Lecta to Sell Condat Specialty Paper Mill to SPB

The Commercial Court of Bordeaux has approved the acquisition of the Condat paper mill site in Dordogne, France, by Condat Solutions, a subsidiary of the Canadian SPB Group. The decision follows several months of uncertainty after the mill was placed under court-ordered administration.

Paper production at the Condat mill had already been halted for several weeks prior to the ruling. The offer submitted by SPB Group was ultimately selected by the court over competing proposals.

Under the approved plan, only 21 of the 202 remaining jobs at the mill will be maintained. Another proposal, submitted by the Czech group Finesta and supported by trade unions, had aimed to continue paper manufacturing at the site and retain around 100 employees, but the court reportedly considered its financial guarantees insufficient.

The Condat mill had previously been owned by the Spanish paper company Lecta.

SPB Group intends to redevelop the industrial site through a broader reindustrialization project. The company plans to transform the area into a “Biopark”, combining new industrial activities with digital infrastructure and energy projects focused on low-carbon technologies. According to the group, the redevelopment could eventually create up to 300 jobs as new operations are established on the site.

Among the activities under consideration are the production of decarbonized alumina, a material used primarily in the automotive sector, as well as the development of low-carbon alternatives to petrochemical components used in cosmetics. The project could also include the installation of a high-performance computing cluster designed to support artificial intelligence applications.

SPB Group has previously undertaken similar industrial redevelopment initiatives in France, including the conversion of a former Arjowiggins paper mill site where medical gloves are now produced.

Source: PapNews