He invented the supermarket trolley, which he has been manufacturing since 1928. The famous manufacturer of the Caddy brand, established in Alsace, declared himself in default on Monday (January 3), Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned with the president of the company, Stéphane Dedieu. “Our cash flow is dry”, he said, confirming information from Latest News from Alsace (DNA).
A hearing which will determine the conditions of his receivership is scheduled for Tuesday morning before the commercial chamber of the judicial court of Saverne (Bas-Rhin), confirmed Mr. Dedieu.
Third receivership since 2012
“It is a conjunction of misfortunes that brought us [à cette situation] “, explained the leader, who had taken over the presidency of the Reunited Caddy Workshops following a previous receivership in 2014.
“We have suffered a lot of setbacks since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a significant drop in turnover, mainly because we work a lot with clients abroad”, detailed the president of the company, which still have 140 employees.
“Then, we had supply difficulties which delayed our productions, then a cluster” among employees, he added, also referring to the rising cost of raw materials such as steel.
Luc Strohmenger, union delegate of the French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC) and secretary of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), implicated “Risky management” funds guaranteed by the state in the context of the pandemic. The employees are in a state of“Abatement, it’s a huge waste”, he said, he who will experience his third receivership with the company. The Reunited Caddy Workshops, which have grown with the rise of the consumer society, have in fact already undergone two legal reorganizations since 2012.
In the summer of 2020, the company, 70% owned since 2018 by the Polish Damix, had already cut fifty jobs and regrouped its forklift production activities for mass distribution on the Dettwiller site (Bas-Rhin). “But we had a lot of setbacks when we reconnected our production lines and we lost a lot of production days, which ate up our cash flow”, explained Mr. Dedieu. He hopes that this new judicial reorganization will mark ” a new start “ for this “Beautiful brand”.