Nuclear Design & Realisation). It is only since 1982 that the company has taken on the name Thermocoax. Our career in the nuclear industry really started with CEA in France and GE in the United States. We then worked a lot with Framatome then Areva and EDF, with which we have continued to maintain useful cooperation. And today, for heating elements for use in nuclear “pressurisers”, across all platforms we are the number one company in terms of installed equipment across the world.

Today, what is the distribution of your activities between nuclear, aeronautical and space?

DM – This distribution is split into three thirds: one third for nuclear, one for aerospace and one for premium industries. We are therefore not tributaries for the cycles of any particular sector. We have specific certifications for each of these sectors. Our strength is in our capacity to provide bespoke products rather than from a catalogue, which helps strengthen the sustainability of our company.

With regard to nuclear, we are working a lot on instrumentation systems, particularly to measure physical quantities in the reactor core, such as temperature, neutron flows or even measuring the water level…

You have been on the Chinese market for more than twenty years. Can you tell us a bit more about your success in the Middle Kingdom?

DM – The company was first brought in by Framatome on the Chinese market with Daya Bay in the eighties. Today, with the increasing autonomy of China, we have built and maintain a robust network with local players – the major electrical operators, engineering companies and EPC – which are increasingly becoming our direct contacts.

At the end of 2016, a new market opened for the supply of neutron measurements for the first ‘Hualong’ plants of the CGN group, on which we based our position in partnership with a local player. We didn’t win this since the Russian players were the awarded this project.

You recently announced that the nuclear safety administration of the People’s Republic of China has extended your HAF 604 certificate. Can you explain to us what this certificate consists of? What experience feedback can you give?

DM – The HAF 604 certification aims to recognise the contribution of foreign-owned companies. Its role is to validate and inspect a pool of suppliers capable of being present on Chinese projects. It’s an indispensable door-opener. But it is also a voluntary approach, because it is a certification that needs very detailed rationale, and, on the industrial level, we are also seeking to protect our know-how.

Obtaining this certification, and not only this, by the way, is a good strategy that is paying off for us today. Due to the capability of working on several construction codes, for example, our company supplies China and is lining up to India and the USA. That is not even to mention our participation in

the HPC programme in Britain.

The situation in Russia is different: the market, mature and very closed in terms of technology, is self-sufficient. Our approach on this market is solicitous and opportunistic.

You pointed out during the Bourget 2017 fair that Thermocoax was going to launch a recruitment campaign this year. Do these recruitments also concern your nuclear activities?

DM – Yes, the nuclear activities are also concerned. 40 people are joining the group this year. We are achieving a growth of + 30 % in orders overall. We still have difficulty recruiting for technical posts. We are seeking candidates for production, industrialisation and engineering.

To conclude, what is your vision of the nuclear sector in terms of service-providing companies? How do you think it is going to develop, particularly on the international level?

DM – The global nuclear market has moved to China today and will be in India tomorrow. Our entire sector, faced with this great opportunity, has the challenge to increase and assess our competitive advantages, to guarantee performance criteria remotely and to supply and to seek out local partnerships. At the national and European level, we need a favourable and dynamic ecosystem which includes the political level, to be able to make arrangements for new territories.

With regard to innovation within Thermocoax, we have signed up to the major players of the sector within a development phase: through partnerships with EDF, projects with the CEA and Areva. We are working on solutions for tomorrow’s nuclear safety. Finally, based on the good practices of EDF, we can change the specifications of other electricians for more reliability and safety. We are therefore completing K1 60 years certification for our primary coolant loop instruments.

About Thermocoax – NDLR –

Thermocoax is a medium-sized French company specialising in thermal solutions and sensors for harsh environments for the nuclear and aerospace industries. One of the company’s strengths is its expertise in the manufacture of cables resistant to a temperature of up to 2000°C. This technology has allowed unique solutions to be developed.

The company has two production sites in France, one site of which is entirely dedicated to nuclear and workshops in Germany and the United States. 70 % of the production is exported.