The Canadian group SPB Group has acquired the Condat paper mill in Dordogne, France, which will cease traditional operations. Of the 202 existing jobs, only 21 will be retained, while the site will be transformed into a “Biopark”, combining green energy, digital infrastructure, and new low-carbon industrial activities.
Four months after entering court-ordered administration, the Bordeaux Commercial Court approved the bid from Condat Solutions, an SPB subsidiary, considered the most viable for the site’s industrial future. SPB, which previously converted a former Arjowiggins mill in France for medical glove production, plans to create up to 300 new jobs through a multi-sector reindustrialization project.
The industrial plan includes the production of decarbonized alumina for the automotive industry, low-carbon substitutes for petrochemical components in cosmetics, and the deployment of a supercomputer cluster for artificial intelligence, aiming to adapt the site to market changes and promote sustainability.