The Fibre Excellence pulp mill, paralyzed for 10 days by a labor dispute at the end of September, was placed in receivership on Thursday 8 October by the Toulouse Commercial Court. The managers of the company based in Tarascon in the Bouches-du-Rhône department had declared the site in suspension of payments on 2 October last. The court has granted the company a 6-month observation period so that it can continue to operate normally.
Financial support from the State
In a press release dated 2 October, the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture indicated that the State took note of the decision and promised financial support for the plant.
" ?L 'State will provide financial support to enable the company, under the protection of the Court, to find a buyer within a reasonable time and to ensure its operation over that period. The cooperation of all concerned in the smooth running of the undertaking, and therefore in the search for a buyer, appears to be an essential condition.?»
For his part, the FO shop steward said he had asked the unions not to go on strike for the next six months, reports the daily Noon Free . Striking employees were denouncing social regression following the "?plan of survie?" set up by the management to turn the site around.
The plant, which has 280 employees and produces 270?000 tonnes of pulp per year, plays an important role for the region with a direct impact on other players in the timber industry. It belongs to the Canadian company Paper Excellence, itself owned by Jackson Widjaja, whose family runs Asia Pulp and Paper, the Indonesian giant of the global paper industry.
