Industrial France will (again) lose one of its factories.
The emblematic site of Meccano, in Calais, which produces construction games for children, will close by next year.
It was its owner, the Canadian group Spin Master, who announced the bad news on Tuesday.
Management informed staff representatives and employees during the day.
On March 2, two months of negotiations with the social partners will begin, before the examination of the draft PSE by the labor administration.
About fifty jobs are affected.
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Spin Master justifies its decision by the
“lack of competitiveness of the site”.
Refusing to continue to finance it, he believes that he has
"no other choice but to consider stopping industrial activities by the first quarter of 2024."
However, it remains
“open to any proposal that a potential buyer could make for the site”
.
"Magic Sand"
The factory has been located in Calais since 1959. But it has only belonged to Spin Master since 2014. It is also
"the only toy production site"
it has in France, the Canadian group relying also on a network of partners who manufacture Meccano toys and other brands in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
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In addition to the Meccano, the Calais site produced a “magic sand” to model, called “Kinetic Sand”.
2.5 million boxes came out of it each year.
Since 2014, Spin Master has invested 7 million euros in Calais.
But that was not enough: the factory never reached financial equilibrium.
Faced with difficult market conditions,
"aggravated by the recent surge in the cost of raw materials and energy"
, the group is throwing in the towel.
Spin Master is however a heavyweight in the toy industry, which achieved a turnover of 2 billion dollars last year (- 1.1% compared to 2021).
Known for Paw Patrol and its rescue dogs, he bought Meccano in 2013. The brand will be
"redesigned"
with a view to being
"revitalized",
warns the group, who wants to keep it.
