UneAn industrial adventure is often associated with an emblematic place where the company was born and/or grew. Indeed, what would Nestlé be without Vevey, La Redoute without Roubaix, the gondolas without Venice… KLAP is pleased to present its production site in Ploufragan, Brittany. More than the story of the construction of a factory, it is the story of a resurrection that we will tell you.
A story of an industrial wasteland
At the beginning of 2020, KLAP was looking for the ideal place to set up its respiratory mask manufacturing facilities. Aware of the need for Europe to regain its industrial independence in the field of health protection, the choice of local production is our absolute priority. Two sites were selected: Plan-les-Ouates, near Geneva, and Ploufragan, in the Côtes d’Armor.
The Ploufragan site, in the heart of the Châtelets business park, already has a long history. From 1969 to 2013, it housed the production site of the Chaffoteaux-et-Maury company, which employed up to 2,000 people to manufacture boilers. The closure of the factory in 2013 was an economic and social earthquake for the region.
The site, which had remained an industrial wasteland for all those years, was revived in 2020. KLAP has acquired 25,000 m2 of space that will house its mask production lines (100% French), its meltblown machine (the filtering media at the heart of the masks) and its research and development unit.
A story of women, men and know-how
Not far from there, the small town of Plaintel had seen the closure, in 2018, of its disposable respiratory mask manufacturing plant, which still employed around forty people.
And now, can you see us coming? When a Franco-Swiss ambition to regain control of our means of production in the field of health meets a local know-how of nearly 50 years of existence, it makes BOUM? No, it makes KLAP!
From the very beginning of the project, even before the start-up of our mask production lines, we hired former employees of the Plaintel factory at our Ploufragan site. We drew on their unique experience and know-how to provide local and sustainable access to quality sanitary protection solutions.
The KLAP site in Ploufragan currently employs around 40 people, three quarters of whom are on permanent contracts. 60% of the positions are held by women. Other positions are currently being recruited. Let’s face it: KLAP is committed to local employment.
