Duralex, weakened by the power disaster and inflation, has been positioned in receivership | EUROtoday

Three years after its final rescue, Duralex has as soon as once more been positioned in receivership. The Orléans industrial court docket (Loiret) rendered its determination on Wednesday April 24, with an remark interval of six months. The aim is to attempt to discover a purchaser, with the subsequent assembly set for June 5, 2024. In twenty years, that is the fourth time that the way forward for Duralex and its 230 workers has been performed out on the inexperienced carpet. , and with every episode, the equation turns into extra sophisticated.

Famous for its ultra-solid canteen glasses, the glassworks, positioned in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, within the agglomeration of Orléans, has been since 2021 within the fingers of La Maison française du verre, which additionally operates Pyrex in Châteauroux (Indre ). Backed by the European funding fund Kartesia, it took over Duralex in court docket, and its mission, thought-about strong, had aroused nice hope on the time.

“We were proud to be taken over by another glassmaker, we believed in it and we told ourselves that we were finally going to get through itsummarizes an employee, quality team leader, employed at Duralex for 26 years. For us it's a massive blow, and we are all the more disappointed. »

An impossible recovery in 2022

The new boss had committed to investing 17 million euros over three years to relaunch the activity, all without social disruption. But the company was quickly overtaken by the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis. In 2022, glassmaking, which consumes a lot of electricity and gas, saw its bills soar. Stunned by a supply contract with very unfavorable conditions, it ended up calling on the State for help.

Bercy granted it a loan of 15 million euros, and Duralex stood by by putting its oven on standby for five months to limit the damage. The company then hoped to get back on better footing but once again, nothing went as planned. Inflation and the drop in consumption have slowed sales. The 2023 turnover peaked at less than 26 million euros, down from the 29.4 million reached in 2022.

In this turbulent context, the challenge of turning Duralex around proved impossible to meet. Management preferred to throw in the towel “in order to preserve the interests of the company”. “Despite operational efforts and continued investments, the losses could not be stemmed”the corporate mentioned in a press launch, with out giving the extent of the deficit.

A succession of crises

This failure is added to the lengthy record of setbacks that Duralex has suffered for the reason that finish of the Nineteen Nineties. Before its descent into hell, its tempered glass tableware, low cost and proof against shocks, had been widespread in canteens and eating places. cafes, and conquered international markets. Some of its fashions have even change into iconic, such because the well-known Gigogne glass or the timeless Picardie.

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