Ailes de Cristal 2025: Lorraine’s Business Champions Shine in Nancy as Salon GO Powers the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

Nancy (Grand Est, France) – 27 November 2025

The business community in Lorraine is celebrating on two fronts this week. On Wednesday evening, the 10th edition of the Ailes de Cristal awards brought together leading companies, start‑ups and public decision‑makers at Nancy’s Prouvé Convention Center, while the Salon GO entrepreneurship fair transformed the same venue into a one‑stop shop for aspiring founders as part of the Eco Day 2025 program. ^[1]

Together, these events underscore how Nancy is positioning itself as a flagship hub for innovation, entrepreneurship and regional pride in 2025.

A decade of “Crystal Wings” for Lorraine’s economy

Launched ten years ago by the EBRA media group and its regional titles L’Est Républicain, Le Républicain Lorrain and Vosges Matin, the Ailes de Cristal (Crystal Wings) have grown from a regional initiative into a key barometer of economic vitality in Lorraine. ^[2]

The 2025 ceremony, held on 26 November at the Prouvé Convention Center in Nancy, marked the awards’ tenth anniversary. Organisers emphasised how the event has become a meeting point between established regional champions and younger, high‑potential ventures:

large industrial and service groups,
mid‑sized firms and family businesses anchored in their territories,
start‑ups and scale‑ups driven by innovation and international ambitions. ^[3]

In an increasingly tough and digitalised marketplace, the evening is framed as a “parenthesis” where regional leaders step back from day‑to‑day pressures to celebrate long‑term success. Christophe Mahieu, director general of the three Lorraine newspapers, described the gala as an “enchanted interlude despite a difficult economic context” and called on attendees to “cultivate the pride of being from Lorraine.” ^[4]

The 2025 winners: five stories that embody Lorraine’s momentum

For this anniversary edition, the jury selected one laureate per département, plus a dedicated Innovation Trophy, from nearly a hundred nominated companies across Moselle, Meurthe‑et‑Moselle, Meuse and Vosges. ^[5]

Innovation Trophy – Noctimed (Saint‑Dié‑des‑Vosges)

The Innovation Trophy went to Noctimed, a young medtech company founded by 23‑year‑old ergotherapist Ahmad Chalhoub. Based in Saint‑Dié‑des‑Vosges, the start‑up has developed an automated medical device that allows people with reduced mobility to move from a seated to a lying position without effort. ^[6]

Already recognised by several innovation prizes, Noctimed has just raised €700,000 to finalise development and testing of its prototype, with production slated to start in Nancy. The company illustrates how research, healthcare and industrial know‑how can combine in the region to generate both social impact and industrial jobs. ^[7]

Moselle – Wack Sport

In Moselle, the award went to Wack Sport, a specialist in table‑tennis equipment. The company has built a strong reputation among both elite athletes and amateur clubs thanks to a combination of technical products, fast logistics and e‑commerce expertise. Recognising Wack Sport highlights how niche, high‑performance brands can gain national and international visibility from a regional base. ^[8]

Vosges – Fraispertuis City

The Vosges trophy honoured Fraispertuis City, an amusement park that has just completed a record‑breaking 2025 season. Beyond tourism, the park plays a growing role in local employment, seasonal work and the attractiveness of the Vosges as a family destination, which explains its presence in a line‑up traditionally dominated by industrial and service firms. ^[9]

Meurthe‑et‑Moselle – Urbanloop

Representing Meurthe‑et‑Moselle, Urbanloop was rewarded for its ultra‑innovative system of autonomous electric capsules running on dedicated tracks. The company, born out of engineering research in the Nancy area, has already been showcased in major international projects and was selected for a €30 million contract in Dunkirk, adding to previous milestones linked to the Paris Olympics and Abu Dhabi. ^[10]

Urbanloop’s trajectory shows how a mobility start‑up can scale from local experimentation to global deployment, while keeping design and production in Lorraine.

Meuse – Bergère de France

In Meuse, the jury distinguished Bergère de France, the last major wool spinning mill of its kind in France. One year after being taken over as a worker cooperative (SCOP) by 56 employees, the company has restarted production, hired around a dozen additional staff and relaunched exports as far as Canada. ^[11]

The award recognises both industrial resilience and a successful employee‑led turnaround, with the cooperative now working to modernise its image and attract a younger clientele without abandoning its historic know‑how.

Beyond trophies: AI, e‑invoicing and sovereignty at the heart of the debate

The 10th Ailes de Cristal ceremony is more than a prize‑giving night. Between each award, the programme featured round‑tables and expert talks on some of the hottest topics facing SMEs:

the transition to mandatory electronic invoicing,
the impact of artificial intelligence on business models and jobs,
leadership transitions and succession at the head of companies,
financing growth in a context of uncertainty. ^[12]

Speakers included entrepreneurs, regional business leaders and innovation specialists such as Nikita Mulard, managing director of Gérardmer‑based textile company Garnier Thiébaut, who insisted on the importance of “valuing made in France”, as well as representatives from the MEDEF employers’ federation and tech companies like Cognivance and Mirai Tech. ^[13]

The prefect of Meurthe‑et‑Moselle, Yves Séguy, also addressed the audience, tying the themes of decarbonisation and AI into a broader message on economic and technological sovereignty. He stressed that the state intends to support businesses both in the ecological transition and in their adoption of artificial intelligence, while warning that society must “decarbonise or it will not be.” ^[14]

Salon GO: future founders meet the ecosystem at Eco Day Nancy 2025

While the Ailes de Cristal highlighted success stories, the Salon GO focused on those who are just starting out. On 26 November, the fair took over part of the Prouvé Convention Center as a core component of Eco Day Nancy 2025, the major annual gathering for the territory’s economy. ^[15]

According to La Gazette France and the event organisers, Salon GO is designed as a single entry point for anyone wanting to create, take over or develop a business in Meurthe‑et‑Moselle: ^[16]

A “village” of several dozen exhibitors brings together chambers of commerce and trades, banks, insurers, accountants, lawyers, public‑sector agencies and private experts. ^[17]
Throughout the day, visitors can attend practical workshops on topics such as choosing the right legal structure, micro‑enterprise taxation, business transfer and franchise models, financing and electronic invoicing. ^[18]
One‑to‑one consultations allow project holders—whether at the idea stage or already advanced—to challenge their business plans, test market assumptions and clarify funding needs. ^[19]

Event partners include the CCI Grand Nancy Métropole Meurthe‑et‑Moselle, regional and local government bodies, professional organisations, and major financial institutions such as Crédit Agricole, BPALC, MAAF or KPMG, underlining the collective mobilisation of the regional ecosystem around entrepreneurship. ^[20]

Organisers repeat a key message: a business creation or takeover project that is properly supported has far higher chances of long‑term success, which explains the strong focus on personalised advice and diagnostics throughout the day. ^[21]

Prouvé Convention Center: the stage for Lorraine’s economic story

Both the Ailes de Cristal gala and Salon GO are staged at the Centre des Congrès Prouvé, a modern complex just 100 metres from Nancy’s main railway station—about an hour and a half from Paris by high‑speed train. ^[22]

The venue, completed in 2014 on the site of the former postal sorting office designed by celebrated architect Jean Prouvé, offers: ^[23]

a large 850‑seat auditorium and a 300‑seat secondary auditorium,
a 2,700 m² exhibition hall,
12 meeting rooms,
a panoramic restaurant and a 450‑space underground car park.

Equipped with a photovoltaic plant, electric‑vehicle charging points and energy‑efficient façades, the building also reflects the region’s commitment to sustainable infrastructure—a theme echoed in the Eco Day discussions on decarbonisation and green growth. ^[24]

A connected ecosystem: from university labs to industrial cooperatives

Behind the week’s headline events lies a deeper ecosystem that has been taking shape in Lorraine over the past decade.

Grand Nancy Innovation, the territory’s innovation agency and incubator, has supported over 90 companies and helped raise around €10 million since 2019, according to its director Romain Petit. He describes innovation as a powerful “lever effect” for transforming the local economy, a message fully aligned with the Ailes de Cristal focus this year. ^[25]
The University of Lorraine and its student entrepreneurship hub, Peel, are closely associated with both Ailes de Cristal and Salon GO. During the awards night, student founders once again had one minute each to pitch their projects on stage—an exercise that has become a popular fixture for both jury and audience. ^[26]
Long‑standing industrial players like Bergère de France or textile specialist Garnier Thiébaut show that traditional sectors can reinvent themselves through new governance models, design and brand storytelling while remaining rooted in their territories. ^[27]

This interconnection between research, finance, large groups, SMEs, start‑ups and public authorities is exactly what events such as Eco Day, Ailes de Cristal and Salon GO aim to make visible.

Outlook: confidence and competitiveness, with a Lorraine accent

As the 10th Ailes de Cristal gala closed with a group photo of all laureates and partners in front of a birthday cake, organisers were already looking ahead to the 2026 edition. ^[28]

The message sent this week from Nancy is clear:

Lorraine intends to stay on the map as a competitive, innovative and export‑oriented region.
The success of existing champions—from industrial cooperatives to theme parks and deep‑tech mobility firms—shows that the territory can combine tradition and disruption.
Through Salon GO and the wider Eco Day programme, local institutions are investing heavily in the next wave of entrepreneurs, from students to seasoned professionals planning a takeover or pivot. ^[29]

In an economic climate still marked by uncertainty, Lorraine’s answer is to double down on innovation, collaboration and regional pride—and to make Nancy’s Prouvé Convention Center the showcase where that ambition becomes visible to all.

Episode 271: The Magical Gift of Entrepreneurship with Nancy Chang