Glassmaker Duralex resumed production Monday at its historic site in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin (Loiret), after five months of shutdown due to high energy prices, noted an AFP journalist. . “The State was there, with 15 million euros to help restart activity. (…) We now have a restart, largely because energy prices have fallen, but also partly because the State has done its job”, welcomed the Minister Delegate in charge of of Industry, Roland Lescure, visiting the site on Monday morning. “We have put in place energy aid which has been useful,” he said.
The company based in the suburbs of Orléans had put its oven on standby in November 2022 and placed all of its employees on partial unemployment to save on energy and preserve its finances. “Without state aid, we would not be here, we would have taken much more drastic decisions a few months ago”, added the president of Duralex, José-Luis Llacuna, who estimated the losses from the glassmaker to 2 million euros during the production stoppage. “The 250 Duralex employees held up very well during these five months. (…) They are all there at the rendezvous”, he appreciated.
“Energy prices are stabilizing a tiny bit, although it’s still double or triple what it was before. (…) At the price of the megawatt / hour announced for the end of 2022, it was madness to continue producing”, assured the leader, who has already concluded contracts with energy suppliers for 2023 and 2024. “Energy is purchased for 2023 and 2024, this is no longer a subject”, he insisted, however deploring a certain “cautiousness in demand”.
The French Glass House, which owns the Pyrex and Duralex brands, has already placed the employees of its Pyrex sites in Indre in partial activity, to cope with “a drop in demand”. Upon his arrival, Roland Lescure was arrested by around 80 demonstrators opposed to the pension reform, supervised by the police. “Thanks to us, they will be able to work”, concluded the minister, after a tense exchange.