The Lille commercial court placed the last manufacturer of train wheels in France, Valdunes, into receivership on Monday November 20. Abandoned in May by its shareholder, the Chinese MA Steel, the company is still looking for a buyer.
The court, noting a cessation of payments on November 8, considers that a “recovery plan is possible”. The company and employee representatives will appear at a first hearing on January 17.
Valdunes has around 320 employees, divided between a forge in Leffrinckoucke, near Dunkirk, and Trith-Saint-Léger, near Valenciennes, where wheels and axles are machined. “At this stage, we do not have an expression of interest for both sites, but we have separate expressions of interest for each of the two sites”declared the Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure, during a telephone press briefing.
The State and the Hauts-de-France region announced in mid-October that they would make a financial commitment to support a possible recovery. “We now hope that the receiver will be able to transform these expressions of interest into a takeover offer, and that the company can be taken over by a buyer who will ensure its sustainability”reacted one of Valdunes’ lawyers, Jean-Charles Gancia.
The possibility of a takeover by Alstom-SNCF ruled out
“There is hope of finding a serious buyer for the two sites”, estimated Maxime Savaux, elected (CGT) to the company’s CSE. In September, the general secretary of the CGT, Sophie Binet, called for the takeover of Valdunes by an Alstom-SNCF consortium, two major clients of the company. This avenue has since been ruled out, with SNCF and Alstom ready to “play their role as responsible buyers”but not to become majority shareholders, according to the ministry. “The Valdunes solution cannot be Franco-French”Mr. Lescure estimated on Monday.
According to the ministry, Valdunes, which currently produces 30,000 wheels per year on average, would have to produce at least 80,000 to be profitable, or twice as much as the needs of the French market, SNCF, RATP and Alstom combined.
The company, which has the cash necessary to operate until March, could need 65 million euros of investment over three years to relaunch its activity, estimates Bercy, who adds that two reports will be presented Thursday on the specific needs of Valdunes. “The possible transformation of sites into other activities is one of the possible scenarios”specified Mr. Lescure.
“Politicians have a responsibility to save French rail”replied Maxime Savaux. “They talk to us about the environment, ecological transition, green rail, national sovereignty. There, we tick all the boxes”he said in front of the employees who had made the trip to the commercial court.