At INFACO, innovation is a working philosophy. For 40 years, the company has been inventing, improving and rethinking its electric pruning shears and other agricultural tools, always putting the user at the centre.
When Christophe Gout joined INFACO over 20 years ago, everything still revolved around electric pruning shears. But the company was already living at the pace of innovation. Daniel Delmas (known as Dany), the founder, had set in motion a major technological shift: from a mechanical cam system to the rack-and-pinion technology still used today.
Since then, the story has been written around ambitious technical challenges:
Every innovation has been born in the field. In the interview, Christophe recalls an example that left a lasting impression on him: an arboriculturist suggested a snap hook system for the pruning shears. The idea was not taken up as such, but it inspired a patented innovation on the F3020 pruning shear holder.
Safety is one of INFACO's founding values. As early as 1993, the company filed its first patent for a hand detection device on the cutting head. Long before the subject became central, Dany was convinced that a high-performance tool must also protect its user. Since then, INFACO has continued to perfect its devices. The latest breakthrough is the Contactless system, capable of anticipating danger without physical contact.
This philosophy of responsible innovation accompanies each product: to improve working conditions for professionals by guaranteeing performance and safety.
Innovation also means accepting mistakes. INFACO has experienced this, particularly with the Powercoup range (pruners, weeders, weeders, etc.). The technical response did not provide sufficient benefits in relation to the constraints of use. Rather than seeing this as a defeat, Christophe Gout talks about learning: "Hoping to innovate without making mistakes is impossible, or else you don't know what innovation is.
This tolerance of failure is an integral part of R&D. As in sport, you have to know how to fall down, analyse, get up again and turn the experience into success.
It is this global vision of innovation in general that enables the Cahuzac-sur-Vère-based company to remain the world benchmark in professional electric pruning shears.
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Look out for episode 9 of our special 40th anniversary series very soon, with an interview with Jean-Pierre Blatché on exports and the tying machine! To celebrate our anniversary, the company's key figures look back at its history, from the very first Electrocoup to flagship models such as the F3010, F3015 and F3020.
It's called "INFACO, the series" and it's broadcast all year round on our website and social networks in 11 episodes!
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INFACO invented the world’s first electric pruning shear in 1984: the Electrocoup. Since then, the company has continued to develop new generations (F3010, F3015, F3020), integrating the latest technologies such as lithium batteries and brushless motors, always in direct connection with field needs and consistently maintaining a step ahead of the competition.
The Contactless safety device works by anticipating danger, using a receiver inside the pruning shear and a transmitter placed inside a glove. A protection bubble forms around the cutting head of the shear: when the opposite hand gets too close, the blade instantly opens. This invisible protection system helps retrain cutting gestures safely and with full precaution.
The option includes three adjustable protection zones, which can be configured directly on the shear or via the INFACO mobile app (combined with an optional connected module), depending on the user’s dominant hand. The oval-shaped protection zone has been designed to follow the natural curves of the hand while maintaining the operator’s working habits.
Distributors and professional users are involved very early in the innovation process. Their field feedback is analyzed by the quality department and integrated into new developments by the design office, in order to offer tools that are truly adapted to real needs.