2023-09-28 12:01:00
The Schmitt textile group, in legal redress, will be partially taken over by an employee cooperative. It will start with 52 employees out of the 140 employed by the group’s various companies, the cooperative and the Mulhouse judicial court (Haut-Rhin) announced this Thursday.
The proposed sale to a cooperative production company (Scop) for the velvet fabric company Velcorex in Saint-Amarin (Haut-Rhin) has been validated by the commercial chamber of the Mulhouse judicial court. This company brings together 52 employees out of the 85 in this subsidiary, said Marie-Madeleine Maucourt, director of the Regional Union of Scop Grand Est, who is supporting the preparation of the file. “The personnel involved represent the core activity of Velcorex,” she indicated, specifying that the project aims “to increase to around 70 employees during 2024”. The recovery should become effective in the second half of October, she added.
A lack of liquidity to grow
The hearing at the judicial court, which was held on Wednesday, however resulted in the liquidation of the two other companies of the Schmitt group, Philéa, in Soultz (Haut-Rhin), and Emmanuel Lang, in Hirsingue (Haut-Rhin) .
In total, the group currently employs 140 employees. It was formed in 1998 by Pierre Schmitt, a former manager of the Mulhouse company DMC (Dollfus-Mieg & Compagnie) with the aim of establishing a local production sector (spinning, weaving, etc.) for clothing. Its founder had been involved in the processing of natural materials such as linen for several years. But in recent months, it has not been able to raise funding for its developments, which has deteriorated the group’s financial situation to the point of leading it to go into receivership in June.
The only offer for a global takeover, which came from the Franco-Swiss fund Big Invest, was withdrawn before the last hearing, due to failure to provide proof of raising its financing. For Scop’s project to save Velcorex, a world-renowned velvet company, “the necessary amounts, around 7 million euros, have been raised”, underlined Marie-Madeleine Maucourt.
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