EVENING FACT The Region takes a tour of Japanese companies and inspirations in Gard

In Garons, the Region in the race for economic development with Asics

As part of Japan's fortnight in Occitania and the ties of friendship and partnerships which unite the two territories, Jalil Benabdillah, vice-president of the Region in charge of the economy, employment, innovation and reindustrialization, accompanied by the consul general of Japan in Marseille, Hiroshi Kitagawa, was traveling in Gard throughout the day on Friday. A day dedicated to economic development, which began with a visit to the Asics brand distribution center, located in Garons. This site with a storage area of ​​28,000 m² on the ground, to which is added 3,000 m² of mezzanine, is responsible for the distribution of the Japanese equipment manufacturer's products for Southern Europe, the main markets of which are France. , Italy, Portugal and Spain. “We distribute nearly 9 million products per year. 80% of these are shoes and 20% textiles, explains Laurent Langle, the director of the Gard site. Our goal, in the coming months, is to reach 10 million units.”

“We process 35,000 units per day on average which are sent either to commercial brands or to individuals”

Laurent Langle, director of the Asics de Garons site

Thus, every day, dozens of containers arriving by boat and loaded in Fos-sur-Mer are received on the Gard platform before being redistributed in Europe. “The shoes are made either in Vietnam or Cambodia. The clothes, for their part, are made in Portugal or Israel”specifies Samih Khalef, director of Asics France whose head office is located in Lattes, in Hérault. Formerly operated by the Auchan group for its logistics, the Garons site, which was bought by Asics in 2018, employs around a hundred employees – mainly for logistics handling – during low periods as currently. “We have two periods of high activity during the year, explains Laurent Langle. In December and January, for the preparation of the summer collection, and in June and July for the winter one.” Two periods during which the company uses temporary staff. “We have very good relations with the Asics company, declares Jalil Benabdilah who, in addition to his mandate as regional elected official, is the co-founder of the Alesian company SDTech, specializing in the micronization, analysis and custom processing of fine and ultrafine powders. We have agreements that give meaning to action well beyond the purely commercial aspect.”

Management has invested nearly 12 million euros in recent years to make the site fully automated. “We process 35,000 units per day on average which are sent either to commercial brands or to individuals, indicates Laurent Langle, former executive at Amazon. Our goal is to increase volumes in the coming months.” A development of production capacities which should be accompanied by job creation, and undoubtedly an expansion of Gard warehouses which today have nearly 2 million pieces in stock.

In Uchaud, near the seed giant, Sakata

The visit of the Japanese consul and vice-president Jalil Benabdillah continued at the headquarters of Sakata in Uchaud, the global seed giant. Founded in 1913, the company today has 2,700 employees around the world, including 193 in Gard. Uchaud serves Europe, the Middle East and Africa, mainly from the west.

The more than two-hour immersion began in the supply chain where the seeds arrive. The site mainly receives vegetable seeds, more particularly broccoli. “ In recent years, we have relocated our activities to France and Spain, through our site in Ponts-de-Cé near Angers. », Notes Matthieu Maxant, deputy general director.

The visit continued in the cleaning area, a process under the seal of secrecy to protect against competition. “Depending on the pathogen, we coat the seed with phytosanitary products. We know that they are not in the odor of holiness, but it is the most effective solution“, explains Basile de Bary, general director.

Sakata's turnover is around €500 million per year. Note that 20% is reinvested in research. The immersion also ended with the laboratory in which certain species are crossed to make them more resistant or more palatable to consumers. This is the case of broccoli crossed with Asian cabbage which makes the new broccoli more tender and sweet. “Without us, these two vegetables would not have crossed paths.”concludes the director. If we dared, we would say that Sakata is also a meeting club for plants…

In Bagard, high value-added artistic crafts at Sericyne

From Uchaud, Jalil Benabdillah joined the Cévennes Piedmont, for a meeting around silk, always in the company of the Japanese consul in Marseille (who studied in Montpellier for a year, 36 years ago). The discussion with the only man who has believed in the sustainability of the activity in the Cévennes for 50 years, the Monoblétois Michel Costa (Objective Gard will return there soon), allowed the elected official to learn that the links between the surroundings of Alès and Japan, around silk, date back to 1948. He then went to the company's new offices Sericyne, who gradually moves his activities from Monoblet to Bagard, to the Château de Chirac.

“We have created new materials from silk and silkworms”

Clara Hardy, founder of Sericyne in Monoblet and Bagard

For the moment, the company is retaining the agricultural part of its activities in Monoblet, alongside its breeders trained in silkworms. “We have created new materials from silk and silkworms”explains the company's founder, Clara Hardy. Sericyne even taught her crawling workers to “drool” differently, flat, on a plate, instead of creating a cocoon. “We have filed a series of innovations, several industrial patents and we are trying to re-introduce the sector.” In Corbès, for example, Sericyne agreed on a long lease to plant mulberry trees on communal land. And in Bagard, there is no shortage of projects, with plans to plant one to three hectares per year, over five years, of white mulberries, the exclusive food of the silkworm.

The company ultimately produces “only” 75 kilos of silk per year, which still represents the work of 51,000 silkworms. Not enough to make clothing, therefore, and that is not the company's desire anyway. By producing in France, Sericyne targets an economy of high added value, the luxury industry to name but a few, whether to package or enhance already existing products. Recently, Sericyne designed 400 silk busts on thermoformed plastic, for a major French luxury jewelry brand. It also produces lampshades for lighting fixtures, to order of course. And sometimes adorns the bottles of perfumers inspired by Cévennes production.

“Today, we are even working on tanning methods, continues Clara Hardy, by treating the silk sheet like leather”. Ideas for watch straps emerged from this process, notably with a manufacturer from Doubs. In Bagard, the company employs seven employees all year round. But there are in fact between 10 and 15 people who work for Sericyne, depending on the seasons, and not counting the silkworm breeders. Led for 50 years by Michel Costa, the work of conserving knowledge and this heritage is beginning to bear fruit, under the effect of the social responsibility of companies, which encourages them to make local work, and the desire for reindustrialization . It is therefore a long way from the 80s, which saw Michel Costa entrust his silkworms to the schoolchildren of Monoblet so that they could feed them with mulberry leaves while they grew. However, they too will have participated in the great adventure of silk in the Cévennes and its new youth.