The clock is ticking. Fibre Excellence (FE) had set a deadline of the end of May 2025 to decide whether or not to invest in the relaunch of the Chapelle Darblay plant near Rouen (in Normandy, about a hundred kilometers west of Paris), with the aim of producing some 425,000 tons of Corrugated Case Material (CCM) per year (some 1,300 tpd).
In a letter addressed on May 22 to the French Minister of Industry, Marc Ferracci, the Rouen Normandy Metropolis, the City of Grand-Couronne, and the CGT union sounded the alarm, stating that :
“for Chapelle Darblay, it is time for the government to act!” (…). The €27 million requested from the BPI for over a year is still missing. The step is not so high for the State, which must take its responsibilities to realize this industrial project (…). At this stage, Fibre Excellence reports a financing requirement of €274 million, including €70 million in equity, necessary for raising debt.”
Unable to legally intervene in the capital of the companies, the Rouen Normandy Metropolis has made a series of commitments. First of all, the proposal of a structure aimed at separating the energy/boiler and paper mill assets and thus facilitating the mobilization of financing and allowing the intervention of the SEM Axe Seine Énergies Renouvelable (ASER).
As well as the intervention of the SEM ASER in capital and the Metropolis in investment aid for a total amount of €5 million on the boiler asset. Such an intervention is also likely to generate additional financial support from partners to reach a total of €18 million. Finally, the acquisition from the Société Nouvelle Darblay Production (SNDP), when the time comes, of undeveloped and unoccupied land as part of the takeover project once FE has become the owner of the site. The amount of these acquisitions is estimated at €5 million for an area of approximately 10 hectares. Finally, the new company will be able to benefit from a five-year tax exemption (full, then partial) from the “Cotisation foncière des entreprises” (i.e. business property tax). Furthermore, the Region is also involved.
New developments today, June 5: according to the newspaper “Les Echos,” “Bercy and Matignon are considering, according to our information, resorting to a capital contribution to the future project company that would carry out the operation.” Around €50 million in loans are reportedly missing to guarantee the €160 million loan required by FE to finance the investments necessary to reopen the site. And to cite the possible support of the State Participation Agency (APE) or the FTS Accelerator of “France 2030”. But all this is subject to FE obtaining its loan; however, BPI France and the Caisse des Dépôts have not yet committed. Finally, according to the daily, “the economic model [of this reconversion] is the subject of a battle of experts.” It pits those for whom the CCM market is not sufficiently well oriented, due to the new capacities arriving on the European and French market (including VPK Alizay and, currently, Norske Skog Golbey in France) against those who display a more positive vision of the situation. FE also highlights the advantage conferred by the partnership established with Veolia, which guarantees it, for ten years, at least half of its recycled fibers supplies (estimated at some 450,000 tpy in total). Finally, when it comes to recruitment opportunities in the Rouen employment area, the approaches also differ widely.
Valérie Lechiffre
Photo : Chapelle Darblay
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