2023-11-30 03:28:43
Between two showers, Place Nicolas-Poussin in Les Andelys (Eure), Pierre came to do his shopping this Tuesday morning. “If I follow what’s happening at Holophane’s?” Yes of course. We all know someone who works there or who has worked there.” Not for long unfortunately. Last week, the ax fell for this century-old glassworks whose liquidation must be declared by the commercial court of Évreux, for lack of a buyer after a long series of more than a year. “It’s a waste,” continues Pierre. “There was know-how there. And families behind it all.”
Last to throw in the towel, Adrien Tourres. The owner of the Walterperger glassworks in Blangy-sur-Bresle (Seine-Maritime) and La Rochère in Haute-Saône ultimately did not confirm his takeover offer despite strong support from elected officials, communities, the State and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) which managed to find 2.1 million euros from a consortium of entrepreneurs ready to invest to save Holophane. “Until the last moment we still believed in it. It’s only Thursday morning, [jour du passage devant le tribunal de commerce d’Évreux, NDLR] that I learned that Adrien Tourres was finally backtracking. I asked him to wait until 12:30 before announcing his decision. We organized a last chance round table with all the partners involved and we even suggested that he submit an offer subject to suspensive conditions so that he could have a fallback solution if he wished,” assures Frédéric Duché, the mayor of Andelys, at the forefront of a general mobilization which ultimately did not bear fruit.
“The priority is to help employees find work”
The elected DVD official close to Édouard Philippe evokes “an explosion for the entire Andelys sector. More than 75% of the 208 employees who will be laid off live in or around the city. These are just as many households that are affected. Not to mention the impact on local commerce and the attractiveness of a town which has only 8,000 inhabitants.” Mayor since 2014, but installed for much longer in Andelys, Frédéric Duché admits to having taken a blow to the back of the head. “I have celebrated weddings with them. I watched their children grow up. Some had been there for three generations. It is not for nothing that they call themselves the Holophanians, saying it is not blood that flows in their vein, but glass…” The end of a story that many feared for this world reference in the manufacture of fog lights in particular, whose turnover had been heavily impacted both by the loss of their main customer, Valeo, at the turn of the 2020s, and by the rise in the cost of energy.
All that remains now is to prepare for the sequel. Staff representatives have already made it known that they will do everything to ensure that the compensation paid to employees is as high as possible. For elected officials, discussions are already turning around the possibilities of reclassification. “We had a first meeting on this subject with state services. And the companies which had united around the CCI will send a list of their personnel needs,” assures the mayor who will also have to think about how to bring the 40,000 m2 of factory buildings back to life.
Alexandre Rassaërt, the president of the departmental council, has already assured him of his support: “We will work alongside the town of Andelys to imagine the reconversion of the site but the priority is first to help employees find quickly get a job. The employment situation in Eure is good and significant resources will be mobilized so that Holophane employees can quickly bounce back.” The Holophanians will probably need a little time to do this.
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