Who are the five saviors of the Varages earthenware factory?
The chances of their paths crossing in Varages were slim. Yet, these five entrepreneurs, working in the Var region, have been holding regular videoconferences for the past month. Michaël Bruel, Benoît Adet, Christian Meli, Nicolas Plazanet, and Philippe Rivière, like five musketeers, shook hands last spring after visiting the Varages pottery factory, which was in the midst of liquidation proceedings, with the aim of reviving this three-hundred-year-old business.
This was, however, the third time that the factory, which now had only a handful of employees, had been placed in receivership by the commercial court. The village in the Haut-Var had previously experienced its golden age, with four factories and more than 300 workers busy making this nationally renowned tableware, from the local red earth, which was used to create the biscuit, then glazed... "But the biscuit-making machines were sold during the previous liquidation, and this part of the industrial process was outsourced to Portugal," summarizes Quentin Cressend, the receiver in charge of the liquidation pronounced last February. The Dracénois nevertheless immediately believed in a takeover project. "He was the one who convinced me. I admit myself that I didn't think we could restart the activity," recalls Mayor Guy Partage, who had asked the municipal council for permission to make a takeover offer on behalf of the municipality, for an amount of 10,000 euros, with the idea of installing earthenware artisans on the site. And also out of respect for the struggle waged for fifteen years by the employees who had formed a cooperative, after the second liquidation, in order to preserve their work tool.
Convinced by the liquidator to find buyers, the mayor then asked him to communicate to try to find candidates. "I admit, Var-matin helped us! At first, I wasn't in favor of your colleague talking about the liquidation of the earthenware factory, but that's how other media outlets became interested. And with each report that came out, I had calls from people asking us to continue the business!" The machine was launched. With a real domino effect. Because it was while reading the newspaper, a month later, that Nicolas Plazanet, one of the five investors now involved in the adventure, took up the case. It must be said that, in a personal capacity, he himself had saved the Tartugo Museum in Carnoules from closure a few years ago. And above all, this director of the Provence Model Forest association had just met entrepreneur Philippe Rivière during a video conference on the cork industry. At the head of the Lyon-based ACI group, the business leader has already invested in around forty SMEs across France—including Naca helmets in Signes—to preserve industrial know-how and rebuild industries. He's also taking a keen interest in cork as part of one of his projects. Nicolais Plazanet told him about the earthenware factory. "After three days of reflection, he said, 'OK, let's go for it.'"
At the same time, Quentin Cressend presented the case to one of his clients: Jonquier nougats, whom he supports as part of their conservation plan. What do they have in common? Jonquier has also been developing expertise for 140 years, and has managed to navigate changing consumption patterns while preserving it. Benoît Adet, its manager, then contacted the mayor of Varages, who introduced him to a fourth protagonist. Michaël Bruel, head of a group of companies specializing in technical construction consulting in Varages, lives a few meters from the earthenware factory on Avenue du Général de Gaulle. "One morning, when I came to pick up a package, Adeline, the employee we had rehired, told me it was closing. I immediately went to see the mayor to ask for something to be done," recalls the business owner, who is also president of the Résine Média integration project in Draguignan. Along the way, he also brought on board Christian Meli, whose shipping container construction company, Maison eco 3, is a regular partner. The quintet was formed around a shared project: to revive the factory.
If since July 4th – barely two weeks after the court validated their offer – the earthenware factory has reopened, it is for the moment in order to sell the stock "to build up cash flow, and above all not to miss the summer season, or to let the image of a business at a standstill persist for too long" , summarize the five partners in unison, who all contributed 5,000 euros to the capital of 25,000 euros in the SAS Nouvelle faïencerie, while also adding to the cash flow, making a total offer of 55,000 euros.
Their aim is to bring biscuit manufacturing back in-house, by investing in new machines, to avoid the cash advances involved in ordering this work from a subcontractor. "First, we need to think about how to reorganize the industrial tool," emphasizes Philippe Rivière, who is particularly concerned about the state of the premises, owned by the Community of Communes, which will need to be renovated. But as soon as the school year starts in September, the idea, relying on the expertise of former employees, still supporting the adventure, is to restart the glazing of the biscuit still in stock, before considering recruiting. "Why not create a training center? I've already done it when buying foundries," continues the president of ACI. For his part, Michaël Bruel, appointed president, is focusing on rebuilding the brand, preserving the range of 15 colors, but also considering limited series and "working on our pricing policy." Jonquier nougats' expertise in distribution networks can also help spread the brand beyond Varages. And starting on August 10, the day of the celebration of 330 years of pottery in the village, in the presence of the five buyers, a pop-up store will be launched, housed in a shipping container and intended to travel throughout the region.
Var-Matin
