Fibre Excellence\u2019s French pulp business is being split in two after months of financial difficulties: Tarascon is now in liquidation, while a \u20ac90 million takeover plan has been formally submitted for Saint-Gaudens. The outcome will determine the future of one of southern France\u2019s largest pulpwood outlets.<\/p>\n
Fibre Excellence entered insolvency proceedings at the end of April, bringing production to a halt at its two French pulp mills. Together, Saint-Gaudens and Tarascon represented around 550,000 tonnes\/year of pulp capacity and consumed approximately 2.4 million tonnes of wood annually.<\/p>\n
An attempt to preserve the two-mill structure failed. The Toulouse Commercial Court rejected the takeover proposal for the wider group in July and subsequently placed Tarascon into judicial liquidation.<\/p>\n
The Bouches-du-Rh\u00f4ne mill employed around 270 people and had capacity of approximately 270,000 tonnes\/year of pulp. Its closure removes a major buyer of pulpwood and sawmill residues from southeastern France.<\/p>\n
\u20ac90 million plan for Saint-Gaudens<\/strong><\/p>\n Saint-Gaudens has followed a different path. A takeover offer was formally filed on August 24 through ARIS, the Occitanie regional strategic investment agency, on behalf of a consortium that is still being finalised.<\/p>\n According to the takeover documents, a paper producer would control 52% of the new company, with Soprema holding 7% and French forestry cooperative Alliance For\u00eats Bois 5%. The Occitanie region says the proposed industrial programme represents around \u20ac90 million of investment.<\/p>\n The offer also includes SEBSO, Fibre Excellence's wood procurement business. This is particularly relevant because Saint-Gaudens consumes around 1.1 million tonnes of wood annually, including pulpwood and sawmill residues.<\/p>\n The mill has production capacity of approximately 280,000 tonnes\/year. Plans discussed during the takeover process have included a move towards fluff pulp and the development of additional industrial activities, although the final production configuration has not yet been confirmed.<\/p>\n Wood prices and weak pulp markets drove the crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n Fibre Excellence's collapse followed a sharp deterioration on both sides of the production equation. French pulpwood prices increased by around 50% from 2022<\/strong>, while European pulp demand fell by more than 20% within six months<\/strong>, leaving the market oversupplied and putting pressure on selling prices. Higher chemical costs and a weaker dollar against the euro added further pressure on European producers.<\/p>\n Competition for industrial wood has also increased as French biomass consumption expanded. This pushed procurement costs higher for both hardwood and softwood pulpwood and weakened the economics of mills requiring more than one million tonnes of wood annually.<\/p>\n The group's electricity business became another major problem. Fibre Excellence generated power from biomass at both mills, but its long-term purchase tariffs did not follow the increase in wood costs. Saint-Gaudens was receiving around \u20ac120\/MWh<\/strong> and Tarascon around \u20ac105\/MWh<\/strong>, while Fibre Excellence estimated production costs at \u20ac160\u2013180\/MWh<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In 2025, the electricity activity generated an estimated \u20ac30 million loss<\/strong>, despite pulp production itself being close to break-even. The French government subsequently offered an increase of up to 20% in electricity purchase prices together with measures covering wood supply, debt restructuring and future investment, but this was not enough to preserve the existing two-mill structure.<\/p>\n The same cost problem will remain for any new operator at Saint-Gaudens. A \u20ac90 million investment programme can modernise and diversify the site, but its long-term competitiveness will still depend heavily on the price at which it can secure roughly 1.1 million tonnes of wood each year<\/strong> and on the recovery of European pulp prices.<\/p>\n Half of Fibre Excellence's wood demand could survive<\/strong><\/p>\n The restructuring is already changing the southern French pulpwood market. Before the crisis, the two mills consumed around 2.4 million tonnes of wood per year, equivalent to approximately 3.4 million m\u00b3 of roundwood.<\/p>\n With Tarascon gone, a successful restart at Saint-Gaudens would preserve roughly 1.1 million tonnes of annual wood demand, but would not restore the former market balance.<\/p>\n This comes after a sharp deterioration in Fibre Excellence's production economics. The company said French industrial wood costs had risen by around 50% since 2022, while pulp prices weakened and chemical costs increased. More than \u20ac55 million had nevertheless been invested at Saint-Gaudens during the three years preceding the crisis.<\/p>\n The Toulouse Commercial Court is due to examine the Saint-Gaudens offer on September 8, with the consortium able to improve its proposal until September 3.<\/p>\n For the French timber industry, the Fibre Excellence story has therefore become much simpler: Tarascon has been lost, while Saint-Gaudens could preserve around half of the wood demand previously generated by France's two major market-pulp mills.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fibre Excellence\u2019s French pulp business is being split in two after months of financial difficulties: Tarascon is now in liquidation, while a \u20ac90 million takeover plan has been formally submitted for Saint-Gaudens. The outcome will determine the future of one … Continue reading