At Degrenne, steel makes its mark

With the regularity of a perfectly tuned metronome, Laurent grabs a piece of metal with his right hand, slips it into the press - 144 - which, with a sharp jerk, hits what is then just a blank.He then removes it with his left hand and places what is now a fork in a rack, decorated "Blois", one of the company's best-sellers. And so on, right hand, click, left hand... Here, form and function are obtained from the very first keystroke - usually several, depending on the model. In four years, the machine will strike some 3 million pieces.

In this XXL factory of 35,000 m² (45,000 m² in all), there are 53 presses - " unheard of", according to manager Nicolas Dessoude, who arrived two years ago - some of which date back to the factory's construction (1967) and are still in operation. "Look, this one dates from 1986 - the days of the USSR - and it's still the one that strikes the most forks and spoons. "An extraordinary industrial park that needs to be maintained - of the 300 people working at the Vire (Calvados) site, 18 are specifically in charge of maintenance, 185 are dedicated to manufacturing - and renewed. A robot is just passing down the aisle, its tray loaded with dozens of stainless steel bowls, which it will deposit a few meters away so that they can be polished. When someone disturbs it, it stops, honks its horn, peremptorily, before setting off again once the path has been cleared. Past, present and future - this is undoubtedly the key to the success of a company which, 76 years after its creation, seems to be driven by an unchanging dynamism, buoyed by an unalterable reputation.

A genius behind the dunce image

Let's start by dispelling a myth, especially for those in their forties and fifties who were familiar with the advert, which ran from 1978 to 1987 and won It was awarded a Sept d'Or - the holy grail at the time - and left a lasting impression, making a major contribution to the reputation of the company founded by Guy Degrenne in 1948. Monsieur Degrenne was no dunce. In fact, he was quite the opposite, both brilliant (with a degree from Essec) and visionary. The son of a blacksmith based in Sourdeval, Manche, he had the genius idea - and it's no legend - of recovering metal parts from tanks.He also had the nerve to imagine equipping every other French household with stainless steel tableware. At the end of the 1960s, he travelled a few kilometers, changed departments and set up shop in Vire, in a factory designed by architect André Masure.inaugurated by a young Secretary of State for Employment, Jacques Chirac.

Slumps and boosts

Since then, little or nothing has changed. Corrugated iron façade, sculpture by Arman, listed janitor's hut, marble staircase and chandeliers, carpeting, and even the boss's office, now occupied by tech giant Philippe Spruch, majority shareholder since 2014. If the 1970s were those of expansion, the 1980s saw three major turning points: Guy Degrenne moved into porcelain, in Limoges and Alföld, Hungary, to complete his offer, developed industrial subcontracting to perpetuate the business and keep the machines running at full capacity, then withdrew and sold the company in 1987 to the Table de France holding company. A succession of shareholders and purchasers then passed on a hot potato which, despite its reputation and know-how, despite a few collaborations that gave a nice boost - such as the one with Philippe Starck in like the one with Philippe Starck in 2017, for example, who designed the " L'E by Starck " and " L'Économe by Starck " cutlery and tableware collections - sometimes seems to be on a knife-edge. Until today, when Philippe Spruch, and now his four sons who have joined the company, are determined to make Degrenne - which has lost its export credentials - a household name once again. a solid family business with international ambitions.

Meeting specific demands

Everything has to be thought through, by both the design studio and the in-house engineering department, so that customers, private and professional alike, from all over the world, can project themselves into a range of cutlery and knives designed by the company. " For each new collection, around 13 to 15 pieces - i.e. molds or dies - have to be developed. For the American market, we absolutely must have a butter knife; for the Asian market, a bouillon spoon... so many specific requests that we have to anticipate. "And don't forget subcontracted orders for major players in the tableware industry, who don't have the expertise but prefer " made in France ", or in industry - sometimes heavy industry. Confidentiality dictates that we can't tell you more. The only thing we can recognize are the tanks for Vorwerk's Thermomix food processors, as the German company was once a shareholder and remains a very privileged customer.

Stamping, laminating, cutting, grinding, dipping, polishing - the stages follow one another, all requiring expertise that is passed on to a new generation, more feminine in particular, thanks to the old hands. "Frédérique Guibreteau, cutlery production manager, insists: " Some operations can only be perfectly mastered after years of practice, to ensure that the right gestures are used safely and regularly. Stainless steel takes shape and shine. Blois ", " Verlaine ", " Normandy ", " Supernature " models, forks and spoons in all sizes are now ready for packing. Here, the brand-new " Le Phil " one-piece knives await sharpening before the Degrenne brand is laser-engraved on the blade; there, the stainless steel bells finally join their white porcelain teapots. Christine slips her card into the box, having carried out the final checks and controls. Since its creation in 1953, the " Salam " model has been the company's top seller. It is said that one is sold every twenty minutes.