Hello, my name is Mathilde and I am an engineer at SMOBY TOYS SAS, a company that develops and manufactures plastic toys based in Jura, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France.

SMOBY TOYS SAS is a French company that designs and manufactures plastic toys. We are the leading French toy manufacturer with over 72% of our production carried out at our Jura sites in Arinthod and Moirans-en-Montagne. The entire toy concept and design is imagined by our development team at the Lavans-les-Saint-Claude site.

At SMOBY TOYS, I hold the position of Product Optimization, Innovation, and Continuous Improvement Project Manager. My department is part of the Research and Development Office and consists only of me, excluding my supervisor who oversees the entire Research and Development Office.

I was hired 4 years ago as an apprentice in September 2018 to work primarily on Optimization. This means I work on toys that are already on the market. My role is to reduce production costs while maintaining the same product quality, for example by creating new tooling.

A year later, when I was hired on a permanent contract after obtaining my engineering degree, I took over the innovation part of the company. I am responsible for developing new colorants and materials (such as bio-based and recycled materials). I also conduct technology watch to develop other technologies. Finally, the Continuous Improvement part involves continuously improving products, the manufacturing process, and the company’s production organization. For this part, I work closely with many other departments to reduce waste, recycle materials, manage product end-of-life, and address stock shortages.

After high school, I pursued a DUT in Chemistry through an apprenticeship at the IUT St Jérôme de Marseille. I worked for two years in the chemical analysis laboratory of AREVA TA within a CEA. I enjoyed it immensely and have fond memories of those two years. I had considered pursuing a Professional Bachelor’s in Analytical Chemistry, but following the advice of my apprenticeship supervisor at the time, I turned to an engineering school because I was starting to feel stagnant in my laboratory and needed my tasks to constantly evolve.

I then joined ITECH, the Textile and Chemical Institute of Lyon, to be trained in Leather, Textile, Formulation, and Plastic professions. I specialized in plastics due to my company. I believe ITECH is one of the few engineering schools with (many) more women than men. I think it was fortunate because none of our professors ever favored the men in our class over the women. I worked for two years as an apprentice in pre-development at Flex-n-Gate, an automotive equipment company. This work can be likened to innovation. And it was after this experience that I went to work at SMOBY TOYS.

One of the parts I enjoy most about my job at SMOBY is the diversity of my tasks. Not a year has gone by without me working on a new project, and it’s really enriching and challenging. The second part is collaborating with many departments such as Marketing, Design, Sales, Sales Administration, Quality, and also the services integrated into production.

I stumbled into the profession somewhat by chance. After two years in the automotive industry, I terminated my contract by mutual agreement because the job and the atmosphere did not suit me at all and hindered my personal growth. I was the only woman in a team of about ten people, and my apprenticeship supervisor made it clear that I was not his first choice for the position and implied that it was not suitable for a woman. I needed to find a host company for my final year in engineering school. I applied for a position at SMOBY and got the job, as well as another similar one at another company. I chose to join SMOBY because it is a brand that many French people know, and having had SMOBY toys as a child resonated with me. Additionally, I had a good rapport with the apprenticeship supervisor who is still my superior today. The fact that it is a French company was also very important to me, as very few toy companies produce in France today, and it is a pride to work for one of them. The proximity of the headquarters and the production site (45 km) was also a plus because I was told I would need to go there almost every week for my work.

Unlike my previous company, my integration went very well, and at no point was being a woman a disadvantage for me. My apprenticeship supervisor had already earned the respect of our male colleagues, so I just had to follow in her footsteps. However, she confessed to me that her beginnings were a bit more complicated than mine and that she had to prove herself twice as much.

Surprisingly, the only company where I had a bad experience was when my apprenticeship supervisor was a man. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but in any case, a good manager can completely change your experience in a company. From my personal experience, if you don’t feel it from the start, I advise you to avoid working with that person.

If I had to change something in my professional life, I think I wouldn’t go to work at Flex-N-Gate. When I was hired, I was disheartened, yet I accepted the position because I feared not finding an apprenticeship for the start of the school year. In hindsight, I should have listened to my intuition and not gone. But on the other hand, it was this disastrous experience that led me to where I am today, so it’s a blessing in disguise.

Outside of my job, I dedicate myself to my hobbies, my family, and my friends, and I am also involved in a feminist collective, #NousToutes39. I indeed created the Jura branch of the #NousToutes collective at the end of 2020 with two other women. We organize demonstrations, workshops, and training sessions both online and in person to raise awareness about sexist and sexual violence primarily affecting women and children, with the aim of driving societal change.

1. Instagram NousToutes39

2. Website NousToutes39

3. Instagram NousToutes

I travel a lot with my friends and family, and as a result, I hike quite a bit. I am also passionate about camping, and my partner has converted a van into a mini camper, which allows us to move around easily. But my great passion remains animals. We have two rescue dogs at home, Java and Walker, who is a blind dog with a hind leg disability due to abuse. We also have a cat, Maora, whom I adopted at the beginning of my studies. I also started horseback riding a few months ago and quickly became addicted.

I try to maintain a balance between professional and personal life. I live 10 minutes on foot from my work, so I don’t waste time commuting. Moreover, my company has a very good policy on this subject and respects the right to disconnect, so I have never really had a problem finding a balance. I have my work email connected to my phone and check it once a day if I’m on vacation, but I only respond in case of emergencies.

If working in the toy sector is really what you want to do, don’t hesitate. It’s really a unique world to work in toys because our main job is still to make children dream. Moreover, it’s a very mixed sector where your gender matters little or not at all, and the sector is always looking for juniors in its teams.

I repeat myself a little, but trust your intuition and remember that you have the right to respect in your work.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate! Here is my email address: mathilde.delangue@gmail.com

Goodbye 😊

1. Research by the team Probonolab (Chamsia A.): Thank you!

2. External volunteers: Pauline and Amine

3. Talents HOP!: Salma, Leïla, Nadia, Nedjoua, Samira, and Soumeya

4. Edited by Carolina C. and Mazzarine D.

Mathilde DELANGUE: Improving and Optimizing Tomorrow’s Toys