All employees ofEmaver were on deck this Thursday, October 5 to present to customers of the company specializing in the supply of custom-made windows the workshop from which their products come, i.e. around forty references in all sizes and shapes.
Double glazing, laminated glass, tempered glass, mirrors… The know-how of this family business, with an astonishing history, is very diverse. To maintain it and expand it further, the SME with 42 employees owned by Emilie Potier, who bought it from her father in 2012, has just acquired a new double glazing assembly line, a specialty which represents 60 % from production. Amount: €1.4M.
The company would need
to expand its surface area, without success for the moment.
“The old machine was obsolete and we needed to respond to the needs of the market which is increasingly demanding large-sized products, for example 4.5 by 2.7m”explains the manager.
In these premises nestled in the heart of the La Garde business area, very close to the supermarkets, large glass trays are transformed, 95% supplied by the Saint-Gobain Group, to which Emaver belonged between 1977 and 1987. “My father was director of the group’s subsidiaries and did not want this factory to be sold; he therefore bought it himself from Saint-Gobain in 1987”summarizes Emilie Potier.
Trust
The relationship between the small SME and the materials giant has remained. “This relationship of trust has allowed us to never be out of supply during the pandemic in particular.” Emaver also produces two ranges licensed by Saint-Gobain and must therefore follow very strict specifications. Which ensures in particular the solidity of certain guardrails, in laminated glass (two plates are welded together at very high temperature in an oven) or tempered glass, used to avoid, in the event of breakage, the formation of sharp pieces of glass and likely to cause serious injury. The fleet of machines, 80% less than five years old, includes a rolling mill, a quenching oven, but also a polishing space which allows the edges of a glass wall to be softened or even a cutting workshop, to give them any shape, by milling and again polishing.
Energy bill
With temperatures above 400° in the quenching furnace, the SME has suffered the full brunt of rising energy costs and is optimizing its production ranges to cope. “Since the spring, we have also seen the slowdown in the construction sector on which we depend, but we continue to invest, it is essential”assures Emilie Potier who had already dedicated €630k in 2022 to storage, also important to ensure continuous supply for its approximately 650 customers.
Who attended the open day on October 5, also intended to promote the image of this company born in 1956 and capable of today posting a turnover of €6.4 million, with a tailor-made strategy which does not neglect any type of customer.