CRITT Bois
CRITT Bois is a French non-profit technology transfer center founded in 1986 and based in Épinal, providing testing, R&D, digital engineering, and training services exclusively to wood industry SMEs across France and the Greater Region.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1986
- HeadquartersÉpinal, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CRITT Bois does
CRITT Bois (legal name CRITT BOIS) is a French non-profit association founded in 1986 and headquartered on the ENSTIB campus of Université de Lorraine in Épinal (Vosges, Grand Est region). It operates as a regional center for innovation and technology transfer exclusively dedicated to the wood industry, providing technical studies, laboratory testing, material characterization, digital engineering, and customized training to wood-sector companies across France and, increasingly, the Greater Region (Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany).
The organization's offering is organized around three service poles: Construction / Sustainable Buildings (including CRITTHERM, a proprietary thermal calculation software for window and joinery performance); Bio-sourced Chemistry (extraction and characterization of bioactive molecules from bark and wood by-products, biosolvents, biomaterials); and Digital Engineering / Industry 4.0 (BIM, MES, ERP, and GMAO implementation support for wood industry SMEs). It also manages the official French registry of non-labelled wood heating devices eligible for the ADEME-funded Fonds Air Bois subsidy program, providing a quasi-regulatory function.
CRITT Bois generates revenue through fee-for-service technical studies and testing, recurring annual membership fees from wood-industry companies, region/EU-subsidized collective operations (notably the Opération Collective Grand Est co-run with FCBA), and volume-tiered registry analysis fees (€250–€185 HT per report). Its go-to-market is sales-led and trust-based, leveraging institutional positioning (ADEME mandate, Carnot Icèel membership, Fédération Nationale du Bois partnerships) rather than direct sales infrastructure. Delivery is primarily direct and project-based, with team interventions across France and collaborative R&D consortia in the Greater Region.
CRITT Bois firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CRITT Bois
- Legal name
- CRITT BOIS
- Website
- https://crittbois.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1986
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CRITT Bois is a French non-profit technology transfer center founded in 1986 and based in Épinal, providing testing, R&D, digital engineering, and training services exclusively to wood industry SMEs across France and the Greater Region.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where CRITT Bois is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Épinal
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
CRITT Bois business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Prestations d'études, expertises et essais: Fee-for-service technical studies, expertise, and testing services for wood industry companies. Revenue generated from characterization, testing, and engineering studies.
- Membership fees / Adhésions: Annual membership fees from companies in the wood industry sector.
- Opérations collectives régionales: Collective regional programs co-funded by the Région Grand Est and EU (FEDER), providing subsidized support to wood industry SMEs.
- Registre Fonds Air Bois — Analysis fees: CRITT Bois is commissioned by ADEME to manage the French registry of non-labelled wood heating devices eligible for 'Fonds Air Bois' subsidies. Analysis fees charged to manufacturers: €250-185 per test report depending on volume.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Initial product test report analysis (per rapport PV) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Digital transformation support per module |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
CRITT Bois product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CRITT Bois is a regional technology transfer center providing technical studies, material testing and characterization, R&D project management, and customized training to wood-industry companies. Its core service offerings are organized in three poles — Construction / Sustainable Buildings, Bio-sourced Chemistry, and Digital Engineering (BIM, Industry 4.0, ERP/MES/GMAO) — supplemented by the proprietary CRITTHERM thermal calculation software for joinery and the ADEME-commissioned French registry of eligible wood heating devices (Fonds Air Bois).
Product overview
CRITT Bois operates as a Regional Innovation and Technology Transfer Center for the wood industry, offering a portfolio of technical services, software tools, and collaborative R&D projects. The core service offerings span three poles: Construction / Sustainable Buildings (including CRITTHERM thermal calculation software), Bio-sourced Chemistry, and Digital Engineering / Industrial Performance. These are complemented by collective programs (Opération Collective Grand Est), digital platforms (Continuum Numérique), and numerous collaborative research projects including ExtraBark, MYCOREM, 2MIB, ECO-VALUE, SOPRANO'TEX, and Woodchem Valley. The organization does not sell a unified software product but rather provides expert technical assistance, testing services, training, and manages R&D collaborations with industry and academic partners.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CRITTHERM: Thermal calculation software for joinery/window thermal performance
Products and services
- CRITTHERM CRITTHERM is a proprietary thermal calculation software tool that enables performance analysis and certification of wood windows, doors, and joinery. It is used by CRITT Bois engineers and made available to wood joinery professionals.
- Construction / Bâtiments Durables (technical support for wood construction) Technical support services for wooden construction projects including accompaniment, testing, characterization, and modeling for sustainable buildings. Designed for wood construction companies, architects, design offices, and specifiers needing RE 2020 compliance and structural wood expertise.
- Chimie bio sourcée (Bio-sourced chemistry R&D) Research and development services focused on bio-sourced materials, biosolvents, and molecules of interest derived from wood and forest biomass. Aimed at chemical-industry companies in cosmetics, agronomy, biomaterials, and specialty chemicals seeking biomass expertise and molecule extraction/characterization support.
- Ingénierie Numérique (Digital engineering and Industry 4.0) Digital engineering services covering BIM (Building Information Modeling), Industry 4.0 solutions, and digital transformation support for wood industry enterprises, including ERP, MES, and GMAO implementation assistance for small and medium wood-industry firms.
- Formation (Customized wood-industry training) Customized, intra-company training programs for wood-industry professionals, covering regulations (e.g., RE 2020), standards, techniques, and technologies. Designed to address the specific needs of each company and its trainees.
- Opération Collective Grand Est (collective support program for window manufacturers) Collective support program for Bois and Bois-Alu window manufacturers in the Grand Est region, providing technical workshops and personalized assistance on design, performance, sustainable management, quality, and wood protection. Co-developed with FCBA and co-funded by Région Grand Est.
- Digitalisation des processus industriels (industrial digitalization for wood SMEs) Industrial digitalization support services for wood-industry TPE and PME, including ERP, MES, and GMAO implementation assistance, with subsidies up to €10,000 per module available from Région Grand Est.
- Continuum Numérique (wood-industry networking web platform) Web platform for networking production units in the French wood industry, facilitating business partnerships, subcontracting, and collaborative innovation between wood-industry companies.
- Registre Fonds Air Bois (ADEME-commissioned registry of eligible wood heating devices) Registry of non-Flamme Verte certified domestic wood heating devices eligible for Air Bois Funds, managed by CRITT Bois on behalf of ADEME. Manufacturers pay degressive analysis fees (€250 HT down to €185 HT per report) for inclusion in the registry, enabling customers to access public subsidies.
Quantifiable outcome
- ExtraBark project will develop biosourced plant protection products from bark extractibles, contributing to reduced use of conventional pesticides
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use CRITT Bois
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
CRITT Bois technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
CRITT Bois partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- FCBA (Forêt Cellulose Bois-Construction Aménagement)coreCRITT Bois partnered with FCBA to deploy a collective operation for wooden and mixed wood-aluminum window manufacturers in Grand Est region, with financial support from Région Grand Est. FCBA provides technical expertise and conformity assessment for NF DTU 36.5 standards.
- UMR BBF (Unité Mixte de Recherche Biodiversité, Fonctionnement et évolution des écosystèmes forestiers)corePartnership with UMR BBF for fundamental research on mycoremediation of creosote-treated wood. UMR BBF brings expertise in fungal strain identification and molecular mechanisms of PAH degradation for the MYCOREM project.
- SRB Valorisation EnvironnementcorePartner in MYCOREM project responsible for environmental evaluation and valorization pathways for decontaminated wood. Contributes eco-toxicological assessment and life cycle analysis (ACV).
- Valbiom (Wallonia Biomass)coreLead coordinator of the ExtraBark Interreg Grand Région project. Valbiom leads the initiative to valorize extractibles from bark for plant protection applications across the Greater Region (Wallonia, Luxembourg, Lorraine, Rhineland-Palatinate).
- Université de Liège — Laboratoire de Chimie des Molécules NaturellescoreContributes chemical extraction and analytical chemistry expertise for extracting and characterizing bioactive molecules from bark in the ExtraBark project.
- LIST (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology)coreLuxembourg research partner in ExtraBark, contributing laboratory extraction and scaling capabilities for bark-derived plant protection products.
- LERMAB (Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Matériau Bois)coreResearch laboratory at Université de Lorraine (ENSTIB campus) specializing in wood science. Partner in ExtraBark and other R&D projects, contributing materials characterization expertise.
- Filière Bois WallonieminorBelgian wood industry association participating in ExtraBark, representing the interests of the wood processing sector in Wallonia.
- Institut Carnot IcéelcoreCRITT Bois is a member of Institut Carnot Icéel. Through this network, CRITT Bois participates in collaborative R&D projects (ECO-VALUE, 2MIB) with other Icéel labs: Institut Jean Lamour, LRGP, LERMAB, LCPM, LIEC, GeoRessources.
- Commission Palettes de la FNB (Fédération Nationale du Bois)coreThe Commission Palettes of FNB commissioned CRITT Bois Épinal to conduct the prospective study 'Palette bois et Industrie du Futur' (2021) on digitalization and Industry 4.0 for the French wooden pallet sector. The federation continues to collaborate with CRITT Bois on disseminating study results.
- SYPAL (Syndicat des Palettes)minorPartner in the MES technical day organized by CRITT Bois and FNB Commission Palettes, representing pallet manufacturers in discussions on manufacturing execution systems.
- Fibois Grand EstminorRegional wood industry interprofession in Grand Est, collaborating with CRITT Bois on the WoodChem Valley feasibility study to identify market opportunities for local wood-based specialty chemicals.
- ENSTIB (École Nationale Supérieure des Technologies et Industries du Bois)coreCRITT Bois is physically located on the ENSTIB campus and collaborates closely with the school and its research labs (LERMAB). This co-location provides access to facilities, student talent, and academic expertise.
- Pôle Bois — Communauté d'Agglomération d'ÉpinalminorCRITT Bois participates in the Green Valley initiative (ecoparc) led by the Agglomération d'Épinal, aimed at attracting wood transformation industries to the Epinal area.
- Fédération Nationale du Bois (FNB)coreFNB represents France's wood industry (excluding furniture and paper). FNB's Commission Palettes commissioned the PAL'INNOV study and collaborated on organizing MES technical days.
- SOPREMA / PAVATEXcoreSOPREMA/PAVATEX partnered with CRITT Bois, LERMAB, and CETELOR in the SOPRANO'TEX project (2019-2022) to establish an R&D team at the PAVATEX factory in Golbey, developing natural wood fiber insulation products.
- CETELORminorResearch partner in SOPRANO'TEX, contributing to the R&D effort on wood fiber insulation at the PAVATEX factory.
- Aerial, Agria Grand Est, FRD, RITTMO AgroenvironnementminorPartners in the 2MIB project (2020-2022) focused on valorizing non-food biomasses. CRITT Bois contributed bark and wood extractibles expertise within this multi-partner consortium funded by Région Grand Est and FEDER.
- Université de LorrainecoreParent university of ENSTIB campus where CRITT Bois is located. LERMAB research laboratory (part of Université de Lorraine) is a frequent collaborator on R&D projects including ExtraBark, SOPRANO'TEX, and ECO-VALUE.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CRITT Bois competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- INRAE: French national research institute for agriculture, food, and environment. INRAE conducts forest and wood biomass research that intersects with CRITT Bois's bio-sourced chemistry projects (ExtraBark partner UMR BBF is an INRAE-affiliated lab), making it a broad incumbent in the same research ecosystem.
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden: Swedish state-owned research institute with wood and纤维 research divisions covering bioeconomy, wood material science, and digital manufacturing. Comparable wood-related testing and R&D capabilities, though operating within a much broader national research portfolio.
- Tecnalia: Spanish applied research center with bioeconomy and sustainable construction programs, including work on wood-derived materials and Industry 4.0 applied to manufacturing. Functions as a regional/national technology transfer intermediary with broader scope than CRITT Bois.
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland: Finnish applied research organization with a dedicated biomaterials and wood products research program. VTT is a much larger multi-domain research institute, but its wood-related activities (testing, characterization, bioeconomy) overlap significantly with CRITT Bois's service portfolio.
Emerging players
- CIRAD: French agricultural research and international cooperation organization working on tropical and temperate forestry, wood products, and bioeconomy. Overlaps with CRITT Bois on bio-sourced chemistry, wood materials characterization, and circular economy applied to forest resources.
Direct peers
- Wood K Plus: Austrian competence center for wood composites, wood-based materials, and wood industry digitalization. Conducts applied R&D and technology transfer for the Austrian and European wood sector with similar structure combining research, testing, and industry service offerings.
- FPInnovations: Canadian not-for-profit forest products research institute delivering R&D, testing, and technology transfer services to the Canadian and global wood industry. Closely comparable mission, funding model, and service portfolio to CRITT Bois.
- Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research (WKI): German applied research institute within the Fraunhofer Society focused on wood research, material testing, and process technology. Performs testing, characterization, and technology transfer for the wood industry at national and European scale, closely analogous to CRITT Bois's role in France.
- Innovhub SSI: Italian innovation hub operating specialized laboratories for paper, wood, and packaging testing and certification. Comparable role as a national wood industry technology and testing center for Italian manufacturers.
- FCBA (Forêt Cellulose Bois-Construction Aménagement): French technical center dedicated to the forest, cellulose, wood, construction, and interior design sectors. FCBA is CRITT Bois's closest peer in France, providing testing, certification, and technical services to wood industry companies, and is already an active partner on the Opération Collective Grand Est window manufacturers program.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CRITT Bois social profiles
Digital presenceCRITT Bois financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CRITT Bois leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
CRITT Bois funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CRITT Bois M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CRITT Bois
What does CRITT Bois do?
CRITT Bois is a regional technology transfer center providing technical studies, material testing and characterization, R&D project management, and customized training to wood-industry companies. Its core service offerings are organized in three poles — Construction / Sustainable Buildings, Bio-sourced Chemistry, and Digital Engineering (BIM, Industry 4.0, ERP/MES/GMAO) — supplemented by the proprietary CRITTHERM thermal calculation software for joinery and the ADEME-commissioned French registry of eligible wood heating devices (Fonds Air Bois).
Is CRITT Bois a public or private company?
CRITT Bois is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was CRITT Bois founded?
CRITT Bois was founded in 1986. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CRITT Bois based?
CRITT Bois is headquartered in Épinal, France, in the Europe region.
How does CRITT Bois make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Prestations d'études, expertises et essais are the primary driver. The others are membership fees / Adhésions, opérations collectives régionales and registre Fonds Air Bois — Analysis fees.
Who are CRITT Bois's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are INRAE, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Tecnalia and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. CIRAD is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Wood K Plus, FPInnovations, Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research (WKI), Innovhub SSI and FCBA (Forêt Cellulose Bois-Construction Aménagement).
Does CRITT Bois have an API?
No public API is recorded for CRITT Bois.