Fruit or chocolate? You don't have to choose anymore, Andros offers both! The Lotois group has just bought the Poulain chocolate factory near Blois (41) and thus saved the 109 employees threatened with dismissal.
Was it the commercial success of his chocolate spread that gave Andros a taste for cocoa? However, the Lot company, until now a fruit specialist, has just made an acquisition that should have an impact on the continuation of its chocolate adventure.
Just at the beginning of the week, it acquired the Poulain chocolate factory located in Villebarou, in Loir-et-Cher (41). “We actually went there on Monday to meet with staff representatives and visit the site. We are satisfied with the agreement reached with the company Carambar & Co and its president Marc Auclair, who will also remain the owners of the Poulain It brand. it's satisfying for everyone,” Andros management told us on Wednesday.
While the company established in the Center Val de Loire region since 1848 was doomed to close by the end of the year, the acquisition of the site, buildings, lines and equipment and the taking over of the 109 factory employees by the Andros Group sounds like an almost unexpected renewal and a halt to the 109 planned layoffs. “We retain all the staff”, assures Alexandre Godin, director of sustainable development and communication for the Andros Group “There are real skills within this company, the know-how is there, they have the experience we will learn more about the use of chocolate because we have met dedicated employees , quality and qualified.”
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Poulain chocolate: why the historic factory near Blois will close its doors
The land, the buildings, the employees are taken over, but not the Poulain brand
June announcements by the CPK group (Carambar, Poulain, Krema) justifying a closure plan due to rising raw material costs and falling chocolate consumption did not deter Andros from buying back. On the contrary. “We will become a subcontractor for the CPK Group which will market, under its Poulain brand, chocolate products manufactured by Andros in Villebarou. This guarantees production for the next three years, within the current scope of the industrial project that has just been outlined,” explains Alexandre Godin.
What Loir et Cher employees think about it
“It's a relief,” said Didier Calvo, general secretary of CGT41, “because they had to close everything and lay off the 109 employees Andros is not taking over the brand, he will be a subcontractor for three years, we hope after their industrial project will be up to par In any case, it is a solid agri-food group that takes control.
The Poulain firm, over a century old in Blois, is a true heritage of the Loir et Cher; so knowing that it was doomed because profitability was less than expected was heartbreaking for everyone. “We will continue to make chocolate here and that is already encouraging for the future. But having already been sold and bought in the past to Mondelez, then to the investment fund Eurazéo, the company has seen its production capacities limited. So we expect an ambitious project. from Andros,” he continued.
As for Toni Anjoran, trade union representative at Poulain, he states on behalf of the inter-union: “It is a great satisfaction and relief for the employees and their families, we are also enthusiastic about the idea of joining Andros, a French family and industrial group, which puts price on the know-how of the employees and on the quality of the production, unlike the investment funds that have the sole purpose of making short-term profits the final agreement and the formalization of the commitments that must be made by Carambar regarding the maintenance of the production of Poulain chocolates on the site, the lack the transfer by the Carambar group of the Poulain brand to the priorities of the Intersyndicate, is a disappointment and a source of concern. The sustainability of the site and the long-term jobs will therefore be based on the industrial project of the Andros group, which requires very important investments.
To achieve this, Andros knows the recipe. “Buy a quality raw material, master its processing and find the right balance of price for the company and for the customers,” they whisper in our ear.
A chocolate paste born in Lot, ready to develop
For now, Biars in the Lot is making chocolate spread. But Frédéric Gervoson knows it and is committed to it, as is Florian Delmas, general manager of the Andros Group: “If our products are born in Lot, they are destined to develop and take off. Here, our equipment is adapted to fruit, with refrigerators and cooling systems There, they have the lines for chocolate, everything is planned for”.
The challenges are therefore obvious for Andros, especially since the Loir et Cher chocolate factory, which until now produced chocolate powder and bars, offers great development capabilities. But the opportunity to build a real large-scale industrial project there within three years can only be considered with investment, support and support from the state and local authorities. Because although we are greedy on Andros, we know how to remain cautious.