After an initial loan of seven million euros, the French state is
"ready to provide new financial support"
to the Fiber Excellence pulp mill, owned by a Canadian group and on which thousands of jobs depend. he announced.
Read also: Continuation of "massive economic support" for companies forced to close, promises Jean Castex
Based in Tarascon, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, the company Fiber excellence, in receivership, was let go by its Canadian shareholder Paper Excellence - a company itself owned by Jackson Widjaja, whose family runs the Indonesian stationery giant global Asia Pulp and Paper - which no longer wants to invest there.
After being placed in receivership in October, it obtained a loan of seven million euros from the Economic and Social Development Fund (FDES) but, for lack of a declared buyer, is now at risk of liquidation.
"The State once again takes note of the absence of a viable takeover offer to date and in particular of the refusal of the shareholder to financially support the company",
indicated the prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône in a press release .
Its new financial support aims to
"extend the observation period"
, adds the prefecture, which considers
"necessary to avoid a sudden stop of the site's activity and to continue the search for solutions for the 280 employees of the site and the actors in the wood industry who depend on it ”
.
Contacted by AFP, Fiber Excellence declined to comment on this information.
Unfavorable context
The company, the largest producer of pulp in France according to its director Jean-François Guillot, consumes more than 1.2 million tonnes of wood per year, which places it
"in the top 10 national processing companies. wood ”
according to the Ministry of the Economy.
It is a key outlet for forestry companies in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Occitanie regions, but also Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and
“on the fringes” of
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
According to its management, Fiber Excellence Tarascon, which exports the majority of its production, was the victim of an unfavorable context in the pulp market and the increase in transport tariffs.
The factory, installed on the banks of the Rhône since the 1950s, has also seen a succession of 14 directors in thirty years.
She is currently judged for having emitted polluting substances beyond the authorized thresholds and used non-compliant equipment, and risks up to 500,000 euros in fines.
