Lectra Announces a Strategic Partnership with AQC

Press Release

The Group invests in Artificial Intelligence dedicated to textile quality control.

Paris, October 07, 2024 – Lectra announced today a strategic partnership with the French company, AQC.

As a major player in the fashion, automotive and furniture markets, Lectra contributes to the Industry 4.0 revolution by providing software, cutting equipment, data analytics solutions and associated services to brands, manufacturers and retailers.

Founded in 2019, AQC develops and sells SaaS solutions based on Artificial Intelligence and innovative equipment for automatic textile defect recognition powered by machine learning algorithms. AQC aims to accelerate the textile quality control processes, which are still largely manual and rely on the expertise of highly skilled operators.

"Partnering with a leading technology company like Lectra, which has a strong presence in the fashion industry, will allow us to accelerate our technical and commercial development," declare Pierre Magrangeas and Christian Bracich, co-founders of AQC.

“AQC’s ambition to bring textile quality control into the era of Industry 4.0 and address sustainability challenges perfectly aligns with the Lectra group’s strategy," says Maximilien Abadie, Chief Strategy Officer et Chief Product Officer of Lectra. "This strategic partnership will allow our customers to benefit from AQC's expertise and will strengthen Lectra’s value proposition by incorporating an additional link in the value chain for our fashion customers.”

This strategic partnership involves the acquisition of a minority stake of about 30% in the capital of AQC, through a capital investment of 1.3 million euros. Lectra has options to gradually increase its stake in AQC to support its development.

About Lectra:

A major player in the fashion, automotive and furniture markets, Lectra contributes to the development of Industry 4.0 with boldness and passion, fully integrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into its global strategy.

The Group offers industrial intelligence solutions - software, cutting equipment, data analysis solutions and associated services - that facilitate the digital transformation of the companies it serves. In doing so, Lectra helps its customers push boundaries and unlock their potential. The Group is proud to state that its 3,000 employees are driven by three core values: being open-minded thinkers, trusted partners and passionate innovators.

Founded in 1973, Lectra reported revenues of 478 million euros in 2023. The company is listed on Euronext, where it is included in the following indices: CAC All Shares, CAC Technology, EN Tech Leaders and ENT PEAPME 150.

For more information, visit lectra.com.

This press release was issued October 7, 2024. Lectra is a member of SPESA.

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