In Pont-de-Claix, around ten kilometers south of Grenoble (Isère), rue Lavoisier has become a dead end. At the end, the letters of “Vencorex” are hidden by the piles of tires and the rows of tank tanks, on which a few banners are hoisted, “Factory for sale”, “Chemistry is dying”.
“Here, nothing comes in and nothing comes out”summarizes Jonathan, 45 years old, while Disenchanteda song by Mylène Farmer, resonates under the inter-union tent. With drawn features and a tight smile, this technician begins his 26th day of strike, alongside around fifty colleagues: “If we are still here, it is to express our anger, but also to make people understand the extent of the situation. »
460 employees in danger, thousands of jobs threatened
At the end of September, this company specialized in the production of isocyanates, components of industrial paints and varnishes, and employing nearly 500 people in its Isère factory, but also at the Saint-Priest headquarters and at the research and development of Saint-Fons (Rhône), was placed in receivership.
Owned by the Thai petrochemical group PPTGC, it has only one, paltry takeover offer: the Chinese group Wanhua, a competitor which has itself put it in difficulty, offers to keep a simple workshop at the end of the chain and to keep 25 positions, while just over 40 people are needed to run it. Four hundred and sixty employees are thus in danger.
But the concern goes beyond the factory walls. “In reality, between 5,000 and 7,000 jobs could be impacted”estimates Laurent Oberger, delegate of the CFDT union to the social and economic council (CSE) of Vencorex. With this century-old site inherited from Progil, then Rhône-Poulenc and Rhodia, Vencorex is in fact the largest entity on this chemical platform in southern Grenoble. General delegate of Medef Isère, the employers' union, Emmanuel Bréziat also recognizes “specialized know-how and almost unique infrastructures”, on which an ecosystem of local businesses and part of the chemical industry depend today.
A “shock” for the economic life of the territory
The Union of Metallurgical Industries and Trades of Isère (Udimec) evokes a shock in Grenoble, “where the industry has, until now, been spared “. Within this network, 80% of the 600 members – 50,000 employees – are customers or suppliers of this chemical platform. Activities of all kinds, but especially maintenance or upkeep.
“For some, it guarantees a major project each year: this represents, for example, sending five to ten employees, for a month, to check all the pipes and conduits. » Little worried by the isolated situation of Vencorex, Udimec, however, fears being shaken up little by little by “a cascading effect”.
The factory has also been supporting its territory for generations, supplying the surrounding businesses until food-truck local, where the employees have their habits. “We all know someone who works there: what is at stake is the life of the community and thousands of families,” insists Christophe Ferrari, president of the Grenoble metropolis and mayor of Pont-de-Claix.
A multiplied impact in the chemical sector
The concern is even more significant within the chemical sector. Firstly, the organization of the site: like the 18 others located in France, the Pont-de-Claix chemical platform was designed to create synergy between subcontractors and suppliers.
Concretely, several companies including Vencorex, but also Air Liquide, Seqens, Solvay, have established themselves in this same area to pool the supply of energy, the circulation of industrial fluids – gas, steam, etc. – or even waste management, and thus reduce their investment and operating costs. Its management, until today 80% operated by Vencorex, “is therefore in abeyance and must be restructured”, explains his spokesperson.
But the sector especially fears the domino effect. Upstream and downstream of this factory, a procession of chemical activities are interwoven. Vencorex obtains carbon monoxide from its neighbor Air Liquide. For its part, the Arkema site in Isère produces chlorine, soda, hydrogen peroxide, or derivatives, using salts – specific because they come from a very deep mine in Hauterives (Drôme) – purified by Vencorex. Arkema's customers include Framatome, which produces zirconium, used in the production of nuclear energy, and Arianespace, for its rocket fuel. The list is long.
The Arkema site, already under tension
Just a few kilometers from the Pont-de-Claix platform, the Jarrie platform, where Arkema and Framatome are located, is already under tension. Limited to its own salt reserve, Arkema has shut down its most consuming workshops and is studying two scenarios: “If PTTGC grants us a transition of between three and five years, we could consider continuing the activity by purifying the salt on the Jarrie site, the other option being to close part of the workshops, to concentrate on the more profitable activities. » An anxiety-provoking situation which triggered, at the end of October, a first strike movement.
The repercussions could be felt beyond the borders of Isère: Arkema Jarrie supplies chlorine to the sites of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Lacq Mourenx (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) and Lannemezan (Hautes-Pyrénées). “All the companies concerned at one point or another know this and are looking for plans Bexplains Laure Lamoureux, secretary of the chemistry-energy federation within the CFDT. But it will never be under the same conditions and at the same price. »
The crisis comes at a time when French chemistry is weakened by competition from China, with overcapacity and ultra-competitive prices, combined with a cocktail that does not work: “The high cost of energy, the rise in raw materials, a drop in industrial production since the start of the year”recalls Nadine Levratto, economist, research fellow at the CNRS.
An appeal to the State to avoid a “social and industrial” catastrophe
With the observation period extending until March 6, the challenge for Vencorex is now to expand the takeover offer in agreement with the social and economic council, and to push for the formation of a group of companies to manage the chemical platform so that other projects can see the light of day.
Organizations like Udimec and Medef say they are ready to support the reclassification of employees within Grenoble industry “which is struggling, on certain sites, to recruit”. On site, where the hope of another form of recovery is fading, employees are now calling on the State and the big players in the sector to avoid a “disaster both social and industrial”.
