In 2005 CF Gomma conducted 49 of its turnover with PSA 7

In the battle for the resumption of the CF Gomma group, and especially the continuation of the activity of the site of the Thomas bar, two offerings stand out: the SilverPoint investment fund and of the Italian industrial Pugliese. It should be noted that the tribunal de commerce of Nantes, which depends on the bar Thomas, near Rennes plant, must make its verdict on June 15. In addition, Pufin Srl, the holding company of the Pugliese group, signed an agreement with the current owners of CF Gomma to the majority of the company capital if the continuation plan is adopted.

SilverPoint has indicated that it would bring here EUR 90 million in 2009, but remains more evasive on the industrial strategy it intends to deploy that breton site found a certain economic competitiveness.

Insufficient profitability

The weak industrial performance of the breton site, turnover 2005 of 222 million euros and negative net result of 12.5 million, and a liability of EUR 70 million, have been diving the CF Gomma group into the red. Its 2005 sales amounted to EUR 403,4 million with a net loss of 27.9 million. In addition, the investments carried out in Poland by CF Gomma have not provided profitability expected for the group. Moreover, since its acquisition in 2000 by the Italian group, the bar Thomas plant not was fully incorporated in the industrial device of the Group: the question of industrial duplicates and product portfolio was not handled satisfactorily. In addition, says to explain the lack of dynamism, "certain leaders of the bar site Thomas believed that they were always in PSA!". In 2005, CF Gomma conducted 49 of its turnover with PSA, 7.7 with Fiat, 5.8 with VW, 4.1 with Iveco, 1.7 with TPCA, 1.5 with Toyota and 1.3 with GM. In addition, more than 9 of the activity are carried out with leading OEMs.

Objective: the best European level

In addition to the urgent need to diversify the portfolio of clients, the question of industrial policy is at the heart of the problem. "If the bar Thomas out of the group, it went bankrupt in one year" indicates Marcello Inghilesi, the Italian entrepreneur Allied Pugliese who could become Director of CF Gomma. This is why the proposed plan plans to resume the whole group and restructure. This would be reduced by the implementation of measures of organisation of production and social plan. And Marcello Inghilesi details us the main steps: specialized production sites, mounting of joint-ventures with other companies for products that provide insufficient profitability at CF Gomma and move the less technical productions on the Polish site. Moreover, the plan could be implemented identifies two or three families of products-key, others are destined for the potential joint ventures.

Term, the Pugliese strategy is to bring back CF Gomma in the forefront of the producers of products rubbers for the automotive market: Phoenix, Continental, Avon, Trelleborg or ZF Boge. "We want to become one of the first six European groups of the sector," adds our interlocutor noted that with 11 players in Europe, this sector will be necessarily headquarters operations of mergers and concentrations in the years to come.