La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin (France) (AFP) – The new management of Duralex unveiled on Monday its first measures to restart the famous glassworks, less than a month after the takeover of the company by Cédric Meston.
Published on: 09/11/2026 - 18:44
“Our priority is to produce profitably and stabilize the company,” explained Mr. Meston during a press conference at the company’s factory, located in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin (Loiret), near Orléans.
The "objective" is "not to sell at a loss", one of the reasons which explain Duralex's latest difficulties, added Mr. Meston, who took over Duralex via his holding company Tomé, with NJJ Capital, the holding company of billionaire Xavier Niel.
Cédric Meston is known as co-founder of the start-up HappyVore (plant-based meat substitutes) and for having taken over Tupperware France in 2025.
Around fifteen new Duralex products were presented ahead of the Made in France trade show, MIF Expo, which will be held from November 12 to 15 in Paris.
These are old models brought up to date or available in color, for example salad bowls from the 1980s produced in blue and pink, Manhattan glasses, which were only produced in transparent, or the 58 cl Picardie.
“These are products with much higher added value, more upscale, which meet consumer expectations, and that is what we want to work on,” explained Cédric Meston, 32 years old.
Resumed in mid-October, Duralex experienced its fifth recovery in around twenty years at the beginning of June. 155 jobs were preserved out of around 220.
Tomé has committed to investing two million per year in the company, "a minimum", said Christophe François, head of the group's industrial projects.
The buyers have also started to work on Duralex's industrial tools, to reduce energy consumption, reduce breakage, the scrap rate, etc.
They also aim to decarbonize the factory, because energy consumption currently accounts for nearly 20% of Duralex's turnover, with the commissioning of an electric oven by 2029, to make Duralex "the most ecological glass in the world".
© 2026 AFP
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