On a bitterly cold January morning, the hangar of Recyclebook indistinguishable from the gray sky. However, this place is a paradise for all readers. Why ? In this giant library of 6,000 m2, more than a million books are in transit, ready to go to the four corners of France. With the sales, the machine is running at full speed. This warehouse is located in Villabé, three kilometers from Evry (Essonne). “Here, no book is new. All of them have already had an owner,” explains David Lorrain, founder and president of Recyclivre, an e-commerce site, leader in the sale of second-hand books.
Every day on the site, 4,000 books are sold across France and abroad. In 2020, three million writings passed through the Villabé warehouse. “Every year it increases! “, emphasizes David Lorrain. Since he created his company in 2008, the man has already changed warehouses four times because “they are all getting too small. To avoid another move, the boss plans to soon double the surface of the warehouse by installing a huge mezzanine. “We will be able to store two million books! »
Employees with “difficult paths”
Scanned, stored, packaged, but above all, each book is thoroughly inspected. “They must be in good condition. No pencil strokes, no torn pages,” explains Fabienne, an employee who scrutinizes their slightest flaws. Like her, the thirty employees in the warehouse are in reintegration. “They come out of difficult courses where sometimes they have not worked for years”, says David Lorrain. It is Log’Ins, a structure specializing in reintegration, which supervises these employees. The boss has worked with them for 13 years.
In this sector, the work is difficult: “you often have to carry heavy loads,” says Fabienne. Here, the employees interviewed feel supported and helped. “There is no boss who puts pressure on us all day,” continues the former executive assistant. “We listen to the employees, explains Gassy, young team leader. In this warehouse, 80% of the staff are disabled. So you have to adapt the work, right down to the shelves. Indeed, the lower floors of certain departments are devoid of books.
Soon, a conveyor belt will join the ends of the warehouse to “avoid any unnecessary and tiring movement”. David Lorrain, very keen on the well-being of his employees, hesitated for a long time to install this kind of robot. “You always have to take people into account. Robots are often at the expense of it. My goal: to find the right balance. »