The worst scenario is avoided. Once threatened with liquidation, the company Niche Fused Alumina, created in 1901 and based in the small village of La Bâthie, about ten kilometers from Albertville (Savoie), has just been taken over by the Alteo group. On Friday October 25, the Chambéry commercial court validated the plan of the world leader in specialty aluminas, established in Gardanne, in Bouches-du-Rhône.
The latter includes the sale of the factory and the hydroelectric power station owned by Niche Fused Alumina, which becomes Alteo Fused Alumina, as well as two thirds of the workforce (119 employees out of 177). The Savoyard company, one of the oldest industrial players in the Tarentaise valley, is one of the last French producers of white corundum, a very abrasive mineral used in products for aerospace, automobiles, laminate flooring or new markets, such as electric batteries.
Particularly weakened by Chinese competition, the company previously owned by the American fund Dada Holdings was placed in receivership on April 23. Its buyer, Alteo, is none other than its main supplier and R&D partner… as well as its former owner from 2012 to 2016! “Our ambition is to build a long-lasting project and we are committed to preserving what constitutes the wealth and know-how of NFA while bringing our expertise and our values, in order to guarantee its long-term development.», assures Alain Moscatello, president of the Alteo Group, in a press release.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
