[Les Echos Judiciaires] Olikrom sees itself as an industrial ETI thanks to its luminescent paint

Founded in 2014 in Pessac by Jean-François Létard, a chemistry researcher from the CNRS and the University of Bordeaux, Olikrom is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a singular trajectory in the French industrial landscape. The company is based on a simple but ambitious principle: to control the entire value chain, from idea to finished product, by developing intelligent pigments capable of reacting to stimuli (temperature, light, pressure, gas) and integrating them into ready-to-use formulations (inks, paints, plastics).

This positioning has enabled Olikrom to build legitimacy at the crossroads of strategic sectors: aeronautics, space, defense, security, cosmetics, healthcare, mobility, construction, luxury… Unlike a start-up model focused on fund-raising and outsourcing, Olikrom has built a perennial, solid, profitable, independent industrial SME – with 20 employees – and anchored in Gironde, on a production site designed in 2017.

A strategy based on intellectual property, industrial patience and sustainable value creation

From the outset, intellectual property protection has been a strategic pillar of Olikrom’s strategy. Olikrom relies on a solid portfolio of patents and does not license its technology freely. Co-construction with manufacturers is at the heart of the process: based on precise specifications, the company designs a tailor-made pigment, formulates the product, validates its performance, then produces it under contract – under white label in 90% of cases. The only exception is LuminoKrom®, a photoluminescent paint for night-time signage, used by over 150 local authorities.

This demanding model implies a very different relationship to time: each innovation requires two to eight years of R&D, and only one project in ten reaches the industrialization phase. To respond to this complexity, Olikrom has structured four in-house laboratories (pigments, inks, paints, plastics) and invested in production lines to guarantee consistency between design, quality and volume.

Controlled growth, strong local roots and a ten-year vision

By 2024, Olikrom has become a profitable company. In 2025, it enters a phase of “reasoned growth”, faithful to its principles of independence and agility. The workforce was stabilized at 20, and a subsidiary dedicated to industrialization was created, with 5% of the capital held by employees. An extension to the site is currently underway, with the aim of tripling the production area over the next two years. This industrial expansion will support the manufacture of new product ranges – particularly in the fields of industrial safety and ecological transition (chrome 6 replacement, leak detection, solvent-free markers, etc.).

The company has clearly stated its ambitions: to make Olikrom a key regional, national and international player in the smart materials market. By combining science, industrial rigor, confidentiality and a long-term vision, Olikrom claims to be exceptional: a company that transforms fundamental research into useful products, produced in France and designed to last.