Continuation of our visit to Desjoyaux. Based in La Fouillouse, France, this leading European swimming pool specialist is developing its own manufacturing facilities in order to control its entire production chain. 90% of its production is made in the Loire, and its director has no intention of stopping there.
The guiding principle for Desjoyaux pools ? To produce as many components as possible in-house, at its La Fouillouse site. “We produce over 90% of our
production costs in our own workshops. This enables us to control the quality of our products and ensure local employment”, emphasizes the company boss, who launched a recruitment drive for some thirty additional employees last January.
An on-site sorting center
And the subject is covered from the smallest mold for a push-button to molds weighing over 100 tons. Like the small plastic wedges used to join the panels that make up the walls of swimming pools. These are injected on site, replacing bolts “ from China “.
Another example : the company will soon be abandoning wooden pallets and producing its own plastic pallets, made from recycled, reusable and returnable materials. Another major investment planned for the coming months is the creation of an on-site sorting center. A significant proportion of Desjoyaux pool structures and their various components (to which pallets will be added ) are made from recycled polypropylene. This is supplied by recycling channels, then crushed and extruded at La Fouillouse.
PVC sheet of PVC sheeting for liners ?
With his sorting center, Jean Louis Desjoyaux aims to internalize the process from the outset. Investment : four million euros, with estimated savings of between 500,000 and one million euros per year.
“A tonne of material has risen from 450 euros a tonne to 1,200 euros a tonne. It’s not just a question of economics. We used to do this sorting, but we gave it up 5 years ago, and lost a bit of our soul. I want us to go back to that and regain control of this raw material”.
And as Jean-Louis Desjoyaux is never short of ideas, he already has another idea in mind: to manufacture the PVC sheet needed to produce his pool liners himself. For the time being, this is purchased from suppliers. A 14 million euro co-investment in the La Fouillouse site with a German manufacturer is currently under consideration.
“This investment would enable us to produce five million square meters a year, including one million for our own liner production. To be continued !
Article published in Le Progrès
Stéphanie Gallo Triouleyre