2023-11-20 18:30:22
Published on Nov. 20, 2023 at 6:52 p.m. Updated on Nov. 20, 2023 at 7:16 p.m.
The commercial court of Lille Métropole placed MG Valdunes in receivership on Monday, appointing a receiver whose responsibility will be to find within six months a buyer for the last French manufacturer of wheels and axles for the railway. The procedure now allows a public call for tenders to be launched.
Around fifty employees from the two sites – Leffrinckoucke near Dunkirk and Trith-Saint-Léger near Valenciennes – made the trip. They said they were rather “reassured” following the court’s decision.
Cutting the cord with the shareholder
In the opinion of those close to the matter, the scenario of a takeover has the merit of clarity and effectiveness, by cutting the umbilical cord with the shareholder, the Chinese MA Steel, which has long been absent.
Against all expectations, however, he was present yesterday at the commercial court through the president of the company Aibing Liu and the commercial director, Xie Feng, who came to recall the 150 million euros already invested over the last ten years, whether to pay off losses or invest on the two industrial sites – 30 million euros in total, very little compared to Valdunes’ European competitors.
The referral to the commercial court “is a step in a process that began a few months ago and which will continue,” according to Roland Lescure, the minister responsible for industry. According to him, the judicial recovery will make it possible to secure cash flow and business continuity at least until the end of the year, or even in March.
In addition to the three potential buyers who have already come forward, three other candidates would be in the running, employees learned during the hearing on Monday, without specifying the names.
In recent months, the public authorities have contacted some 60 companies and received a number of expressions of interest. Several of them relate to only one of the two sites (the Leffrinckoucke forge or the Trith-Saint-Léger machine shop), but not both together.
Investment requirement of 65 million
This Thursday, the two audit firms commissioned by Bercy, Grant Thornton and PwC, will submit their report, which should indicate an amount of 65 million euros to be invested over three years in the industrial system, for its submission at the level.
To become truly competitive, Valdunes, which currently has orders of 25,000 to 30,000 wheels per year but which loses on average 15 million per year, should move to an annual production scale of 80,000 to 100,000 pieces, according to experts.
Solicited by the CGT in particular, very active on this issue, the major customers Alstom, SNCF and RATP, who buy a number of train or metro wheels from Czech, Italian or Spanish competitors, are willing to commit over the long term to orders, but they are reluctant to take a significant stake.
No Franco-French solution
SNCF obtains its supplies from four European wheel manufacturers (including 20% of its needs from Valdunes). Conversely, the entire French market, including Alstom, does not exceed 30 to 40,000 wheels per year, and the public authorities are keen that the northern manufacturer continues to export. “The Valdunes solution cannot be Franco-French,” believes someone close to the matter.
For Maxime Savaux (CGT) secretary of the CE, things must not last too long because there is “a flight of staff: 23 people have already left since last May”. “In terms of national sovereignty, ecological transition and green rail, Valdunes ticks all the boxes,” he judged as he left the court.
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