On 04 January 2022, at around 9pm, a fire broke out at our factory in Gauchy (France). In less than two hours, all of our material resources were lost. Fortunately, as there were no victims, the human capital was preserved. All the company’s forces were immediately mobilised.

The day after the fire, a monitoring committee composed of the parent company and HAZEMEYER’s managers and elected representatives, the State services and the local authorities were also involved. Hazemeyer’s management quickly reacted to the incident by putting in place concrete measures to support the employees and to contribute to the normal resumption of administrative and industrial activities. A crisis meeting is held twice a week to listen and support our teams.

Less than two weeks after the fire, the recovery of commercial, service and administrative activities was fully effective. The employees concerned carry out their duties from the Créatis incubator in Saint-Quentin or by working from home using computer equipment provided by the company.

The production teams have been integrated into the group’s staff at the various nearby factories, as well as at the company’s suppliers and partners. Training on various topics (lean management, Google Workplace and boiler making) were set up for employees who could not immediately return to their regular duties.

Our engineering offices have benefited from the modernisation of their IT equipment and have thus been able to resume ongoing design projects and respond to customer requests. As of today, a majority of our employees have been able to return to their positions thanks to the measures implemented. All our teams are united and fully involved in the recovery of the business.

We have been able to count on the support of our suppliers to re-equip us and rebuild our stock. Immediately after the disaster, following numerous messages of support, discussions took place with customers for whom projects were in progress. This dialogue allowed us to find optimal solutions for each case, adjusting the planned deadlines. All our customers have confirmed their orders and significant new orders have been acquired while others are being negotiated.

We would like to extend our warmest thanks to all our customers for their support and solidarity despite the difficulties they have had to face. We also thank our suppliers and partners for their support. More than ever we are ready to recover our full capacities.

Production will soon start up again at full intensity, in a 5000 m² premises rented for the time necessary to rebuild our factory. The new factory premises are located at 4 avenue de l’Europe, ZI Le Royeux 02430 in Gauchy (France).

Our management team is working on a project to build a brand new factory, with the aim of reinforcing our company in France and worldwide. The reconstruction work is expected to take between 18 and 24 months.

Gaël DUTHEIL de la ROCHÈRE, President of Hazemeyer, stated “HAZEMEYER is and will always remain a major reference in the field of high quality electrical installations: we are going to pursue our human and technological investment in our teams and continue to grow the company.”