One year after its closure, the Arjowiggins paper mill located in Bessé-sur-Braye in the Sarthe region of France has a new owner. The specialty paper mill is now owned by Paper Mill Industries (PMI). With no buyer so far, the sequana Group's site had to be closed on 29 March 2019 and the 566 employees had been laid off. The former employees divided into two groups have since not given up and have even managed to suspend the sale of industrial machinery, which was due to take place at the end of May.
Paper Mill Industries is a subsidiary of the Dottori Group based in Canada "specialising in the wood industry, and more specifically in the field of forest products and paper." The liquidators, Mr. Christophe Basse and Mr. Marc Sénéchal, indicate.
"The development of several projects"
The PMI project is based on "the development of several projects: wood activity, textile fiber recycling, sustainable paper production, art and security." PMI plans to hire around 240 people by 2025 and is committed to offering these jobs as a priority to Arjo's former employees.
"We propose to reindustrialize the former papermaking site of Bessé-sur-Braye in order to revitalize the regional economy and bring new sources of attractiveness to the area, with the help of industrial projects based on the fundamental principles of sustainable development and using existing industrial tools, explains in a press release Pierre Petit, President of PMI.
We will use local resources, train local assets, and redistribute the results to the regional employment area, while following a circular economy approach that minimizes ecological impacts."
In addition, he wants to create "an incubator to enable start-ups to develop their projects and integrate their innovations into industry" .
