Les Usines

What Les Usines does

Les Usines is a French non-profit association (Association AY128, association loi 1901) founded in 2011 by Cyril Chessé, Franck Courtioux, Christine Graval, and Denis Meunier to rehabilitate and operate the former textile spinning mill (Filature) of Ligugé, near Poitiers. The organization operates as a multi-activity tiers-lieu (third place) hosting approximately 30 resident structures across five sectors (new technologies, art and culture, environment, social economy, and crafts), supported by an association membership base of over 150 people.

Its core service portfolio is centered on a Fablab equipped with digital fabrication machinery (laser cutters, CNC milling machines, 3D printers, power tools and electronics), supplemented by workspace rental (offices, workshops, meeting rooms, coworking), a weekly producer market (Friday 17h-19h), community gardens (Jardins Familiaux rented at €0.30/m²/year), artist residency programs, guided tours and cultural mediation, and continuing-education training in digital fabrication. Strategic vertical applications include a partnership with CHU de Poitiers for 3D printing in medical imaging and surgical preparation.

The organization is funded through a hybrid model combining recurring membership fees, space and equipment rental, training revenue (often channeled through public schemes such as CPF and regional programs), event-based income, and grants from public-sector partners including EU FEDER, Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Grand Poitiers, Conseil Départemental de la Vienne, Fondation Orange, and Commune de Ligugé. Distribution occurs primarily through direct sales at the Ligugé site, supplemented by regional reseller partnerships via the Coopérative Tiers-Lieux network and Transformations training platform spanning 250+ tiers-lieux in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Name

Les Usines

Legal name

Association AY128

Website

https://lesusines.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Les Usines (Association AY128) is a French non-profit tiers-lieu in Ligugé operating a Fablab, workspace rentals, weekly producer market, community gardens, and artist residencies, serving ~30 resident organizations, 150+ members, and local entrepreneurs, artists, and producers across Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ligugé

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees to association AY128 provide access to working groups, proposal rights, and participation in the site's associative life.
2. Space Rental: Rental of offices, workshops, meeting rooms and training spaces. The Fablab also offers machine access and fabrication services.
3. Garden Plot Rental: Individual garden plots (Jardins Familiaux) rented annually at 0.30 euros per m² per year (e.g., 100m² = 30 euros per year).
4. Training Services: Continuing education and training programs in digital fabrication, offered in partnership with regional networks and funded by public programs (CPF, regional schemes).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Les Usines is a non-profit "tiers-lieu" (third place / community workspace) operating in a former textile mill at Ligugé, France. It rents shared offices, workshops, and meeting rooms to local entrepreneurs and organizations, operates an open-source Fablab with digital fabrication equipment, runs professional training programs, maintains community gardens, hosts a weekly producer market, and welcomes artists in residence. Members and the general public also access cultural visits and a business canteen on the historic site.

Product overview

Les Usines is a cooperative community space (tiers-lieu) located in the former textile mill of Ligugé, France. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected services including a Fablab with digital fabrication equipment (laser cutting, 3D printing, CNC milling), workspace rental, professional training, community gardens, a weekly local market, artistic residencies, and cultural mediation services. The space serves as a laboratory for economic and social experimentation, bringing together entrepreneurs, artists, artisans, and community members in sectors including technology, art, culture, environment, and social economy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fablab On-site open-source digital fabrication laboratory providing access to 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC machines, and electronics workstations for members, residents, and external users for prototyping and small-batch production.

Quantifiable outcome

• 842 visitors attended European Heritage Days 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Coopérative Tiers-LieuxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional network coordinating tiers-lieux, training programs, and ecosystem development. Partnered on Transformations training platform, Homemade maker support program, and joint initiatives across 250+ tiers-lieux in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
• CHU de PoitierscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical center partnered with Fablab for 3D printing training program. 10 medical residents and doctors trained in medical imaging 3D modeling and surgical preparation tools at ABS Lab, January-April 2022.
• Cobalt (Tiers-lieu numérique Poitiers)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital tiers-lieu in Poitiers partnering on the Make! program; offered discovery sessions of digital professions for participants.
• Résidence Habitat Jeunes Kennedy PoitiersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth housing residence in Poitiers partnered on the Make! training program targeting young people disengaged from education or employment.
• Consortium Coopérative (CAE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative for Activity and Employment partnered on the Make! program, helping recruit participants including entrepreneurs seeking to develop fabrication skills.
• Agence VU'minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhotography agency representing resident artist Claude Pauquet since 2003.
• Collectif ActeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtist collective co-producing exhibitions with Usines including artistic residencies featuring Estelle Deschamp and Bruno Silva.
• Association Solarium TournantminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation co-producing artistic residencies with Usines, exploring themes of magical thinking through visual arts.
• Le Lieu Multiple / EMFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in artistic residency projects including Véronique Béland's 'Haunted Telegraph' installation (2016), a production for the autumn 2016 season.
• Rur'ArtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArt association in Rouillé partnering on artistic residency projects and cultural programming.
• BipolarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction company in Montpellier partnering on artistic residency projects.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• WeWork: Global coworking and flexible-office incumbent. Comparable to Les Usines only as a broad incumbent in the workspace-rental category it competes in; WeWork does not offer fablab equipment, gardens, residencies, or non-profit community programming.

Direct peers

• Stereolux: Nantes-based cultural and digital fablab combining music/digital arts production with workshops, residencies, and a fablab. Comparable to Les Usines for its hybrid artist-residency-plus-digital-fabrication model and its reliance on public funding for cultural programming.
• La Ruche: Paris-based network of coworking spaces supporting entrepreneurs and changemakers, with shared services and event programming. Comparable to Les Usines for its community-driven workspace model, but it operates commercially across multiple sites.
• Yes We Camp: Marseille-based association operating innovative community spaces (e.g., Les Grands Carmes, La Friche) combining workspace, cultural programming, and urban experimentation. Comparable to Les Usines as a non-profit tiers-lieu operator with strong cultural programming and partnership funding.
• Mains d'Œuvres: Saint-Ouen tiers-lieu for artistic creation, training, and community engagement with event spaces and workshop facilities. Comparable to Les Usines for its artist-residency, training, and community-anchored multi-activity model on a former industrial site.
• La Paillasse: Paris-based community lab and fablab operating as an open-access shared space for makers, researchers, and citizen projects. Highly comparable to Les Usines: multi-activity tiers-lieu with digital fabrication, training, and cross-sector programming, but operating at a larger metropolitan scale.
• La Cordée: Lyon-based coworking and community space network with multiple sites offering workspace, events, and community programming. Comparable to Les Usines for its workspace-rental core, but it operates as a commercial (rather than non-profit) entity at greater scale.
• La Maison du Libre: Brest-based non-profit fablab offering digital fabrication, training, and open community access. Comparable to Les Usines as a regional French fablab operating on a non-profit, community-supported model with public funding.
• Le Shadok: Strasbourg-based tiers-lieu dedicated to digital fabrication, culture, and experimentation, hosting fablab equipment, events, and residencies. Comparable to Les Usines as a publicly-funded community fablab combining maker tools with cultural programming.

Others

• Coopérative Tiers-Lieux: Network cooperative coordinating 250+ French tiers-lieux including training, advocacy, and ecosystem development. Les Usines is itself a member; included as an OTHERS peer because it functions as an ecosystem enabler and training distributor rather than a directly competing site.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LesUsines
• Facebookfacebook.com/LesUsinesLiguge
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/les-usines-la-filature

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Les Usines