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“Our complementarity is a wealth”
She has made diversity a performance tool. And her career path, from accounting to the general management of One-Too, is an incentive for women to join the industry.
“During Covid, there was panic when we were short of components; so yes, I am a fervent advocate of reindustrialization in France. One-Too’s suppliers are now mostly French, and among them 70 to 80% come from the PACA region,” says Michelle Cimelli, who runs a small engineering and mechanical hub in the Carros industrial zone. She speaks technically with conviction, undaunted by a still predominantly male environment. A sector chosen by vocation? “It was life that brought me here. Afterwards, I was always an entrepreneur and I started selling lily of the valley at a young age on the 1er May, because my father worked at the MIN. Then I joined my ex-husband who was a flower wholesaler. I did the accounts in the evenings, pregnant with my first daughter, and one day we had a tax audit. It was the time when florists wanted to not declare everything. We ended up losing the house and my relationship didn't last. But working with a tax inspector was one of the most formative periods for me. I'm telling you this because if I'm here today, it's because my failures helped me grow! ", confides Michelle Cimelli, who has made frankness her main quality.
Supporting young people in their choices
How did this fighter make the leap into the world of industry? "I arrived as an accountant at One-Too in 1991. My qualifications weren't enough, but since I had this business experience, they gave me a chance." In addition to accounting, Michelle gradually took over transport, human resources, and business balance sheets, until her director fell seriously ill. "There was supposed to be a replacement general manager, but it never worked out; ultimately, we had to keep the company running for 8 years," says the woman who is now CEO of One-Too. An industrial tribunal advisor for 20 years, Michelle now passes on her professional experience to her employees, who come from all over the world. "I've always worked by helping my colleagues grow. Young people are our future successors, so when they come on work-study programs, they are considered employees." I always tell them: "You come to us, you create with us, I want you to be proud of having come to One-Too."
One-Too
Specializing in the design and manufacture of innovative solutions for Industry 4.0, One-Too offers control and measurement tools for the transportation industry. A leading supplier for cars, its devices can, for example, measure timing belt tension, monitor tire pressure, and analyze warning sounds of a breakdown. While the automotive sector is currently less prosperous, the company is focusing on aeronautics. Through its subsidiary Contact-Azur, it also offers electrical harnesses and wiring solutions for switches, boxes, and other connectors.
