How it started
History
Lectra was founded in 1973 by engineers Jean and Bernard Etcheparre. Their first machine enabled a piece of clothing to be cut in all sizes from a cardboard pattern. The company launched its first CAD systems for apparel making in 1976. Venture capitalist André Harari met the two founders and raised the capital needed to implement Lectra's business development plan. In 1980, Lectra established its first foreign subsidiary in Germany, followed by the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and the United States in 1982.
By 1986, Lectra was the world's leading CAD and CAM systems provider and the company had its initial public offering the following year. After financial troubles in the early 1990s, the company was recapitalized by Daniel and André Harari.
In 2014, Lectra partnered with ESCP Europe to establish a chair in Fashion and Technology on its Paris campus for fashion and luxury sector innovation research. In November 2017, Lectra joined with ESTIA, JPS Conseil and the Today Tomorrow Textiles Foundation to launch the Biarritz Active Lifestyle Integral (BALI) Chair.
Frost & Sullivan recognized Lectra with its 2017 Global Product Leadership award for the Versalis LeatherSuite. That same year, the Industry of Future Alliance awarded Lectra the Showcase for the Industry of Future Alliance.
Lectra announced the acquisition of Italian company Kubix Lab in January 2018.
From Wikipedia’s article on Lectra, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2