2024-07-17 21:18:19
The glass is in court this Wednesday, after it was placed into receivership a little more than a month ago.
The decision about Duralex will take a little longer. The commercial court of Orléans, after analyzing at length on Wednesday three offers to take control of the Duralex glass works, reserved its decision until July 26. The famous French glassmaker, known for his goblets “Picardie” etc “Gigogne” placed in receivership in June, with a notice period of six months. Three years after the previous procedure.
For six long hours, the commercial court studied three acquisition files filed to acquire the flag of the French company which employs 228 people in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin (Loiret). A sign of great delay, around 90 people, including military personnel, gathered before the start of the hearing. “We just ask that the company continue to survive”said Michael Ramos, an employee at Duralex for 29 years, on the courthouse steps.
“Great Hope”
The most supported proposal is that of La Scop, which 60% of the workforce is in favor of and unions. Scop said it was ready to withdraw 5 million euros from banks. This provision provides for the maintenance of all employees and has received the support of local elected officials, including local ones, who have pledged their support in the form of a bank guarantee.
The president of the Center-Val de Loire region, François Bonneau, described his “Great Hope” what is the company “continue to live by Scop tomorrow” to save “local product”. The city of Orléans has also offered to buy a glass workshop, for an amount estimated between five and five to eight euros, to help convince the banks to finance the project. “We are confident, we are waiting for the result: we want to take our destiny in hand with this Scop project”Suliman El Moussaoui, representative of the CFDT group, told AFP.
Seizures occur
The second offering belongs to SARL Tourres et Cie, owned by Stéphanie and Adrien Tourres. The couple has two glassworks, Waltersperger (Seine-Maritime) acquired in 2018 and specialized in luxury bottles for cosmetics with forty employees, and La Rochère (Haute-Saône), which has a hundred jobs and works especially for the desktop. “We work hard to present a project that is intelligent and realistic”pointed out Adrien Tourres at the end of his appearance in court.
Adrien Tourres describes the company as “symbol” and said that he had provided the answers “good” to ensure the smooth running of the business. Their plan is to retain 183 employees and consider the establishment of technical and business synergies within the group. This project is favored by the CGT, which follows “the support of an industry expert that will make things happen more” that Scop’s project, which counts to be a “Plan B”.
Soaring financial power
The third offer comes from Investissements Carlesimo/GCB Investissements, a family business group that has two foundations, Navylest International, specialized in lead keels for ships, and Lory International. It only suggests the recovery of 125 jobs.
Duralex has faced constant financial problems for about twenty years. After the new acquisition process three years ago, the company suffered a significant increase in energy costs after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, temporarily saved by a loan of 15 million euros from the State. In 2023, its turnover falls to 24.6 million euros compared to more than 31 million in 2022. The company, which is the pride of the French manufacturing industry, described as “eiffel tower tableware”It is currently in the hands of Compagnie Française du Verre, which also owns Pyrex, which is accepted at the bar of the same court in 2021.
#courts #decision #future #company #reserved #July