Meet Amélie Derumière, Head of the Chemical Analysis and Corrosion Laboratories at Vallourec
Scientific rigor serving industrial safety
As manager of two laboratories at Vallourec’s One R&D center in Aulnoye-Aymeries, 35-year-old Amélie represents a new generation of technical leaders: demanding, committed, and firmly focused on continuous improvement. Energetic and radiant, she brings a positive dynamic to her team, combining precision with a friendly atmosphere. Leading the chemical analysis and corrosion departments, she oversees critical testing for production, both for French plants and international sites from Brazil to the United States.
“Even though these are two very different fields, they follow the same logic: delivering reliable results that allow our plants to move forward,” she explains. On the chemistry side, her team works closely with the Aulnoye Forge. On the corrosion side, testing spans the entire Vallourec scope, with demanding protocols in acidic and corrosive gas environments.
Among the recent achievements of her team, Amélie highlights the decommissioning of an obsolete X-ray fluorescence analyzer. “It was a real relief in terms of safety and management.” This step paves the way for a new hydrogen analyzer, better suited to the challenges of emerging energies.
But it’s especially in the field of safety that Amélie and her team have excelled this year. Faced with the risks of handling deadly gases, the corrosion lab undertook a complete overhaul of its valve system. “We’re installing over 300 valves while keeping the lab operational. The goal is to be fully functional by 2026.” A bold project with strong human, quality, and safety impact.
Amélie’s career perfectly embodies the values of the “We are Vallourec” diversity, equity and inclusion program. This program values all differences, focusing on three key aspects: gender, culture and generations. It also demonstrates how the Group creates an inclusive environment and offers opportunities for growth, enabling every employee to realize their professional and personal ambitions.
A career built step by step
Amélie chose hands-on experience early on, leaving engineering prep school to earn a chemistry BTS from Lycée de l’Escaut in Valenciennes. Her journey at Vallourec began in 2010 with an internship at Interfit, a Group subsidiary, where she managed chemical risks linked to the launch of Evallourisk. She discovered HSE challenges and the research center.
She then gained experience as a surface treatment technician (connection), then in metallurgy, before taking maternity leave. Upon her return, she was entrusted with a quality coordinator role and contributed to the ramp-up of the Cleanwell® line. That’s when a new opportunity came her way: taking on responsibility for the chemical analysis laboratory and, later, the corrosion laboratory at the Research Center. “It’s not common for a technician to be so mobile. I’ve worked in both the plant and the research center.”
This diverse experience helps her understand how different roles interact and facilitates collaboration.
Today, Amélie fully embraces her technician status: “Being on the ground is something I really value. There aren’t many technicians in management, but it’s not incompatible.”
Management: a human challenge
From the left to the right: David Duboisdendien, Romain Milko, Mickaël Savalle, Cédric Warnier et Yannick Tinturier. Samuel Huberland is taking the picture
What drives her? Management, without a doubt. “What challenges me is making my team work well together, helping them grow, with their varied profiles and ambitions. I take time to get to know each person, their skills, their story.” Today, Amélie leads two teams: five people in corrosion and one in chemical analysis.
Being a manager also means asserting oneself gently. “At first, you don’t have all the keys. You have to earn your stripes, learn to set boundaries, choose your words.” In a team made up entirely of men, most older than her, Amélie found her place. “What’s rewarding is showing you can bring something, whether on a production line or in a lab.”
She especially values intergenerational collaboration: “My teams have the experience and open-mindedness to see how much we can learn from each other.”
Amélie is also deeply committed to continuous improvement: “The further I go in my career at Vallourec, the more I realize how important change is. It’s better accepted when it’s well explained.”
Diversity and transmission
Being a woman in industry has never been a barrier for Amélie. “When you study chemistry, you think more of L’Oréal or pharma than tubes. But I was genuinely interested.” Though sometimes perceived as fragile due to her small frame, she was never judged by her gender. “People wanted to help, thinking I couldn’t carry a coupling. But it never bothered me.”
Today, Amélie shares her energy through the Capital Filles program, as an ambassador. A mother to a five-year-old daughter, she devotes her free time to her family. She also shares a passion for motorsports with her husband: he’s into car racing, she’s into motorcycling — a hobby she’s pursued for years thanks to her license. “I love the biker spirit — supportive and curious.”
Thank you, Amélie, for this inspiring and authentic testimony. Amélie Derumière embodies an industry in motion, where expertise, commitment and knowledge-sharing shape the path toward a safer, more inclusive and more sustainable future.
