The "Grand Prix des Entreprises de Croissance", organised in partnership with Leaders League, the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance, the French business federation Medef and public investment bank Bpifrance, is awarded to French companies that have achieved outstanding growth in the previous three years (2010-2012). During this period, ESI Group's turnover rose on average by 13.2% a year.
Apart from the basic growth requirement, the award was based on a thorough examination of six criteria demonstrating the excellence of ESI Group over the long term, namely:
- Sustainability and profitability: the market leader in virtual prototyping for over 40 years, ESI Group has established a loyal customer base with a high level of repeat business, giving it a solid business platform and financial position.
- Job creation: during the period, a surge in business for ESI Group led to the recruitment of some 200 employees, taking the Group's workforce to over 1,000 experts in over 40 countries today.
- Corporate social responsibility: this aspect lies at the very heart of the Group's values and, in essence, its business, which seeks to eliminate physical prototypes and accelerate the development of innovative, more environmentally friendly products. ESI's solutions therefore reduce the environmental impact of industry.
- Leadership and collaborative management: the Company's internal organisation is designed to empower managers and employees, as well as encouraging global teamwork.
- Innovation: for 40 years, innovation has been a strategic priority for the Group. With a dedicated investment policy and a network of high-level technology partnerships, ESI is driving the pace of industrial innovation across all sectors.
- Development and growth potential: ESI's virtual prototyping solutions are essential for accelerating the innovation and development of new products and they therefore have significant growth potential in many industry verticals that are not yet mature enough for this disruptive technology.
Alain de Rouvray, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ESI Group, said: "This award is a valuable testimony to the excellence shown by ESI Group teams worldwide over more than 40 years. With its increasingly innovative virtual prototyping solutions, the Group has made a global name for itself due to its vitality and technological expertise, through which it has helped to secure the long-term industrial leadership of its customers. The award also recognises the Group's ambition to usher in the ICT based fourth industrial revolution, fostering a more efficient economy through disruptive productivity gains and a more engaged social responsibility. Given the quality of the candidates and the elite selection process, being chosen for the first edition of this brand new award is not only an honour for the Group, but it also sends out a strong signal that spurs on our indomitable quest for excellence."