IFRAM In Vulcan’s forge

They are the oldest and richest crafts in the world. The forge and metal trades encompass an amazing range of activities, from wrought ironwork to locksmithing, cutlery, blacksmithing, coppersmithing, toolmaking and art foundry. The few dozen passionate craftsmen who carry on these trades today have been worried about their decline for over half a century.

In 2001, this observation led the sector to create IFRAM (the Institute of Training and Research for Metal Crafts), a non-profit organization based in the Rouen region (Normandy), to revitalize the trades. The challenge was energetically met. IFRAM has had the "Pôle National d’Innovation pour l’Artisanat des Métaux" label since 2003. In a context of drastically reduced subsidies for the organization, the award of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize for the Intelligence of the Hand by the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation is an unhoped-for opportunity for a new impetus.