Neuhauser in Folschviller reopens its second production line

The industrial viennoiserie/bakery company Neuhauser restarted its second production line at its Folschviller site yesterday, after four years of inactivity. One hundred employees from the company's headquarters in Metz gathered alongside the group's management teams on what was an important day for the Folschviller site's 270 permanent employees. With this reopening, the site's production capacity has increased by almost 40%, going from 65,000 tonnes to 90,000 tonnes. Neuhauser is aiming to grow its overall production in the next five years to 300,000 tonnes, compared to its current 200,000 tonnes.

From left to right:

• Didier Zimny, Mayor of Folschviller
• Thierry Blandinières, Chief Executive Officer of the InVivo group
• Jean-Claude Berruyer, Manager of the Neuhauser production site in Folschviller
• Jérôme Calleau, Chairman of Union InVivo

« Nous avons intégré Neuhauser, entreprise de boulangerie/viennoiserie industrielle, en 2021 avec le rachat du groupe Soufflet. Elle se trouvait alors en déshérence économique, perdait de l’argent et avait fait l’objet de nombreux plans sociaux. Nous y avons vu une formidable opportunité de débouché et de valorisation pour la production agricole française et avons fait le choix de conserver cette activité. Le redémarrage aujourd’hui de la seconde ligne de production du site de Folschviller est une très bonne nouvelle, pour les salariés et le management ; et c’est un marqueur fort au niveau régional, voire au niveau national, alors que dans ce secteur la tendance est plutôt à la mise en veille ou à la fermeture. » indique Thierry Blandinières, directeur général du groupe InVivo.

 

"We incorporated Neuhauser, an industrial viennoiserie/bakery company, in 2021 with the acquisition of the Soufflet group. It was struggling financially at the time, was losing money and had been put under many different redundancy plans. We saw a great opportunity to market and promote French agricultural production, and chose to retain this business. Today's restarting of the second production line at the Folschviller site is great news for the employees and management. It also sets a strong precedent regionally and even nationally, as this sector tends to either close or suspend production lines". said Thierry Blandinières, CEO of the InVivo group.

 

An industrial event

Neuhauser has seen a return to growth since the beginning of the year and will continue to roll out its recovery plan initiated last May, in order to establish itself as an industry leader in industrial viennoiserie and bakery. With this reopening, the site's total production volume has increased by almost 40%, going from 65,000 to 90,000 tonnes. The additional 25,000 tonnes of raw viennoiserie will make it possible to reclaim the market of artisan bakers, with the aim of taking 20% of the market within three years.

"Improving the level of results is an essential requirement for ensuring that Neuhauser remains competitive. The company is already growing and the reopening of this second production site is an important step to make the company even more profitable. And today we can rely on our sustainable agriculture sectors and the Made in France label, like the new Corbeil mill, which was inaugurated last June". says François-Xavier Quarez, CEO of Episens.

 

Reorganising activities to address a growing market, via:

• A bakery/viennoiserie division dedicated to large volumes. In particular, this involves capitalising on the partnership with Lidl, a long-standing Neuhauser customer, by including a sustainable development approach when it comes to the wheat sector.
• The advancement of sourcing in "Sowing Good Sense" sustainable chains to act as an accelerator for the agricultural and environmental transition and to contribute to creating value for both farmers and customers.
• A BVP (bakery/viennoiserie/pastry) division with higher added value that focuses on small batches. This mainly concerns food services, bakeries (artisan bakeries and chains) and "out-of-home catering". Neuhauser also wants to develop a raw pastry supply for artisan bakeries and bakery chains.

 

An economic event

By reopening such a site, InVivo is in keeping with its ambitions: to promote cereals, to support Ferme France and to structure agri-food production chains from upstream to downstream (bakery with wheat, malt with barley, wine with grapevines). It is also to this end that the group bought Boulangerie Louise at the end of 2022, further linking them to the wheat sector.