This is good news, even if we have to see the glass half full. The Alsatian textile group Schmitt, in receivership, will be partially taken over by an employee cooperative. This retains 52 employees out of the 140 that included the various companies in the group, we learned Thursday from the cooperative and the judicial court of Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin).
The proposed sale to a cooperative production company (Scop) for the Velcorex velvet fabric company in Saint-Amarin (Haut-Rhin) was validated Thursday morning by the commercial chamber of the Mulhouse judicial court. This company brings together 52 employees out of the 85 in this subsidiary, said Marie-Madeleine Maucourt, director of the Regional Union of Scop Grand-Est, who is supporting the preparation of the file. “The staff involved represent the core activity of Velcorex,” she told AFP, specifying that the project aims “to increase to around 70 employees during 2024”. The recovery should become effective in the second half of October, added Marie-Madeleine Maucourt. The hearing at the judicial court, held on Wednesday, resulted in the liquidation of the two other companies of the Schmitt group, Philéa, in Soultz (Haut-Rhin), and Emmanuel Lang, in Hirsingue (Haut-Rhin), indicated the commercial chamber.
Lack of funding
As a reminder, the group previously employed 140 employees. It was formed in 1998 by Pierre Schmitt, a former manager of the Mulhouse company DMC (Dollfus-Mieg & Compagnie), with the aim of establishing a local production sector (spinning, weaving, etc.) for clothing. . Its founder had been involved in the processing of natural materials such as linen for several years. But in recent months, it has not been able to raise funding for its developments, which has deteriorated the group’s financial situation to the point of leading it to go into receivership in June.
The only offer for a global takeover, which came from the Franco-Swiss fund Big Invest, was withdrawn before the last hearing, due to failure to provide proof of raising its financing. For the Scop project to save Velcorex, “the necessary amounts, around 7 million euros, have been raised”, underlined Marie-Madeleine Maucourt.