In the North, the twenty vehicles and vans with the red and gray logo of Bâti’Gonçalves continue to crisscross the Lille metropolis. But in the offices of this general construction company from Roubaix, we are facing the wall of inflation. “Beyond the impact of the cost of diesel on our vehicle fleet, the rise in raw material prices is becoming unmanageable”, explains Fatima.
Responsible for producing the quotes for this artisanal renovation and construction company for all trades with thirty-five employees, she sees the prices of materials increase from week to week. From now on, there is no longer any question of making quotes valid for three months. “We are on a month, because it becomes catastrophic to quantify, she says. Between December and January, Velux windows increased by 12%. To create a bathroom, you have to consult all the suppliers for each product…”
Extension of delivery times
She cites other examples: blue stone terraces, the price of which has doubled in a few months, doorsets, the prices of which vary from suppliers every forty-eight hours since Christmas, or even screws, whose prices soar. In addition to the price increase, the company is suffering from longer delivery times.
The president of the French Building Federation FFB 59-62, Benoît Loison, confirms: “With the Covid, it was quite tense in terms of human resources to manage absences, but now it is the soaring prices and shortages on certain materials that worry us. » This 57-year-old metal manufacturer keeps a cool head. But how do you continue to supply your customers with aluminum stairs and joinery when Russia produces 80% of France’s alumina needs? “We don’t have a plan B. Some stock up, but for that, you have to have the necessary cash, he said. However, in the majority of construction companies, these are undercapitalized companies with fewer than ten employees. »
At Loison, the 170 employees specializing in carpentry, locksmithing, aluminum joinery and fire protection/fire protection joinery discovered that with the war in Ukraine, certain materials had increased by 10% to 30% in recent days. “Everything is on fire. Some steels even took 50%,” observes Benoît Loison. What worries him are the alarm messages since this weekend from suppliers. “What is looming is that everyone is panicking and that these behaviors are driving purchases crazy. »
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