The French confectioner Carambar & Co, owner of the Poulain chocolate brand, announced on Wednesday that an agreement had been signed with the Andros group for the takeover of the chocolate maker's historic factory. More than 170 years after its creation, the Poulain factory located in Villebarou, near Blois (Loir-et-Cher), was targeted by a closure plan, according to an announcement from the chocolate factory unions.
With this deal, “Andros takes over the activity of the Villebarou industrial site and retains all of the site's employees”, numbering 109 in June, Carambar & Co announced in a press release. “Operational implementation […] should be finalized by the end of January.
All employees should be taken back
In June, Carambar & Co made the decision, “for reasons of industrial and economic coherence”, to find a buyer for its Villebarou factory, recalls the group.
He states that “prior to this signature”, “the representatives of the Social and Economic Committees of the site and the Carambar & Co group gave a favorable opinion on the takeover project”. “We don't yet have all the elements, particularly around the future of the factory, but they have announced that they will bring back all the employees, so we are all very happy,” rejoiced Olivier Dupont, secretary of the CSE Local and Central.
Our file on chocolate
Since 2017, the Poulain chocolate brand has been owned by the Carambar & Co group, created after the acquisition by the investment company Eurazeo of several French confectionery brands from the American multinational Mondelez.