Chainmail
A History of Know-How

Established in 1862 by Alexandre Foin, this family-owned enterprise in France has been specialized, since its inception, in metal wire work, i.e. snap hooks, chains and miscellaneous accessories.
Since it first began, five generations of the FOIN^® family have contributed to the development of the Company, first in Paris, then in the Haute-Saône Region, more precisely in Plancher-Bas.

Overall view of Foin in the 50s

Through its vast experience in working with metal, mainly metal wire, the Company diversified its production. FOIN^®-Spindler developed the industrial closure of jars, followed by the production of metal fabrics intended for the manufacture of protective gloves and aprons.

A Constant Exchange between Industry and Creation

Due to strong economic growth in the 60s and the emergence of the notion of work protection (creation of industrial medicine in 1946), the French Agency for Improving work conditions in 1973), entered into an intense research and development period.
The first stainless steel chainmail glove left the FOIN^® factory at the end of the 60s.
Gloves, aprons and miscellaneous accessories were produced in Plancher Bas, for export to all corners of the world.

In 1968, the general public discovered chainmail, through the haute couture models that Paco Rabanne created using FOIN^® COTTE DE MAILLES.
As a result of the pioneer use made of chainmail for other purposes; it was only fair, in the end, for chainmail to rhyme with creation and avant-gardism!

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The history of Whiting & Davis, in the U.S., has in another sense illustrated the strong ties that exist between creation and the protection industry. Its merger with Foin took place in 2001, when both companies became part of the Bacou-Dalloz Group. Today, FOIN^® COTTE DE MAILLES is the exclusive distributor for Whiting & Davis mesh in Europe.

Excerpt of the 1950 Whiting&Davis brochure.

The dresses designed by Paco Rabanne in the late 70s brought together mesh manufactured by both FOIN^® and Whiting & Davis, truly auguring the future merger.

Production

The workshops of Plancher-Bas in the Haute-Saône Region, the Company's historic site, regroup its three main activities - protection, ballistics and creation. The machines that bend, join and weld rings separately have been designed by the Company.

Through digital control, it is possible to draw the shape of a part precisely by programming the welding operation for each ring; while a large part of the work involved, namely the assembly of subparts, remains manual. The latter is preformed by workers with a high level of dexterity, quite close to “couture”.

The finest chainmail is made up of over 135 000 rings per square metre, with up to eight hours of work needed for one square metre.

Chainmail
A Sector Dedicated to Creation

As a manufacturer, with its history closely intertwining industry and creation, FOIN^® COTTE DE MAILLES
offers a complete response to its professional clients:
- Consulting to help define projects
- The support of its engineering office for the development of prototypes
- Its specialized partners (implementation, lighting, etc.)

This approach is based on the Company's perfect knowledge of all the specific characteristics of chainmail, its production and implementation. These materials hold as their founding principle an ever-increasing factor of surprise as new uses are discovered, with the aim of assisting in all types of specific creations.

SPERIAN is the leader in personal protection, today ranked number one worldwide in chainmail. Foin^® joined the Bacou-Dalloz Group in 2001, the largest group in PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). It then merged with WHITING & DAVIS, already a subsidiary of the Group, in the US.
In 2007, Bacou-Dalloz took on the name SPERIAN PROTECTION.
Within the international group, chainmail production reports to the gloves department. A large part of the chainmail being produced today in the world comes from three production facilities: in France, the US and in Slovakia.

Environment

FOIN^® chainmail is made in stainless steel, a high-performance material at the environmental level. Waste and scrap are recycled directly. And the workshops make repairs whenever possible.