End clap for the century-old Stenay (Meuse) paper mill specializing in the production of special coated papers for the food industry. The commercial court of Bar-le-Duc (Meuse) declared the judicial liquidation of the Stenpa company on November 8, we learned from a union source.
This collective procedure, synonymous with the elimination of 124 jobs in the region, comes four months after its placement in receivership and barely twelve months after its purchase by the Accursia capital fund. Created in 2017 in Munich (Germany), this fund specializing in the takeover of industrial SMEs in difficulty, had taken over the stationery from the Finnish Ahlstrom, a group of 7,000 people (turnover of 3 billion euros). The operation was part of the Florange law of 2014 which requires companies with more than 1,000 employees wishing to close an industrial site in France to first seek a buyer. Ahlstrom then explained his decision by overcapacity in Europe in the packaging sector “creating strong competition with machines having a more competitive cost structure”.
Shut down since October 1, the factory had achieved an exceptional turnover of 86 million euros in 2022, but its actual level of activity was more around 40 million euros per year, explained the director of Stenpa, Matej Kurent, at L'Usine Nouvelle.
For the FO-CGT inter-union, represented by Alain Magisson and Richard Guitton, “thehe closure of the Stenay paper mill is not only the loss of 124 jobs, it is a human tragedy and a betrayal of those who gave their lives to this company“. Staff representatives nevertheless hope that a candidate for the takeover of the assets will come forward in the coming weeks.
The closure of Stenpa comes in addition to several worrying announcements for employment in the Meuse: the sale of the bagged salad activity of the Bonduelle group with the fear of the elimination of 160 local jobs and the takeover in Scop de Bergère of France, synonymous with 50 layoffs.
