The Avignon Ceramic company, chaired and managed by Philippe Coulon, changes hands at the end of the month. Carole Blazik thus takes the reins of a thriving business.
From 45 employees to 165 today. Philippe Coulon remembers the more than twenty-five years spent in the company, where from factory director in 1999, he became president in 2018.
A page that he is preparing to turn at the end of October, by taking a well-deserved retirement, at 62 years old. To replace him, Carole Blazik, 50, materials engineer and HEC graduate, originally from Metz (Moselle), also with solid experience in the aeronautics and defense sector, joined Avignon Ceramic on 1 last April.
Among the first French companies
“From a small porcelain production company, Avignon Céramic ranks among the leading French companies in the manufacture of ceramic cores for the aeronautics, medical and energy sectors,” recalls Philippe Coulon. A specialization – Avignon Ceramic has completely stopped the production of porcelain since the end of 2023, transferred to the company Merigous in Limoges – which allows it to be competitive, to continue its development, while “gaining square meters to install presses of injection, ovens, tools…”.
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“We are recruiting and our growth is strong, with a turnover this year of 14 million euros, compared to 12 million in 2023. The aeronautical market is going strong, as evidenced by our development, in terms of technique and trade, with new products and the evolution of production capacities. »
Philippe Coulon (President of Avignon Ceramic)
Philippe Coulon, first quality manager in the Ardennes, “in the field of steelmaking and foundry refractories”, then automotive paints, then completed an MBA
of management and strategic management, to then become, at the age of 37, factory director at Avignon Ceramic. He then became president in 2018, when the management team, with the support of an investment fund, bought the company.
“Exciting challenges and promising opportunities”
When he arrived in this small company in Cher, he set his sights on “preserving a 130-year heritage, improving and developing the market and the production tool and passing on a thriving business”.
A bet which seems to have been met with the resumption of the presidency of Avignon Ceramic by Carole Blazik, with 25 years of experience in the aeronautics field, and a “great knowledge of customers in the sector”, which has distinguished itself in his career through strategic positions in Safran and Thalès. But from 2021 to 2023, the latter worked in Montpellier, in the field of manufacturing surgical robots and thus traveled from her place of life, in Châteauroux (Indre) and her work.
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Avignon Ceramic is thus, for her, an opportunity to get closer to the region, but also a stimulating challenge, she who says she is “fully confident in our abilities and our expertise to advance and grow Avignon Ceramic. »
“We face exciting challenges and promising opportunities, and I am confident that our dedication, creativity and determination will enable us to achieve our most ambitious goals. » Carole Blazik
(New president of Avignon Ceramic)
Philippe Coulon keeps one foot in the company
“It’s a logical continuation for the company that has been established here for a long time. We are one of the important local companies and it is a question of continuing research and development in the local territory to sustain and grow the activity,” adds Philippe Coulon.
At the end of the month, when he will have definitively handed over the keys to the company to Carole Blazik, Philippe Coulon intends to devote his time to his other passions. Boating, which he practices in the Saint-Amand-Montrond nautical club, but also his role as judge at the Bourges commercial court.
He also remains a member of the strategic and supervisory committee, as well as a shareholder of Avignon Ceramic, the best way, without a doubt, to be a direct witness to the future success of the Bruère-Allichamps company.
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