From this factory in Carquefou (Loire-Atlantique), in the suburbs of Nantes, very classic in appearance, comes a rare product, at least for French industry. The Systovi company is one of the only ones in the country to still manufacture solar panels, notably with Voltec Solar, in Alsace. More precisely, it assembles components imported from other European countries. And from China, for silicon cells.
The gate opens; a van enters. But for how much longer? In difficulty, the SME of 87 employees “looking for a buyer”, she announced on March 14 in a press release. Otherwise, the activity would risk stopping after fifteen years of existence. Because these last few months have already convinced the French group Cetih, its majority shareholder since 2018, specializing in home equipment, to move on.
Like others in Europe, the subsidiary specializing in photovoltaics attributes the drop in its sales to “ the sudden acceleration of dumping Chinese », particularly since the summer of 2023. Even for the leading Asian power, domestic demand is not unlimited. So, the more Chinese manufacturers accumulated stock, the more they sold it at knockdown prices, to weaken the competition. And this, by exporting it to the European market, knowing that a lock protected the United States. There, the Inflation Reduction Act favors American producers.
Lack of incentive to purchase
Result, on the Carquefolian side, “the order book has melted like snow in the sun”, admits the general director of Systovi, Paul Toulouse, who is giving himself a month to find a buyer. “If a country depends entirely on foreign companies to achieve the energy transition, it will not be able to carry it out at the pace it wants”, he says as a warning, regretting the lack of incentive to buy panels assembled in France. Example: a reduced VAT could, according to him, apply to these.
At the end of the morning of Wednesday March 20, the manager put on a cap, then put on overshoes. Direction the production line. Now just one is enough, from morning to evening. Until a few months ago, two sometimes operated in parallel.
The company refuses to provide its net results, year after year. On the other hand, it readily communicates on its turnover, to highlight the impact of Chinese competition on its growth. Between September 2022 and August 2023, this indicator was 21.5 million euros, almost twice as much as that of the previous year (12.5 million), before the drop in activity in the following months.
You have 45.77% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.