NETIA, leader in the digital computer industry, located in the heart of wine country

In the département of Hérault, the town of Claret not only produces wine but has also been the birthplace of NETIA. This is a company which edits software and provides digital solutions for the audio-visual sector. It is one of the world leaders in this market. It all started in 1993 with the vague idea that digitising sound and pictures would of interest to some people. Christophe Carniel and two other engineers at the École des mines (originally for mining studies; now an undergraduate engineering school) in Alès launched this venture without knowing that some of the most important radio and television companies in the world would subsequently use their software and that it would be distributed in more than forty countries. Despite this global success, the three men decided to keep the company’s nerve centre in the region where it all began, thirty kilometres from Montpellier, in the heart of the countryside. They did not regret this decision: like good wine, local culture seems ripe for the development of talent