Only two years after Duralex’s employees took over as a worker cooperative, and four months after it entered judicial receivership, its fifth such case in 20 years, the Orléans commercial court decided on Wednesday, October 14, to transfer ownership of to Tomé, a holding company led by entrepreneur Cédric Meston. Meston, in partnership with a consortium of investors, was selected over the Carlesimo group, a foundry operator based in Saint-Étienne.
The Duralex glass factory is in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, located in the Loiret department in north-central France.
Tomé’s proposal retained the highest number of jobs, keeping around 150 jobs of the over 200 employees still on-site. “We are deeply sorry for the 60 or so people who will lose their jobs, but this was the best solution to ensure the company’s survival and prevent a chain reaction affecting Duralex’s industrial partners. We will do everything we can to make sure the factory never ends up in this situation again,” said Cedric Meston.
The full financial details behind the deal were not disclosed.
