Magazine
"The sense of challenge, team spirit and customer satisfaction are the values that guide me on a daily basis"
by Romain Billiotte
Technical Director of Jean Rousseau’s design office, Romain Billiotte is at the heart of the Maison’s research & development activities. His knowledge and expertise and that of his team are the key to our most special and most innovative achievements!
After studying micro-mechanics, I worked for two years as a technical project manager for a company specializing in metallic elements for leather goods: the mouths of belts; clasps; and other cufflinks. Fifteen years ago, I joined Jean Rousseau as an industrialization development technician and today I am responsible for the entire department.
I am in charge of the technical dimension of our creations, that is to say the development of the industrialization processes and the prototyping of parts: each new part goes through the technical office which offers assembly solutions, creates specific tools, and defines the industrial operationality.
People don’t always imagine it, but creating leather goods is a multi-step process that involves a number of different specialists and professions. This is what I particularly like about my job: being at the heart of the company and interacting with all of our teams. On a daily basis, I work with the purchasing department to research products and suppliers, with the prototypists for the development of our creations and the craftsmen’s workshop for their artisanal know-how, which sometimes involves thinking about new techniques. There is also the tannery, mechanics, marketing and sales. It is a very dynamic environment!
“I like to find solutions to problems that seem insoluble”
My role is to find a way to continuously improve our products to meet the expectations of our customers, who are made up of true connoisseurs. The satisfaction of our customers is precisely one of the values that guides me on a daily basis, along with a sense of challenge and team spirit. I take great pleasure in finding solutions to problems that initially seem impossible to solve.
When I arrived at the factory, for example, I participated in the manufacture of a semi-remborded bracelet. To rembord means to fold something back on itself in a particular way when the edge of the piece which has been trimmed and glued beforehand. To achieve this, we had to design numerous new machines and processes. It was passionate. Similarly when I had to invent a machine to make the sheathing of a phone in stingray skin.
This culture of never giving in to difficulties characterizes our work at Jean Rousseau, where innovation is very present, both in our manufacturing methods and in the leather finishes developed in our tannery. We don’t hesitate to internally create the tools we need to follow our inspiration.