The Competitiveness Cluster PASS (Perfumes-Aromas-Flavors-Scents) of the Pays de Grasse has 128 members, with 49 million euros invested in all R&D projects, which equates to 6,688 euros per employee of the member companies, nearly 11 million in public funding mobilized for these projects, or 1,427 euros per employee of the member companies, and two certified technology platforms.
The year 2010 laid decisive foundations that will allow the strategy to be more strongly deployed in 2011. 2010 was an especially dense year for the PASS Cluster. It was also rich in good news, with the confirmation of the national label, the implementation of the ERINI technology platform, and the conclusion of strategic partnerships.
In 2011, the priorities will focus on the development of collaborative R&D projects, bringing together members around innovative initiatives and continuing the structuring technology programs that support them: supporting the deployment of the ERINI analytical chemistry platform, a crucial tool in understanding natural extracts, and studying other programs in the fields of eco-extraction or process intensification.
It also seems essential to actively continue the engaged partnership policy. It indeed allows for the densification of the R&D project flow by accessing complementary skills and technologies or even expanding the spectrum of natural raw materials that can be valued by the aromatic and cosmetic industry.
Collaborations with Mediterranean countries will notably develop by uniting partners around common goals. All efforts are already being mobilized to realize this ambitious project during the third edition of the “International Congress of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants,” which will be associated with the “Essential Oils Days of Digne” next September.
The coming year thus promises to be intense and will require everyone’s cooperation. Collective mobilization is the very foundation of a Competitiveness Cluster, and it is also the best guarantee of success.
