Fibre Excellence SAINT-GAUDENS is launching its maintenance shutdown

Press release
Saint-Gaudens, 13 June 2022

Fibre Excellence SAINT-GAUDENS is launching its maintenance shutdown: focus on prevention with 4.5 million euros of investments.

During this maintenance shutdown, over 700 people will be mobilised on the site for about ten days to complete many maintenance operations to keep the installations in top operating and safety conditions, anticipate the need for maintenance and work on various items of equipment, and to continue the site’s continuous improvement and modernisation process.

Maintenance operations to increase equipment reliability in a continuous improvement process

Plants such as the Saint-Gaudens plant operate uninterruptedly 24 hours a day. Maintenance shutdowns are regular maintenance operations during which activity is suspended for several days to be able to inspect, modernise and repair certain items of equipment in the plant. These maintenance operations are additional to the daily maintenance work carried out by the Fibre Excellence SAINT-GAUDENS teams throughout the life of the plant.

The Fibre Excellence SAINT-GAUDENS plant is currently implementing a maintenance shutdown during which the plant's own teams and many outside contractors, experts in various sectors, will work according to a precise schedule. The purpose of these operations is to keep the operational resources as up-to-date as possible in a preventive modernisation and continuous improvement dynamic, to make the equipment more reliable and to increase its efficiency.

Local service providers, boosting the regional economy

This shutdown includes 4.5 million euros of investments which largely benefit the local economy. Over 120 companies and 700 people specialised in sectors such as electricity, sheet metal work and precision mechanics will be deployed at the plant to carry out the operation. Furthermore, over 90% of the budget for the operation will benefit French companies, including 2 million for companies based in the Occitanie region. This operation thus actively benefits local businesses and the local economy.

A substantial investment in staff safety

As safety is the plant's priority, both for employees and for local residents and the environment, the company is very vigilant in enforcing site safety rules. Prior to the shutdown, a compulsory training module on plant safety rules was set up for all participants, contractors and employees. This training module must be followed before any work is carried out. Fibre Excellence SAINT-GAUDENS is deploying substantial resources to guarantee a high level of safety during this shutdown but also in the daily running of the plant.