Created on January 07, 2019, PHOENIX EQUIPEMENT celebrates its second anniversary, a decisive age for the survival of a start-up (1 start-up out of 3 does not pass the 2 years), of which nearly a year was spent under the shadow of the Coronavirus, pushing us to increase our capacities tenfold with in particular the voluntary development of visors and a hygiene hook retained by the best French or foreign authorities while carrying out other subjects at once.
For all those who have followed us since the beginning of the adventure in the "garage workshop" as well as since our recent solidarity commitments, for all our customers whose last ones had to face considerable delays, for those who support our project at various levels, it is time to come back together on these first two years and particularly the last one, with what the Covid-19 period induced as evolutions for our young start-up, but also to lift with you the veil on what we prepare for the next months.
After covering the highlights of 2019, we'll look back at 2020, separating the Covid part from the "normal" business part, before looking together at :
where we are going,
how,
why,
and when.
2019 : A UNIQUE LABEL AND MEETINGS
Benefiting from the GENERATE Label, the GICAT innovation label obtained in May 2018 by Franck, founder of the company then in self-employment (a first to date) and winner in 2016 of the Mode Défense competition in the "Combat Dress" category with innovative fatigues and patterns, PHOENIX EQUIPEMENT has dedicated 2019 to communicating its capabilities in the Defense & Security environment while setting up the first actions and tools necessary for its development, and respecting our founding values, stemming from the military environment.
Quality meetings
We have been privileged to be able to participate during 2019 in many exceptional events, particularly thanks to the GENERATE Label and the people who supports it, whose titanic work for the benefit of our start-ups we respectfully and warmly salute, with individualized support and follow-up for each structure.
Some events allowed us to present our projects, like in March 2019 the Prix Entreprendre of Rotary Compiègne followed in early April by the SOFINS where we had the honor to be invited to exhibit, presenting our products CROKYD and BELTAPTOR then just launched, as well as our projects of modular chest support MMPC, compact ergonomic medical pouch MEDICOR, or even multipurpose camouflage pattern CAPADE®, all highlighted in particular by an excellent PLATECAT vest from our partner TIGER TAILOR.
Other events allowed us to address the specificities of start-ups in the Defense & Security sector, such as in July 2019 when we had the privilege of being received by members of the Defense Commission of the French National Assembly to discuss issues specific to start-ups in the sector, successes as well as difficulties, particularly in the area of financing. This was a unique opportunity for us to invite another GENERATE start-up, Elika Team, which specializes in language engineering, to join us. A vast subject that has since been widely followed at a high level and reported in the press.
Other events were the opportunity to talk more generally about innovation in the field of personal equipment and camouflage, as was the case at the Ecole de Guerre - Terre where one of the members of the team was invited to speak at a conference alongside other players in non-digital defense innovation (including Elika Team). A rare and remarkable opportunity to exchange at a high level on these themes sometimes neglected in comparison with more electronic subjects.
In parallel, 2019 was also marked by the first presentations in units at the initiative of their personnel, in particular in May within a PSIG and a BR of the National Gendarmerie, where the security aspect of the small equipment (handcuff keys, lamp etc.) of CROKYD and the compact ergonomics of MEDICOR were very appreciated.
Developping the activity
Between the first showcase website at the beginning of the year and the creation of a new website at the end of 2019, we have seen the interest grow for the projects we carry and the products we propose, confirming our initial choices.
Thus, following first exchanges with a large group and a presentation for approval of our projects to a major French institution, we have been able to define priorities for the development of several projects not yet communicated and on which work will continue in 2021.
In addition, CROKYD will have an operational baptism in 2019 on two different external theaters in the service of COS and Marines operators.
But also in the civilian population with real estate agencies (quite logical considering the first vocation of CROKYD: to secure keys) and private individuals for their keychains and passports of companies or buildings.
Thanks to our first customers whom we thank for their trust, CROKYD and BELTAPTOR have practiced in 2019 as well the national territory with soldiers of the National Gendarmerie, as the abroad operations.
Meanwhile, the development of camouflages has continued, and in particular the particularly innovative CAPADE® range (and one of the reasons for the company's labeling) and which we know is eagerly awaited.
Respecting core values
Among our core values stemming in particular from a military culture and ñass (the real ones know 😉 ), mutual aid is a strong element, which we hope to be able to practice always to the height of our abilities and through various means (big dream the day the company will have the possibility: to help in the reconversion of injured personnel).
Thus, our initial will to participate each year to a charity or solidarity action for the Defense, will be concretized in 2019 also with the opportunity to contribute to the challenge of Jeffcourtpourlentraide, who will run the Ultra Trail Grand to Grand for the benefit of the Entraide Parachutiste, who will take several CROKYD in his adventure.
Beyond a modest participation in the financing of its action, we have especially relayed through all channels its action to make it known to the greatest number, and remain wholeheartedly attached to the cause carried. A mobilization that we will renew as soon as possible.
After this beautiful year 2019, we wanted to start 2020 with the objective of several product launches at the end of Eurosatory (the world exhibition of the Defense & Security sector) where we were to exhibit. But the Coronavirus has come and gone, and our commitment to it will have changed a lot.
2020 : A YEAR ON ALL FRONTS
2020 will have been very different from a "normal" second year of existence for a start-up, as the challenges encountered during this past year may have jeopardized the planned developments, while at the same time bringing new activities due to the context, implying numerous and necessary adaptations.
However, our young structure has been considerably strengthened. Despite no product launch and very little business communication, the year was massive, particularly due to our mobilization in the context of the Coronavirus, and will have confirmed the validity of our initial orientations, summarized by our motto found at the very beginning of 2020: listen, create, equip. Words that will find a particular echo in the following months.
From the Fabrique Défense to Covid
After a notable participation in the Fabrique Défense at the beginning of January 2020, where we were able to exchange with many enthusiasts from all horizons (including a Swedish soldier, a French-speaking subscriber to our contents, whom we salute, as well as Miss L. M. and her exceptional action in the interest of equipment issues), our efforts were focused on the launch of MEDICOR, which was eagerly awaited, and the participation in Eurosatory 2020, which was to have been held in June and which was to have seen the launch of several products.
But once the challenges faced by caregivers were identified between March 11 and 17, it seemed obvious to try to contribute at our level, like so many others, and to use our know-how to help. A contribution decided at short notice, using all the axis where we thought we could help.
All this while continuing our activities, notably alongside other companies. And by moving into our first real office, in full confinement.
This would lead us to work up to 120 hours a week, several weeks at a time, and more than 60 hours a week for more than 5 months to carry out both volunteer mobilization and normal activities. An incredible amount of work, and totally voluntary for the Covid part, except for the unexpected market of visors won after the official tender.
A quadruple COVID mobilization Covid
Faced with the emergency, we have treated each action to be carried out as a mission, which we will review together:
synthesize data on the resistance of 3D printed parts to sterilization ;
multiply the capacity of the makers to produce better visors;
to respond to a complex ergonomic problem within a limited timeframe;
participate directly in solidarity deliveries.
1 - Synthesizing data on the resistance of 3D printed parts to sterilization
As of March 17, the absence of easily exploitable data on the resistance of 3D printed parts to the most common sterilization methods led us to create a summary table on the subject. It is then that, confined separately and far away, we add the solidarity mobilization to our normal activities, starting with the reading of several tens of international studies completed by our own experiments and exchanges with makers and scientists of several countries, to form this table.
On March 31, the table of resistance of 3D printed parts to sterilization is online on our blog and can be downloaded in French and English. We created a complete Covid-19 section on our website, which will continue to exist. Very quickly, it is shared in most of the French and international Covid-19 support groups, and put forward by the OSMS (Open Source Medical Supplies), the central point of free exchanges on medical resources, as a reference document.
Many suppliers of consumables for 3D printing, especially in North America, are informing us to include it in their filament shipments, and not counting image registrations, it will be downloaded, just on our website and social networks, more than 12,000 times by people from 63 countries, including nearly 10,000 in its first 15 days online (March 31 - April 15). More importantly, it will contribute, along with other initiatives, to the launch of several scientific studies on the subject, as we will learn in particular during exchanges in the framework of the OSMS.
2 - Multiplying the capacity of makers to produce better visors
Between March 22 and 24, we noticed that the visors then proposed for 3D printing were unsuitable: too long to print (from 1h30 to more than 4h, with 0.4 mm nozzles), too expensive in material (up to 40 grams), and with geometries that were not at all optimized for the FDM (filament deposition) process. Not to mention the user feedback (RETEXs) reporting ergonomic problems, complexity of assembly, and maintenance difficulties in particular.
Although the theme was entirely new to us, we wanted to develop visors that could both multiply the production capacity of the makers, and be stored in mass if necessary.
Very quickly, several solutions are explored, with screen fixation without tools, and using 2 easy to find means of fixation: round elastics like shock-cord which are certainly uncomfortable but very cheap and easy to find, and flat textile elastics which are much more comfortable, to be bought or recovered from headlamps for example.
But it is still too heavy (25 - 30 grams), and 2 out of 3 designs can only be made by sintering, while the third one, FDM compatible, is not stackable, limiting the ability to produce in rapid series.
The objective to be reached is emerging:
To create one or more ultra-light models (less than 20 grams),
compatible with goggles, over-glasses and FFP2 masks, even if they are cumbersome,
comfortable and efficient, with limited lateral flow unlike other models,
can be produced quickly with little or no post-processing,
and by any means: 3D FDM printing, laser sintering, laser cutting, plotter or manual cutting, mold injection etc.
Serious R&D then begins.
Discovering on March 24 the official tender led by the AID (Defense Innovation Agency), we decided that we would propose our visors, in the category of individual or collective protection, caregivers and populations, under the name PROFASTER (sterilizable face protection), intended for all printing trays, and PROFAPLA (flat face protection), intended for mass storage but limited to the large printing trays
As of April 05, PROFASTER is printable in less than 30 minutes with less than 15 grams of material, a record compared to the most downloaded models at that time (45' and more), while PROFAPLA comes out in 25 minutes with only 10 grams, while allowing for ultra-massive storage (30,000 visors per cubic meter, screens and elastics included). On April 11, the day before the official Call for Projects closes, the PROFASTER - PROFAPLA file is filed, and subject to further updates.
PROFASTER is presented in an ALPHA version, with a double face and front screen, totally removable and adjustable, which were unheard of at the time. In the following days and weeks, we succeeded in reducing the printing time of the two models to 14 minutes, then to 10 minutes, for 5.5 grams of material used. Exceptionally short times, and without any post-processing required. The complete files (with instructions, assembly videos, screen cutting guide, etc.) will then be put online not only on our website but also on Thingiverse and on Cults3D. And, very quickly, the model is one of the few approved and referenced by OSMS and DIY Med.
Four other versions of PROFASTER were developed, notably for international needs (dimensions of transparencies available), each with a different means of fixing the screen. Never put online due to lack of time to make specific instructions and videos, three of them have been shared with several makers and platforms, and their solutions have since been reused by several designs. We will soon put them online on our website and on Thingiverse and Cults3D alongside our other shared files.
The fourth version was the occasion of an innovation which is the subject of a patent registered, accompanied by HDFID, concerning the mode of fixing the screen, a solution applicable to other fields which we will try to develop soon. The potential applications are particularly numerous.
Later, on June 04, we are surprised to learn that our visors are selected by the official tender. One of the 37 files selected out of nearly 2,580 proposed, and the only visor project validated out of nearly 1,000 proposals, after examination by a jury of users, experts in materials, processes, innovation, etc., it leads to a contract for manufacturing at the request of the Army and the SSA (Army Health Service), with manufacturing by several processes, two of which are selected: MJF process, and mold injection
Two French companies, references in their respective fields (SCULPTEO, world leader in digital manufacturing, and ARINDIS, historical specialist in plastics for more than 60 years) then follow us on what is our very first industrial project: a considerable challenge where we will learn a lot and for which the deliveries are just finished.
In fact, we respectfully salute those people and institutions who have decided to trust a young start-up in such a context and on such issues, and all the recipients of this first industrial production of our visors ... some of whom had to wait longer than expected to receive their units.
However, despite our efforts (sending files / download links to makers, fablabs, tech influencers, associations, ...), PROFASTER and PROFAPLA will not be distributed as well as we hoped, and we will see for a long time the persistence of models much longer to print and much more expensive for private volunteers.
But our small team could not be on all fronts: design, communication, normal business activities. Moreover, since no appeal for donations was made, little publicity was done on these projects.
Thus, the mission to contribute to the increase of the makers' production capacities is only partially fulfilled, but the validation by the official tender and the referencing of PROFASTER and PROFAPLA as reference PPE on several online file sharing platforms testify to the hummingbird's part.
3 - Responding to a complex problem within a tight timeframe
On April 06, we received a request from a department of the EMAT (French Army Staff) for a contactless door opening system. The tests of different existing models being unsatisfactory, we have to develop one for ... the next day, April 07, 6pm.
Intended to be able to interact with most doors, windows and openers of all types, and easy to print, the model is delivered on time (54 minutes ahead of schedule even 😅 ), with the name CROVHYD (Valued Endowment Hygiene Hook). Offered to users by the brand new Army 3D Farm it will be its most requested item, with nearly 6000 prints in total.
By the way, to better understand the role of the Army 3D Farm and 3D printing within the Army, we recommend the excellent in-depth article from the Mars Attack blog here:
In the following weeks, the model was completed with a double active and passive retention holster based on the principle of gun holsters, and improved following RETEX with the ability to interact with the rotary knob digicodes present in hospitals. 13 copies of this version, printed in PLActive, a bactericidal and virucidal material approved against the Coronavirus, will be delivered on May 5 as part of a joint delivery of visors to the APHP logistics center.
CROVHYD is the most versatile hygiene hook in the world, with a hundred different possible interactions on all types of openings. It is also the only OSMS-approved door opener hook, and is still being downloaded several times a day.
However, the challenge was huge: in a few hours we had to compile all possible data on the dimensions of handles, openings, pulls, latches of all types and standards and combine them into a single object that must also offer protection against self-contamination and resist strong mechanical constraints while being printable in 3D FDM. All this was done voluntarily. We are particularly proud of this achievement and, in view of the feedback we have received from users, notably via the 3D Earth Farm, we can say: mission accomplished.
However, many models of contactless hooks, especially of the key ring type (a heresy for self-contamination), are still sold on many sites by mainly Asian companies, often with misleading claims of intellectual property or innovation, and despite the existence of studies warning of the risks of these models. While various much safer models, including ours, are available free of charge for printing ... An example of the work to be done on the harmonization of the marketing criteria of these types of materials, which in our opinion should eventually have their own standards.
4 - Participate directly in solidarity deliveries
As soon as the main work of designing visors was done, we joined the collective solidarity effort with our own productions. Contributing directly as well as via several French aid groups that organized the main part of the solidarity mobilizations (Makers against Covid and Union Makers Paris 75 in particular), we were able to respond to several requests up to our capacities.
In a month and a half, with only 2 printers (one of which will be regularly used for other tasks) and only one person to take care of it, 1500 visors are made and distributed (1000 km travelled, on personal money) to the caregivers of several hospitals and services of help to the person: CH4V, APHP, local Red Cross branch, childcare or homecare workers, liberal nurses, ... Many small deliveries (from 10 to 20 visors each time) and some larger ones (up to more than 300 for APHP).
A very modest contribution in absolute value (more than 1 million visors printed in solidarity in France in 2020), but faithful to the notion of "the hummingbird's share" which is dear to us, and to the maximum of what we have been able to do (about 25 visors per day / printer, 5 days a week, while working on other subjects).
Our main mission being the design of visors that are quick to print and economical in material, we focused our efforts on this point and on updating the online files with each optimization.
Moreover, this contribution was increased by the people who printed and distributed our visors all over the world, a participation in the collective highlighted in the documentary by Prodigium Pictures on solidarity mobilizations in 55 countries.
In the balance sheet, although it is of course difficult to identify precisely what was produced jointly and in what quantities, we were able to record the following figures directly:
+ More than 4200 downloads of files (visors and hooks) ;
+ more than 50 000 visors printed by third parties (less than 10 000 in France) ;
+ More than 5500 CROVHYD printed by third parties;
Nearly 6000 CROVHYD printed by the 3D Earth Farm ;
1500 solidarity visors printed and delivered by us;
1300 industrial quality visors manufactured for the ADT and the SSA;
And 20 CROVHYD printed and delivered by us.
That is to say, in total, at least 52 800 visors (0,2% of the world total) and 11 500 hygiene hooks (6% of the official world total counted, unquantifiable for the impressions of private individuals).
Although minor in relation to the global balance sheet, we are proud of this contribution (still the hummingbird), which also had the unexpected effect of drawing attention to the company's capabilities. Foreign to the PPE health themes a few months earlier, the validation of all our Covid-19 projects testifies to what our start-up is capable of achieving in its core business.
An "almost" normal business activity
While our Covid commitment has been very strong, the company has continued its normal activities. On the one hand, actions are underway or have been carried out, in collaboration with several companies, and on the other hand, the development of several products has continued. However, the cancellation of planned deadlines (including Eurosatory) and the hazards associated with the health situation (delays and/or unavailability of suppliers, materials, parts, etc.) have added a number of new difficulties.
1 - Projects carried out alongside other players
If we can still only touch on some projects carried out with other companies, we are eager to share more with you when it will be possible. Great projects at the service of users.
And, great news, a working relationship for a few months with the SAFRAN group with which our young start-up learns as much as it exchanges, within the CENTURION Program.
Another great news is the officialization of our partnership with SCULPTEO, a French company considered as one of the world references in additive and digital manufacturing. Committed to our side in the framework of Covid, it is also one of our partners of choice for other projects related to our core business.
Also, the company ARINDIS, historical actor of plastics in France, has honored us to join our partners, following Covid-19 collaboration. Together we are convinced that the combination of advanced production means + made in France manufacturing is a major stake in the future. And we are working in this direction.
A conviction that did not wait for the Covid crisis, and on which we will communicate more in the future, certain that manufacturing on the national territory by actors of innovation is a winning bet on the future while the questions of how to manufacture, where, and thus with what human and ecological cost, and in what higher interests are raised. Manufacturing in France is a strategic issue, and as a GICAT start-up with the GENERATE label, we are determined to act at our level in this direction.
Also, we have developed for a French company a textile element allowing the implementation of a major element of their product offer; soon this very vague description will give way to beautiful images in situation.
Not to mention, among others, two projects brought by operational staff and carried out with them: the first one developed with a member of the Gendarmerie Nationale, and the second with a member of a specialized corps of the Police Nationale. It should be noted that one of these two projects has already been approved by the competent authorities and is currently being monitored.
In addition, in collaboration with another French company, communication tools printed and treated by a particular process have experienced the hot sand of Africa this fall. Complexity is not only in connected objects, high tech is sometimes hidden in a notebook. Lamination at very high temperatures, impregnation with hydrophobic solutions, custom-made binding rings: the very particular specifications finally led to an in-house production. Another great challenge for the second half of 2020! And a process that will allow us to offer new possibilities as early as this year 😉
Finally, in collaboration with a major French actor of the Defense sector, we submitted a particularly innovative prototype to the selection tests of an institution in the framework of a major equipment project in progress. Confident in its technical and ergonomic characteristics, the questioning is placed on the competition of products manufactured in Asia. A return to the problem of Made in France 🇫🇷 while there is no equivalent in France to the American Berry Amendment (which imposes national preference for the equipment of regalian means).
2 - Continued product development
Although several product launches have had to be delayed, these delays have allowed for even more in-depth developments, particularly in terms of situation testing.
First of all, we welcome the interest maintained for our current products, CROKYD and BELTAPTOR, which were not meant to remain alone on the menu for such a long time and yet attracted new users during the year, despite a total lack of communication and numerous hazards on the deliveries which are finally back in order.
The feedback from users on CROKYD in particular, has shown that there is also a need for the elastic alone, which we manufacture in-house via a proprietary process, and which will be offered for sale as a separate product very soon. If the use of the elastic alone offers less versatility than the CROKYD + elastic combo (no quick release, no mounting on belts and garment edges, no pairing for PALS / Molle horizontal mounting), it is also more economical and better adapted to certain specific needs.
BELTAPTOR confirms its interest for those who wish to do without a PALS / Molle combat belt and/or who work in civilian clothes on a regular or daily basis. The lightness and versatility of the system, as well as its rapid assembly, make it a choice alternative to solutions that are either much more expensive (Molle duty belt type) or much less reliable and not always more economical (PALS / Molle textile adapters).
Our MEDICOR medical pouch will arrive in the next few months. Some optimizations have been made to its design, and tests are currently underway, notably in an SF context in the Sahel zone, but also in a national context in civilian areas.
Several other products will arrive very quickly, some in the next few weeks, in particular our MMPC modular chest mount, an innovative solution for carrying and using phones, combat books, compasses and other items in a tactical environment.
The program includes: quick assembly/disassembly, modularity according to the user's choice, reduced weight, and studied ergonomics (one-handed use). Ergonomics which is our leitmotiv and will also result in an accessory that should interest many military, to follow no less soon 😉
Finally, the road continues for our camouflage patterns, and different avenues are currently being explored to lead to something concrete later this year. Moreover, the Jeunes IHEDN have honored us by including several of our patterns (no CAPADE® here, but other developments) in their videos of the "OPS" series, which you can find here.
BALANCE SHEET: what program for 2021?
2020 will have allowed our young company to show that it could respond effectively to demanding requests in a complex situation, our determination to "do things differently" compensating for our human and material resources which are still limited due to the young age of the company (barely 1 year old at the beginning of the first confinement). A resource that, preserved, will give us a decisive advantage now that these means have evolved.
2021 will be a year of combat through the implementation of these resources around our initial ambition: to design in France, and manufacture in France or in Europe as much as possible, the equipment that operational personnel need, in line with their expectations. This ambition has been largely confirmed by the situation we have all been through.
But meeting expectations on an industrial scale, even when approached from the angle of new processes, requires organization and resources that are generally beyond the reach of start-ups of very small size. In fact, we are privileged to be surrounded by the best partners, and we will continue to work hard to maintain their trust over the long term.
The year 2020 has convinced us of four things:
it is impossible to fight on equal terms against low-cost mass production, for which intellectual protection is no longer of any real effect at a time when online sales sites of copies / counterfeits advertise via social networks, sponsorships of influencers, and even on TV;
it is almost impossible to offer products designed and manufactured in France, with high added value, for sale through intermediaries (distributors, resellers) at competitive prices: when this is the case, the margins for the different actors are too low to allow the sustainability of their respective companies as shown by several media failures and many others that have been ignored;
There is still very little communication on the real cost of production of many products, and therefore the margin rates practiced, and many brands play on the legal notions of "made in such or such a country" to present as made in such and such a place a product that is in fact essentially produced in a completely different country with much less economic constraints, and with a much larger ecological footprint;
It is becoming necessary, at a time when alternative means of production allow new uses down to the individual level (3D FDM printing, laser cutting), to present not only finished products intended for sale, but also dematerialized products intended for solidarity sharing as well as for sale.
This implies several things:
we made the choice to propose our products mainly directly from our site, in order to maintain fair prices, rather than selling through distributors who would impose prohibitive prices. There will be some distribution, for some products, and by a chosen intermediary sharing our value system, and maybe also by another channel that we are currently studying;
moreover, we will mention from now on the complete detail of the places of production of our products and the elements which compose them, as well as the related production costs. To our knowledge, this transparency is unprecedented in the tactical field, and still very rare in other sectors. By this means, we wish to contribute to the awareness of the importance of French / European manufacturing and what it implies: contribution to the national and / or European economy, and ecology of the means: less maritime or air transport, locally manufactured and / or recycled materials. Choices already present on our current products;
For each project, we choose the manufacturing process according to the best compromise between quality of the part + production cost + ecological and human impact. As some projects are intended to evolve according to user needs, using conventional means involving heavy machining and large stocks of parts does not seem to us to be the best option, even if it would often be the most profitable in the short term: we prefer the ability to innovate and develop projects in response to user needs, rather than a policy of a fixed product that must be sold absolutely, even if it means offering it on special offer to sell off the stock (as is still too often the case, thanks to the considerable margins of low-cost production);
in parallel to the finished products, we will continue the development of free or paying downloadable solutions, which can be made by makers and individuals. Economy is not only profitability, it is above all economy: economy of means, human, material and technical. And shared dissemination is in itself a range of savings: of time to provide personnel in demand, of financial means that can then be used for other purposes, of human means as witnessed by the worldwide volunteer mobilization, providing in a very short time an unprecedented panel of innovative solutions at unprecedented speeds.
Confirmed in its capacities by a busy year 2020 at the service of the users, the whole PHOENIX EQUIPEMENT team hopes to contribute at its level to the renewal of the French individual military equipment, historically national domain, and of a Made in France / Europe thoughtful and motivated by the stakes of our time.
With these objectives in mind and in action, we wish you an excellent year 2021 🍾
