The situation at the Fibre Excellence Group is now playing out on two fronts. In Tarascon, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, the closure of the Provençal paper mill has been finalized, and the focus is now on shutting down and securing the facilities. In Saint-Gaudens, in the Haute-Garonne department, a bid to take over the pulp mill has yet to be reviewed by the courts.
On July 27, the Toulouse Commercial Court ordered the judicial liquidation of Fibre Excellence Provence, which operated the Tarascon facility. The plant, which employed 270 workers, officially closed on August 28. The remaining employees still under contract must, in turn, leave the paper mill as part of the layoff process.
However, some of them had been providing temporary maintenance for the facilities until now. Their departure therefore accelerates the shutdown of the site, which is classified as a Seveso facility.
An incident during a purge in Tarascon
The court also commissioned Realtec, a company specializing in the shutdown of industrial sites, to oversee this phase with volunteer employees who are familiar with the facilities. The work includes, in particular, draining and purging operations, which must be carried out in a specific order.
"Shutting down an industrial site of this nature requires continuous access to the facilities and adherence to a precise technical sequence," Fibre Excellence points out in a press release. But according to the paper manufacturer, "The difficulties the teams tasked with the operation have encountered in accessing the site in recent days have disrupted the originally planned schedule and complicated the execution of certain security operations," without specifying the nature of these difficulties.
On the evening of Tuesday, September 1, during this transition period, an incident occurred: during a purge, approximately 6 m 3 Industrial wastewater was unexpectedly discharged. It was contained within the retention system and then directed to the plant's wastewater treatment facility. Emergency responders and authorities arrived on the scene to conduct an investigation.
"No discharge into the environment or pollution was observed," Fibre Excellence states. The paper manufacturer believes that this incident " "specifically emphasizes the need to carry out the draining, purging, and securing of the site in a fully controlled environment, with specialized teams having permanent access to the facilities."
The permanent shutdown and securing of the Tarascon site must now proceed under the supervision of the court-appointed liquidator and in coordination with government agencies.
Saint-Gaudens Awaits the Court's Decision
While Tarascon enters this final phase of its industrial operations, the future of Fibre Excellence?s other plant remains uncertain. The Tarascon and Saint-Gaudens sites were placed under court receivership in late April. Indonesian shareholder Jackson Wijaya had previously injected nearly 300 million euros before deciding not to provide further funding, citing a lack of profitability.
On July 27, the Toulouse Commercial Court rejected the comprehensive takeover bid submitted by Matthieu Pigasse with the support of the Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. Tarascon was placed in judicial liquidation, while Saint-Gaudens was granted an extension.
A new bid was submitted on August 24 for the Haut-Garonne plant, which also employs 270 workers. Led by several industrial companies and submitted through the Regional Agency for Strategic Investments?managed by the Occitanie Region?the project notably includes Soprema. According to Le Figaro, a European manufacturer would take over the pulp business, while Soprema would develop other operations at the site.
The Toulouse Commercial Court is scheduled to review this offer on September 8. Until then, the two former industrial divisions of Fibre Excellence are heading in opposite directions: Tarascon is preparing for its permanent shutdown, while Saint-Gaudens still has the possibility of continuing production.
