The announcement had the effect of a cold shower. On March 8, the Tereos cooperative, known for its La Perruche and Béghin Say brands, announced its desire to shed three factories: a sugar factory in Escaudoeuvres (North), as well as the Morains distillery and a starch factory in Haussimont, both located in the Marne. The shock was particularly violent in the North, where the sugar refinery, which employed 123 people, was preparing to celebrate its 150th anniversary. In addition, Nestlé closed at the same time the Buitoni factory, in the neighboring town of Caudry.
On March 13, Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate for Industry, went to meet employees, representatives of Tereos and Nestlé and local elected officials, in Caudry, to consider the future of the two factories ready to close. under the door. Monday, August 28, he was preparing to hit the road for the North. With good news in its morocco: instead of the Escaudoeuvres sugar refinery, a chip factory will be built. The Belgian company Agristo has, in fact, chosen this site to establish itself in France. She was to sign the contract to purchase the land from Tereos on Monday.
The amount of the transaction is not revealed, but the ministry says that the Belgian industrialist would be ready to pay 350 million euros to build its French factory. A strategic investment for the family business, which already has two sites across Quiévrain and one in the Netherlands, and wishes to benefit from a region rich in potato cultivation. Especially since France is its second market and the consumption of fries and other potato croquettes is growing. Agristo should eventually employ nearly 350 employees in France, but it will be necessary to wait until the second half of 2027 for the operational start of manufacturing.
“Proposal of reclassification”
The employees of the Tereos sugar factory are therefore not affected by this reindustrialization project. Strongly mobilized in the face of this restructuring, the justification for which they did not understand, they negotiated with the leaders of Tereos. With success, it seems. “ Tereos management played the game. With the agreement signed on the job protection plan in June, we are almost 100% reclassified. Employees [devaient] receive, on August 28, by mail, a reclassification proposal, and they will have fifteen days to accept it or not “explains Ghislain Dubois, secretary of the central social and economic committee of Tereos.
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