Groupe Jourdan is a family-owned company that has been active in the heavy vehicle sector for the transport of goods and passengers for over 30 years. Created in Belgium, the group has been present in Luxembourg since 2012. It established a dealership for the Italian brand Iveco (CNH Industrial Group) in Kehlen, as well as a technical inspection site for all commercial vehicles and heavy goods vehicles.
“Since September 2020, we are no longer a dealer of the Iveco brand,” explains Pascal Briquemont, Project Manager – Zero Emissions Vehicles at Jourdan Luxembourg. “The announcement had been made two years earlier and this was the trigger for us to look for new ways to diversify.”
“To get to know ourself better”
This is how the company turned to Luxinnovation and its “Fit 4” performance programmes to organise and structure its development projects. “Such an approach was necessary to allow us to get to know ourself better and to take the time to evaluate our development possibilities,” explains Mr Jourdan.
This resulted in the integration into the Fit 4 Growth programme, with the support of the consultant Créaction International, specialised in industrial innovation.
The various stages of this support, from the initial diagnosis to a strategic segmentation, led to the identification and validation of no fewer than 8 remarkable ideas to be followed.
The basic concept finally retained is the transformation of electric vehicles into zero-emission hybrid electric-hydrogen vehicles. “It is this R&D project that we have submitted to the Ministry of the Economy under the name ‘Range extender H2J project’,” explains Mr Briquemont. “We also have other avenues such as the production of green hydrogen or active participation in a competence centre focused on the development of hydrogen and its use in mobility.”
As with many companies, the Covid pandemic has had a significant impact on the company. In particular, it has slowed down R&D procedures terribly, which have become less of a priority, and has limited the group’s contacts in neighbouring countries – Germany, Belgium and France. “The Fit 4 Growth programme will allow us to position ourselves in a new and very promising direction, once our research programme is completed in two years’ time.
“Jourdan Group is a perfect example of how a visionary family company can reinvent itself by mobilising its teams and resources, and thus perpetuate its activity by developing more environmentally friendly mobility,” enjoys Anthony Auert, manager of the Luxembourg AutoMobility Cluster at Luxinnovation.