Revitalisation of the site of the BEAUCHAMPS sugar factory closed in 1999

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Revitalisation of the site of the BEAUCHAMPS
sugar factory closed in 1999
PRESENTATION by Mr STANISLAS WEDRYCHOWSKI Secreta
ry General of the VERMANDOISE Group
(France) CEFS EFFAT CIBE Conference BRUSSELS
June 28th 2005
A family-controlled private Group, quoted on the
stock exchange (Chairman and Managing Director
J-C DELLOYE), producing sugar for over 100 years
5th generation
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I - The Vermandoise Group in 2005

• in figures
• 4 production factories
• 4,000 beet-growers
• 40,000 hectares
• 500,000 tonnes of sugar
• 400,000 hl of alcohol
• Staff
• Permanent 640
• Seasonal 260

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II Background to the closure

• in 1998, production by the Vermandoise Group
  was carried out at 5 sites
• A context of a declining sugar economy
• Fall in world prices
• New WTO constraints
• The average length of the campaign for the
  Groups factories was 66 days, compared to 80
  days in the rest of France
• The average quota (AB) per factory in the Group
  was much lower than for the rest of France and
  Northern Europe
• Handicap in terms of productivity within the
  context of the future reshaping of the sugar
  regime
• The Group has found an answer to its problems by
  optimising its beet-growing areas through the
  transfer of the activities of the Beauchamps
  sugar factory to other sites

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III - Implementation of the social plan
? Offering all employees resettlement within the
Group ? Preventing desertification" of the site
after its closure
Personnel situation after the closure

• Staff leaving the factory 93
• 10 employees retired
• 58 employees relocated in the Groups other 4
  factories
• 18 relocated outside the Group
• 4 on disablement-sickness leave
• 3 employees about whom we have no news

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IV - Revitalisation of the local employment market

• External revitalisation
• ? Thanks to the help of an external firm (SODIE)
  charged with canvassing businesses (SMEs) likely
  to create jobs, the Vermandoise Group has
  subsidised
• 66 new jobs at five SMEs.
• ? The Vermandoise Group has made loans at very
  low interest rates allowing these companies to
  release resources to finance the new jobs.
• Cost of the operation 350,000 Euros

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IV - Revitalisation of the local employment
market (cont.)

• Revitalisation carried out by ourselves
• ? This is a relational exercise with the
  Beauchamps town council and the regional Chambers
  of Commerce to attract the attention of
  companies interested in making use of sugar
  factory buildings.
• ? Our offer
• Separate buildings with full infrastructures,
  ready for immediate use.
• - low transfer price
• - area of buildings land 15 hectares

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IV - Revitalisation of the local employment
market (cont.)

• 5 of the 15 hectares have already been
  transferred to companies
• Setting-up of 7 companies and creation of 35 jobs
• Val service (boilermaking, maintenance) 10 jobs
• Sommalev (handling and lifting equipment,
  transport, etc.) 6 jobs
• Protois (general masonry) 5 jobs
• LDGA (breakdown service) 5 jobs
• Magasin de meubles (furniture store) 4 jobs
• Mettelle (storage) 2 jobs
• Euroteam (sanitary ware) 2 jobs
• External hectares belonging to the sugar factory
  and transferred to the town council for the
  creation of a business park (20 jobs)
• MOPM (press tools) 11 jobs
• Saint Jacques sawmill 5 jobs
• Deme (cutting of materials) 2 jobs
• Coin pneus - tyres 2 jobs
• In the pipeline supermarket (50 jobs) on part of
  the site

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Thank you for your attention