And it intends to remain so by relying in particular on its ALUCAMPUS training center and the recruitment of new brand ambassadors (10 per year on average). Its advantages ? A pronounced taste for innovation, a desire to support entrepreneurs in the development and transmission of their activity, and a proactive CSR approach that has guided its strategic orientations for 3 years.
It was after returning from a trip to the United States that Jean-Pierre and Marie-Françoise MICOULEAU had the idea of integrating a profiling machine into a workshop vehicle, DAL'ALU's first major innovation. This becomes the symbol and the main vector of communication of the brand. They decide to specialize in a single material, aluminum (when the competitors offer more zinc and PVC), and to go directly into franchising, so a real differentiation in the construction industry (the network has 100 franchises from 1996). These are the 3 keys that explain the success and trajectory of the company. Since 2007, Jean-Baptiste MICOULEAU (one of the sons of the founding couple) has continued the family adventure alongside Bernard Houtin, Managing Director.
Innovate & eco-design
Expert for 40 years in the transformation of aluminum material into gutters and more broadly in "all aluminum" roof overhangs for housing, the company founded in 1982 by Jean-Pierre MICOULEAU created the 1st concept of continuous profiling (aluminum gutter in one piece) embarked in a vehicle-workshop. The installer works the gutters directly on site, which facilitates tailor-made, time-saving and perfect sealing in the absence of fittings. Today, more than 450 workshop vehicles criss-cross France daily. An innovation that provides the impetus for all the following... INOA is the most recent: the 1st eco-designed aluminum gutter on the market with integrated waterproofing, whose carbon impact has been at the heart of the concerns, from the genesis.* A concrete action resulting from a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policy initiated in 2019 and which focuses on the limitation of environmental impacts, commitment to all employees and the societal role of the company. For 3 years, the offbeat and impactful brand positioning has been deployed around a strong promise “Ask us for ALU. », that of commitment and high standards in the service of customer and network satisfaction.
DAL'ALU's ambitions: train employees and expand the network
The network throughout France of 150 approved companies (mainly family structures made up of an average of 4 employees) is the strength of DAL'ALU and allows it today to be the leader in the evacuation of rainwater in France. Become a real network of services for end customers, digitize the commercial relationship and support franchisees as closely as possible in their skills, their development and for some in the transmission (the first franchisees of the 80s in turn transmit the activity): these are the challenges for DAL'ALU in the years to come. It is thanks to the ALUCAMPUS** Training Center opened in 2018 and which benefits from the expertise of DAL'ALU employees as well as external professionals, that it is now possible to - not only - train franchised entrepreneurs on the know-how but also to provide them with support functions that are useful to any business: administration, management, communication, HR, etc.
Another asset of this organization in the process of certification (which has 300 m² of depot-workshop and dedicated meeting rooms), that of bearing and anticipating the lack of manpower and technical know-how. Thus, ALUCAMPUS trains young people in the specific profession of aluminum work, which uses the methods of roofer and carpenter but for which no ad hoc training or diploma exists. To date, more than 80 trainees have been trained (and for some have integrated franchisees) for more than 1 hours of training provided.
"Working with a material that is still "in vogue", while distilling innovation, not only in terms of product but also in terms of communication, use and operation... This is what drives us on a daily basis in the workshop. manufacturing, support services and with our franchisees. Sourcing raw materials locally as much as possible, eco-designing, manufacturing in France and supporting entrepreneurship via our network of franchises are priorities for the DAL'ALU teams. The company's DNA, namely its family values, its assumptions made over 40 years and its requirement for quality of service and product, give it the guarantees to continue its deployment serenely. » Bernard HOUTIN, Managing Director
Figures and key data
- DAL'ALU (family structure): 2020 turnover of €17,5M excluding tax and 35 employees
- DAL'ALU, company and network of 150 franchisees: 2020 turnover of €56 million excluding tax and 600 employees
- 450 workshop vehicles throughout France
- Manufacturing, administrative and logistics site in St Médard d'Eyrans (33) south of Bordeaux
- CSR: www.dalalu.com/csr-des-actions-concretes
*FDES, Environmental and Health Data Sheet, in support, it benefits from an impact of 17% lower than products traditionally offered on the market.
** Alucampus - first training center dedicated to aluminum in the building envelope