Laurent CATELAN, works at the Meylan site for Asteelflash Development, near Grenoble Department, as the Electronic Design Manager for the BU D&D Asteelflash. He is a technical expert in electronic research and development. He’s been in EMS industry for 36 years and all of that time he spent working for Asteelflash in research and development.
Laurent commenced his career as a Hardware Developer in the Research and Development department, building his experience in various projects, then progressed to the role of Project Manager before taking over the management of the different teams within the electronics division.
Some of his assigned tasks are:
A typical day for Laurent is centered on coordinating the Asteelflash Development team to track project progress, communicating with customers for project reporting, working with suppliers/manufacturers to research technical solutions, working with the different Asteelflash production sites to optimize the transfer of research and manufacturing processes and ensure the monitoring of the manufacturing lifecycle. It’s a mix of technical expertise, research and organizational job.
“My motivation lies in the diversity of my role. It allows me to stay at the forefront of constantly evolving technologies while maintaining close communication with both the technical team and our customers. Through our studies, we contribute to the technological evolution of the future of industry, medicine, and home automation”. -said Laurent.
With his 36 years of experience in the company’s engineering department, he is eager to share his expertise with colleagues and contribute to new customer projects. Laurent likes supporting younger engineers, helping them grow technically and professionally.
It's a blend of research, sharing, and practical application to arrive at a reliable and sustainable functional solution.
The main challenge is balancing multiple responsibilities, including technical and commercial aspects of projects, team management, and meeting both deadlines and budget targets. This also includes prioritizing actions based on customer or production site requests. In addition, it requires staying up to date with the latest innovations and technologies, as continuous evolution has become a key factor in the environment. Laurent has already experienced several phases of digital and technological transformation, each requiring adaptation and new ways of working. “Today, we are clearly in the AI wave, which is reshaping our tools, processes, and expectations, we are therefore constantly required to reinvent ourselves in order to remain effective and aligned with these rapid changes”- Laurent explained.
A key thread throughout his career has been the development of avalanche transceivers (ARVA), which have existed within the Asteelflash Design & Development for nearly 40 years. Personally, the Electronic Design Manager has contributed to 20 product generations, each evolving with new technologies. He worked on the initial versions as a hardware developer and later as the project manager for the complete product.
What marked him most is seeing how a product can continuously evolve over decades while maintaining the same core mission: helping to save lives in the mountains. Being a little part of this long-term technological and human adventure has been very rewarding.