“We need these shell bodies”: four candidates for the takeover of the Forges de Tarbes, placed in receivership
The Minister of the Armed Forces, Catherine Vautrin, announced this Tuesday that the authorities are in dialogue with four candidates for the takeover of the Forges de Tarbes which manufacture hollow shell bodies.
What will become of the Forges de Tarbes, the only factory in France to produce hollow shell bodies? The company was placed in receivership this Monday by the Tarbes commercial court, thus paving the way for the arrival of a buyer for this strategic company. During a hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces in the Senate on Tuesday October 27, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Catherine Vautrin, was questioned on the subject.
“We are in dialogue with four industrial candidates to take over the company’s know-how,” she said, recognizing the “extremely important know-how” of the site. “We need 155 millimeter shells, so we need these shell bodies,” maintained Catherine Vautrin who reiterated her “objective of ensuring the sustainability of the industrial tool”. “Obsolete” machines In mid-October, the General Directorate for Armaments announced that it had contacted the public prosecutor regarding the management of the Forges de Tarbes by its owner, the Europlasma fund.
This concerns in particular the sale of the factory walls "in March 2026" by Europlasma, an operation announced to employees "in September 2026" according to Catherine Vautrin. A false statement since during a hearing at the National Assembly in April, Jérôme Garnache-Creuillot, CEO of Europlasma, already spoke about it publicly, referring to a "lease-back operation". The Europlasma group bought the Tarbes site in 2021.
Despite an increase in production, the publicly stated objectives have never been achieved and the machines are described as "obsolete" by certain employees. To the point that the factory was put on notice at the beginning of October by the prefecture, which asked the Forges de Tarbes to “regularize their situation” by the end of the year on their “pressure equipment” under penalty of sanctions. Two other Europlasma sites are also in difficulty.
Fonderie de Bretagne is in liquidation while the northern metallurgist Valdunes is looking for a buyer.
Machine-translated from French
Why it is marked verified
2 independent newsrooms report this story. L'Usine Nouvelle published it first, 3 h before the last one.
- L'Usine Nouvelle28 Oct, 06:30
- BFM Business28 Oct, 09:11
| Publisher BFM Business (established tier) | +76 |
| Detailed summary | +2 |
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