The Max Vauché chocolate factory in Controis-en-Sologne in Loir-et-Cher was the victim of a major fire on December 13. However, its manager is not giving up and intends to restart production in the coming days.
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Seen from the sky, nothing remains of the production part of the chocolate factory. This Sunday, December 15, almost 48 hours after the start of the disaster, the still smoking metal sheets and the firefighters who continue to work on the roof to cool the building testify to the intensity of the fire. “Chocolate is a fat and like all fats, from the moment it starts to burn, it maintains the heat and it takes longer to decompose”explains Commander Damien Borde, head of relief operations.
This Friday, December 13, around 9 p.m., a fire broke out on the production site of the Max Vauché chocolate factory in Controis-en-Sologne (Loir-et-Cher). No casualties were reported, but several tons of chocolate were stored in the 800 m2 of this production and storage site.
Only the sales and administration part of the site could be saved by the firefighters. But even in the store preserved from the flames, Emmanuel Le Goff, the company's co-manager, must face the facts. “It’s all dead, it smells like fire,” he notes while handling chocolates in bulk.
The end of the year promised, as usual, to be crucial for this SME with 50 employees which generates 40% of its turnover during the holidays. Driven by an incredible surge of generosity, Emmanuel Le Goff intends to do everything to save this important period for his company.
The boss claims to have received “dhundreds of messages” manufacturers, customers, suppliers, local players, who both affirm their support for the company and ask the manager “What can we do to help you? We also had insurance which intervened very quickly. The expert already came yesterday to see the damage and open the file. We will be able to move forward with them.”
Not to mention the support of employees. “They are all here and waiting for our instructions. They are ready. It's great because we are a family.”
I would really like to thank everyone because it's huge and it supports us, it helps us and it pushes us forward.
Emmanuel Le Goff – Co-manager of the Max Vauché chocolate factory
In addition to its store in Contres, the company has several sales sites in Blois, Orléans, Tours, and a small production workshop in Bracieux (Loir-et-Cher). “The prefect personally called me so that we could make a meeting with all the local actors he had summoned so that we could find solutions to be able to support us and so that we could restart and begin to resume a production efficiently”, rejoices Emmanuel Le Goff.
The meeting, scheduled for Monday, December 16, should therefore make it possible to make the necessary decisions to restart activity on the more modest Bracieux site.
