“The 250 employees are on cloud nine. We couldn’t have dreamed of better. We hoped to obtain 5 million in four weeks. We obtained 16 in 24 hours,” rejoices François Marciano, the general director of Scop Duralex. “The AMF, the financial markets authority, requires us not to exceed 5 million euros. It’s a shame ! » he adds, smiling.
The crowdfunding platform Lita opened at 8 a.m. this Monday. As of Tuesday at the same time, 16 million euros in pledges had been recorded while the fundraising, from Internet users, was scheduled to end on December 31.
“In the 1980s, we had 25% of industry in France, now only 9% remains. The French are fed up, and they have common sense. They want to stop the massacre and revive the industry! They ask that we prove to the government that we can still save boxes,” analyzes François Marciano.
“Duralex had three major problems: it no longer had a sales team, no longer a marketing team, and, since 1997, it had not offered anything new. We have provided a solution to all three problems. We are going to relaunch new products with new targets,” he says.
“A risky investment”
Thousands of people donated between 100 euros and 30,000 euros in equity securities. But nothing is filtered about their identities because all the data is secure. Investors will have the right to have information about the company but not the right to vote at a general meeting, unlike what is practiced when companies are listed on the stock exchange.
They will not be able to recover the money over a period of seven years but they will receive 8% of their investment each year. They will also be entitled to a tax deduction of 18% in the first year. They will receive an email before November 15, asking them to confirm their promise.
Is this promise risky? “Unless there is a further considerable increase in the cost of energy, all indicators show that we will be able to repay,” assures the general director of the Duralex Scop. “But it is indeed a risky investment,” admits François Marciano. The risk is that if the company fails to achieve its objectives, you lose the money you put into it. »
But for now, the signals are green. Scop Duralex did not want to wait for bank loans which could only be released after validation of the end-of-year balance sheet, in the summer of 2026. It wishes to relentlessly continue its development. “Duralex will be fine in a year and a half, time to pass the 35 million euro turnover mark which should reach 30 million this year. The calculations are simple, so five million were missing…”, summarizes François Marciano.
After recovering, the unbreakable glass brand will now be able to transform itself. “This fundraising will allow the company to acquire new molds for the production of new products, to equip the factory with a new packaging machine in order to open up new markets for major players in the agri-food industry, and to improve the productivity and safety of the manufacturing lines,” states management.
“We were counting on this fundraising to take a new step”
In the factory premises, it was a time of euphoria on Tuesday. “What is happening is very motivating. We are facing a formidable challenge. This money will give us breathing room to become even more attractive to our consumers,” rejoices Muriel Joron, a fifty-year-old product manager who has just been hired.
Same enthusiasm for Suliman El-moussaoui, 45 years old, including 18 at Duralex. He works in the “relay-quality” department and welcomes this enthusiasm with great emotion: “We didn’t think we would raise funds as quickly as that. In the factory, since last night, we have all been proud to have accomplished this great project, because since the creation of the Scop, we have been counting on this fundraising to take a new step. »
This joy was infectious in town. Gilles, a 68-year-old retiree, is proud to be one of the generous donors. “For 50 years, in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, everyone has known someone who works at Duralex. With my wife, we made an investment of 500 euros,” he confides.
This solidarity seems far from running out of steam. “I received lots of envelopes containing checks for 30 euros, 50 euros, 100 or even 300 euros with this mention on the envelope support for your action. But each time, I have to send them back because we are not allowed to take checks directly,” emphasizes François Marciano.
Scop Duralex will certainly not fail to show creativity in the coming months so as not to let these outpourings of generosity from the French disappear.