A Belgian investor attracted by the 3D expertise of an SME from Marseille

Together, they join forces and create the BIMmap offer

BIM (Building Information Modeling) technology is creating a genuine mini revolution in the real estate sector. Albert Janssens, the Belgian founder of the IT services company Expert-IT, was looking to expand when he came across PIXXIM via the intermediary of Provence Promotion and its Go Between in Provence program. Attracted by the 3D modeling expertise of this company from Marseilles, he immediately saw possible synergies and decided to invest in it in the framework of a partnership. With the creation of the BIMmap offer, they combined their expertise and launched new services for construction professionals and project owners, but not only that...

From designing a building to following up on how a site is being managed, BIM technology is an asset for project owners. It centralizes a set of data collected from the various stakeholders of a construction site to offer a collaborative 3D model, which can be added to and interacted with in real time. The stages of the project are made easier in the design or implementation phase with real benefits in terms of construction quality, time and costs.

A consolidation of complementary skills

Created over 15 years ago in Marseille by Jean Patrice Noëll, PIXXIM, a company recognized in the field of interactive 3D models with more than 500 creations under its belt, began its shift toward BIM in 2017. The introduction to Albert Janssens, founder of the company Expert-IT based in the Walloon region of Louvain-la-Neuve, by Provence Promotion, was the encounter it was waiting for to enable it to fully adapt to this rapidly expanding market.

“Initially, I was studying the possibility with Provence Promotion of installing my IT services business in the Aix-Marseille region. The meeting with PIXXIM accelerated my project but from a different angle, that of BIM by means of having a stake in it” explained Albert Janssens. 

The benefit of two areas of expertise, 3D and information systems and the complementarity of the two SMEs is what consolidates the BIMmap offer launched in September 2019.

Expert-IT, which was the main investor in the project, therefore has a much larger client base, project management groupings that specialize in implementing infrastructure and urban development projects for Southern Europe and the Mediterranean area. The BIMmap offer has just been selected for a seafront boardwalk redevelopment project in Morocco.

BIMmap’s differentiation strategy

BIMmap services are based on 3 key aspects:

• advice and support with managing a BIM project,
• support for teams offered by technical assistance with a project,
• and the making available of collaborative platforms with high added value.

This last aspect is at the core of BIMmap’s development strategy because it is within its platforms that the skills of both teams are best combined.

On the back of a license agreement with Catenda, a Norwegian software publisher, and one of the most advanced on the market, BIMmap has become an official integrator of Bimsync platforms for France, Luxembourg and French-speaking Belgium. By customizing and linking these platforms to the company’s IT systems as closely as possible, BIMmap has positioned itself in a market with a lot of potential.

Fortunately, the Sud Provence Alpes-Côte d’Azur region has a large target market. The construction sector is one of the most dynamic in France, involving more than 66,000 companies working on increasingly demanding construction and renovation projects. Skills development training will therefore be crucial.

The path of diversification and growth

But the construction sector is not the only sector targeted and BIMmap’s goal is to also offer added value by adding an Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning component. BIMmap is currently working on a project for a company specializing in fire safety. Evacuation officers in companies will be trained on a virtual reality platform with dynamic routes. In 2020, BIMmap plans to capitalize on its development. Several responses to calls for tenders are in progress. Winning them should enable it to create new jobs.