After Bridgestone, it is a new “
hot
”
industrial dossier
for the government.
The famous Duralex glassworks was placed in receivership on Wednesday by the Orléans commercial court with an observation period of six months, AFP learned Thursday from management.
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The brand is known for its tempered glass tableware sold around the world, including its glasses, with a number on the bottom, distributed in the canteens of primary schools.
The company is located in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin (Loiret), near Orléans, and employs 248 people.
Takeover projects exist today
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Industry
The Minister for Industry assured this Friday that the government would be "
very attentive
" to the follow-up of the case of the Duralex glassworks placed in receivership, stressing that "
recovery projects exist today
".
"
Duralex is an internationally renowned brand
" and "
we are all convinced that there is a bright future
" for this company, said Agnès Pannier-Runacher in a statement sent to AFP.
"
The government will be very attentive to the follow-up of the collective procedure and will be mobilized alongside the Region to bring about takeover projects in order to perpetuate industrial activity and jobs on the site
", she added.
"
The opening of collective proceedings will make it possible to make visible the takeover projects that exist today,
" said Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
The Minister observes that the site "
has been in difficulty for several years and has to face a level of debt which is not sustainable in the long term
".
She recalls that the State has been following the case closely since 2017 and in particular had provided 2 million euros in reimbursable advances.
In addition, the region has also provided aid.
We have lost around 60% of our turnover due to the cessation of exports
Antoine Ioannidès, president of Duralex
“
The debts of the company on the day of the opening of the procedure are frozen.
(...) At the end of the inventory of all the debts by the legal representatives, the company will be able to propose a recovery plan by continuation
”, specifies the management of the company in a letter addressed to the staff.
As for the 248 employees, they are not immediately affected, assured President Antoine Ioannidès.
"
They continue to work and to be paid
", he insists, quoted by AFP.
The company is suffering from major cash flow problems, after having sharply reduced its production for more than a year following an incident related to the replacement of its furnace in 2017. To this deteriorated situation were added the vagaries of the crisis health, according to Antoine Ioannidès.
"
We have lost about 60% of our turnover due to the cessation of exports, which represent 80% of our activity
", regrets the CEO.
The boss ensures that several potential buyers have already come forward.
"
With the help (...) of the Orléans commercial court, we will continue negotiations with the various buyers,
" he says.
In 2008, the company, then in the hands of a Turkish businessman, was forced into compulsory liquidation, before being taken over at the bar of the commercial court by the current management team.
Contacted by
Le Figaro,
the CGT "glass and ceramic federation" was not reachable.