A France Inter broadcast recorded in the Duralex factory in Loiret

The report from France Inter newspaper 13/14 on Thursday January 16 was devoted to the Duralex factory in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin

The presenter of 13/14, Jérôme Cadet, and his team regularly go into the field to introduce France Inter listeners to French companies that are showing themselves to be bold and offensive in the fight against deindustrialization.

The purpose of this show on site is to help us better understand how men and women succeed in finding strategies and resources in order to overcome economic obstacles or… strategic errors, in this case for Duralex, those of previous managers, which had resulted in several legal receiverships of the company.

As a reminder, the famous glass brand almost disappeared a few months ago. But the mobilization and solidarity of both employees and local communities saved the company thanks to the creation of a SCOP (cooperative and participatory company).

“Now it’s a bit like our home”

Thursday January 16, the France Inter team was at La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin. Previously, to prepare for the show, she met, for two days, employees of the factory but also customers of the new Duralex store located in the Halles Châtelet shopping center in Orléans, and whose first figures of business is promising.

The journalist also went to the homes of two Duralex employees, David and Maria, who are now more confident: “Before, the funds were poorly managed and perhaps “misplaced”; now they stay in the company.” And Maria, after recognizing that her view had changed on the elected officials who really mobilized, added: “Now, it’s a bit like our house.”

Jérôme Cadet presented François Marciano, general director of Scop, as “the man who embodies this fight and this crazy bet”. The director defended the cooperative model chosen:

Serge Grouard, president of Orléans Métropole, recalled that “deindustrialization is not inevitable and that elected officials, of different political sensibilities, have all worked together for the general interest”.

Orléans Métropole invested 6 million euros for the land purchase of the factory. The Centre-Val de Loire Region participated in a loan of 1 million euros and activated the guarantee fund to cover bank loans. Private partners, notably banks, also supported the recovery in SCOP.

Valérie Barthe Cheneau, mayor of La Chapelle, confided her relief because “the takeover in Scop was the only project to propose keeping all jobs”.

The Bi Club Chapellois highlighted

The 13/14 presenter questioned Vincent Vallin, strategy and development director. And his message is clear: “The issue is that of marketing and commercialization. Nine salespeople, five of whom are dedicated to international operations (65% of sales), have been recruited in order to consolidate the European market and regain our shares in the Asian and North American markets.”

Jérôme Cadet also gave the floor to another manager of a local company, Lionel Clermont, CEO of Guinault aéronautique in Saint-Cyr-en-Val. A “successful export” company with 350 employees and 80 million turnover.

Finally, the show gave great publicity to the BMX club, the Bi Club Chaplois, one of the largest in France with its 340 members, some of whom are at the highest European level.