The industrialist plans to take on 150 employees out of more than 300 currently on the site (out of the 700 that the Brandt group had in France), by redirecting activity towards IT.
:quality(50)/2023/07/07/64a7df4c5fe71_placeholder-36b69ec8.png)
Published
Reading time: 3min
:quality(50)/2023/12/04/sans-titre-656e1ab0b6331863241854.jpg)
“My ambition is to be able to produce (again) very soon, in February”announcement Wednesday December 24 on HERE Orleans (ex-France Bleu) the industrialist Stéphan Français, CEO of Thomson Computing, who proposed on Wednesday noon a project to take over the Brandt site in Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle, near Orléans (Loiret).
It plans to take on 150 employees out of more than 300 currently on the site (out of the 700 that the Brandt group had in France), by redirecting activity towards IT. The household appliances group was placed in liquidation on December 11. Stéphan Français’ offer is currently being studied by the courts.
The business manager wishes “see products coming out of existing lines very quickly, in order to be able to satisfy customers and distributors.” Stéphane Français recalls that he “knows the distributors very well since he has been “in French and international distribution” for 30 years.
The urgency for the industrialist today is to “respond to existing problemshe explains to ICI Orléans: manage after-sales service, orders, order cancellations, manage disappointment, positioning”. “You can imagine, we are at the end of the year, the positions for 2026 are being made at the moment until the end of January”he emphasizes.
What I want is the success of the company for the employees who will invest
Stéphan Français, CEO of Thomson Computing, who proposes the takeover of Brandtat HERE Orléans
The takeover project for 150 employees “could go higher if tomorrow we have the orders in front”declares the industrialist. “I proposed a plan for them to become shareholders of the company in 5 years”he specifies.
“It’s loyalty that pays, it’s work, it’s motivation, it’s ambition”explains the business manager who says “need a response from the liquidator”. He points “the disadvantage of abrupt stopping” of production. “But we have an advantage, when we take over the company, there will be no more debt”since the group was liquidated.
Stéphan Français arrives with an investment of 25 million euros for this takeover. “A lot of this financial plan is aimed at employees”he indicates. “It’s the payroll that counts the most in a company. It’s where we spend the most,” he adds.
A budget was proposed to the liquidator
Stéphan Français, CEO of Thomson Computingat HERE Orléans
At the same time, there will also be “an offer to buy back brands, buy back patents, buy back production tools and buy back stocks”adds Stéphan Français.
On the Brandt site in Loiret, Metavisio-Thomson Computing plans to assemble parts that “will come from France or internationally”, “depending on prices”indicates its CEO. But it will also allow the IT group to develop artificial intelligence. “We want to integrate it into all areas of electronics”declares the CEO. “Large and small household appliances, on the new trend that will be for 2026, robots, connected glasses”explains Stéphan Français who says he was “raised on a Brandt-Thomson bottle”.
