The largest city in northwest France and the sixth-largest in the country, Nantes is a centre of history, culture, technological innovation, and green sensibilities. Recognised by the European Green Capital label, regularly coming first as the most liveable city in France, it is attracting associations like the French Titanium Association, the French Society for Metallurgy and Materials (SF2M) which were instrumental in getting the World Conference on Titanium to La Cité Nantes Congress Centre next June.
The World Conference on Titanium (Ti-2019) is the fourteenth in a series of meetings that have been held every four years since 1968. Expected to attract 1,000 delegates, it will bring together the world’s titanium community to present and discuss progress in titanium science and technology. Supported by the French Titanium Association, the French Society for Metallurgy and Materials (SF2M) with the endorsement of Region Pays de Loire and Nantes city council, it is chaired by Patrick Villechaise, director of research at the CNRS.
“Nantes was selected by the International Organizing Committee thanks to the city and region’s significant group of industrial and academic actors, who are all experts on titanium, its high value alloys, and its many applications,” explains Patrick Villechaise. “The attractiveness of Nantes also made the difference. The city is easy to reach (2 hours from Paris by high-speed train), with a wealth of possible cultural activities, and it is very easy to discover by foot or public transport. La Cité Nantes Congress Centre also enjoys an ideal location in the heart of the city, and has a very ‘we can do it’ attitude when it comes to the organization of high-profile conferences like Ti-2019.”
The French industrial cluster for advanced manufacturing technologies, EMC2 was designated operational support of the event. Led by CEO Laurent Manach, it aims to reinforce the regional innovation and growth ecosystem in order to help the French industry become more competitive with a focus on advanced manufacturing technologies as a shared cross-disciplinary feature.
“This is the first time that Nantes hosts the World Titanium Congress” says Patrick Villechaise. “The program will have new features, including the visit of industrial sites. The idea is to meet key players in the territory working on titanium and discover their expertise, their way of working, their equipment…” A competitive and innovative regional capital, Nantes has indeed witnessed a booming of new high-tech industries over the last decade. Today, the territory is a centre of excellence for a large number of key industries such as science and technology.
La Cité Nantes is located just opposite the high-speed train station and 20 minutes from the international airport, and can host any type of events from 200 to 4,000 participants, with state-of-the art equipment in line with environmentally-friendly practices. It is also the only French convention centre with the AIPC ‘Gold’ Quality Standards, and has 1,100 hotel rooms within walking distance.
Contact: olivier.lefloch@lacite-nantes.fr lacite-nantes.com. This article was written by Boardroom Chief Editor Rémi Dévé and is part of an extensive France feature in the May edition of Boardroom.