Factory Unit | Made With Biesse North America

Factory Unit is a French firm based in Antibes. Along with L2Concept, it stands out for its ten-year experience and highly specialised skills in industrial car design, sustaining companies throughout the world in their creation of prototypes and concept cars. At the head of both firms is Alain Grandjean, the founder and CEO: “L2Concept deals primarily with design and 3D modelling, with Factory Unit taking the design data from L2Concept and then working alongside it in the final modelling stage: we transform virtual into real”, says Grandjean. Working in close contact with the leading car makers like Lexus and Toyota, the collaboration between L2Concept and Factory Unit is based mainly on the creation of concept cars - state-of-the-art cars that symbolise the latest styles and technological trends of a car manufacturer. Like a true car stylist, Factory Unit guides the entire process through the various design and engineering phases. “We create everything, starting right from the sketch through to the design and the 3D model, then we produce the car components using moulds and a variety of infusion techniques” continues Grandjean.

“When we decided to purchase a 5-axis machining centre for milling operations, we turned to Biesse - an international Italian company that produces top quality machines, and we're extremely satisfied”, says Grandjean. The goal to be reached is that of total machining perfection: “Everything we do has to be perfect. We can't allow ourselves mistakes, flaws, distraction or inaccuracy and we carry on working until we get an end product of the utmost perfection.” Precision, quality and accurate machining are the winning formula for attaining that goal. “The biggest problem when producing concept cars is linked above all to time: we need to move very fast. Having the potential of 5-axis machining within our company gives us a huge advantage in terms of quick response times. We can produce parts or models in the right way, without having to depend on someone outside, and this means we can work quickly and at the same time keep our costs down, because we're doing it all internally.” Factory Unit can work with materials of varying density, from foams to composite materials, thanks to the MATERIA MR 5-axis machining centre with its high capacity dimensions: “Materia MR enables us to create designs of a considerable size, up to 7.5 metres long, 4 metres wide and 2.5 metres high. There's nothing more I can add. It's perfect”, concludes Grandjean, confirming that the road taken with Biesse is the right one.

"Having a 5-axis milling capacity inside the company give us a big advantage in terms of reactivity. We're happy with that, everything is going smoothly and we're happy with the quality. It works perfectly well".

Alain Grandjean Founder and CEO

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Technological and style innovation: how the car of the future comes into being.

Virtual becomes real: Factory Unit marks out the route to follow when designing prototypes and concept cars, thanks to advanced technologies and engineering skills.