Ymeray, a small town of 653 souls, nestled about twenty kilometers from the capital of Beauce, Chartres, is living a true economic fairy tale. A miracle occurred on the soil of this small Eurelian commune wedged between the departmental 910 and the Océane A11 and which does not house any industrial or commercial company on its territory.
The German giant Claas, one of the four world leading groups in agricultural machinery, has indeed fallen for the tranquility of Ymeray la Beauceronne.
A strategic point on the Paris-Chartres axis
Jocelyne Petit, mayor of the village, underlines:
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“Our only activity area is less than 10 hectares, along the former national RN 10. The last company there, Kirchhoff, a German equipment manufacturer specializing in the cutting and stamping of automotive equipment, has ceased its activities in 2013. It is very surprising that a group like Claas comes to settle with us. I think our geographical position has something to do with it, with the Épernon train station a quarter of an hour away, and we are on the road to Paris, Chartres and Le Mans, in the Sarthe. I am also thinking of the price of real estate, which is very high in the Yvelines department. We remain very attractive, while being at the gates of the capital of France ”
Jocelyne Petit (Mayor of Ymeray)
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This beautiful story, which saw its outcome, with the inauguration of the premises on May 20, 2021, began four years ago. “The search for a new site, before the signing of the acquisition, lasted more than two years and we chose Ymeray because our installation had to be in a strategic sector”, details Frédéric Verbitzky, President France of Claas.
Claas, the giant of agricultural machinery, chooses to set up in Eure-et-Loir in Ymeray
He pursues :
“L’Eure-et-Loir is close to Paris. This facilitates access to airports. But the department is above all close to our field of excellence, which is agriculture. La Beauce is perfect for our project. Our historical presence in Chartres was also a facilitating factor, as our training academy was located in the town of Coudray, near Chartres. It was also necessary to be located on a Paris-Chartres axis, without forgetting that the motorway also goes to Le Mans. “
Frédéric Verbitzky (President France of Claas)
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A German inauguration
On the day of the inauguration, everything was settled in German, with live broadcast on the web. The ceremony took place in the presence of Cathrina Claas-Mühlhäuser, boss of the group and granddaughter of the founder, Thomas Böck, CEO of the group, and, of course, Frédéric Verbitzky, French president of Claas.
The giant Claas inaugurates its campus in Ymeray
By their side, local elected officials, prefectural authorities and representatives of the business world welcomed the establishment of the France Claas head office in this small town and the opening of this Claas center of excellence in Ymeray, after more than ‘one year of work. The municipality is also recovering 150 permanent jobs alongside the hundreds of employees to be trained each year on site.
The France headquarters and the Claas center of excellence were inaugurated on May 20, 2021 by the highest executives of the German group alongside Eurelian economic players.
“Historically, the head office was in Fresnes (Val-de-Marne), with the subsidiaries of Claas France, details Frédéric Verbitzky. Premises in Coudray housed our training center for harvesting equipment, Claas Academy. We also had premises in Le Mans, in Sarthe, next to the factory that produces our tractors and a site near Reims (Marne), where we centralized used equipment. The campus and the center of excellence, unique in Europe, which we have inaugurated in Ymeray, bring together all of these structures. An aerial view of the site, which produces combines, forage harvesters and tractors, shows its immense size and almost its disproportion compared to the size of the small town. To be as majestic, the Claas campus and center of excellence, in Ymeray, have swallowed up the ten hectares of the former activity zone and have grown by buying neighboring land from a few local farmers.
A marker of the agricultural power of Eure-et-Loir
But for Beauce, breadbasket of France, and for Eure-et-Loir, this arrival further devotes the agricultural power of the department. Éric Thirouin, president of the Chamber of Agriculture of the department, confirms:
“It’s a tremendous investment in Eure-et-Loir, the cereals department par excellence. Personally, as national president of wheat producers, it gives me great pleasure to see this great company, leader in the field of combine harvesters, come to establish itself in our department. It is a source of employment, a source of confidence for this brand in our agriculture. In addition, what is exceptional is the sense of innovation. Tomorrow, to meet the challenges of our income and our competitiveness, we need high-performance equipment. “
Eric Thirouin
(President of the Chamber of Agriculture of Eure-et-Loir)
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To measure the exceptional economic history which has just started in this small village of Beauce, it is just necessary to recall that Claas occupies the first place in France as a manufacturer of combine harvesters, with 38% of market share. Claas is also the leading manufacturer of forage harvesters in France, with 50% of the market, the fourth manufacturer of tractors, with 12% of the market and the leading manufacturer of square balers, with 30% of the market. Finally, 20 to 22% of the Claas group’s activity is carried out in France, just behind the German market. The overall turnover of the German giant is around 3.8 billion euros.
2,500 trainees each year
Ymeray, who is part of the community of communes of the Eurelian Doors of Île-de-France, will see the arrival on his territory nearly 2,500 trainees each year to train on the machines at the Claas Academy. “Our group has 66 Claas dealerships in France. Nearly 5,000 people, with 150 site employees, revolve around the brand in France, ”says Frédéric Verbitzky.
The Claas Academy workshops in Eure-et-Loir welcome more than 2,500 trainees each year to train on the combine harvesters and tractors of the German brand.
And without revealing the tens or hundreds of millions of euros invested in this gigantic project, the founder’s granddaughter, for her part, recalled:
“We have made this huge investment here because we are convinced of France’s potential and the possibilities for development. “
Cathrina Claas-Mühlhäuser
(patron of the group and granddaughter of the founder)
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To which Stéphane Lemoine, president of the community of communes and vice-president of the Departmental Council, replied that the Department understood the need to support the Claas group in its deployment in the commune of Ymeray. “Today, we are transforming the road infrastructure to create a roundabout on the D 910 and facilitate access to the site in both directions of traffic. It will be delivered in November 2021. “
In fact, the end of this beautiful story is hidden behind Frédéric Verbitzky’s sentence:
“The agricultural world is changing structurally. There is a decrease in the number of farmers, but the volume of plots is growing. New technologies are invading the fields … My goal is to become the favorite brand of French farmers. ”
Frédéric Verbitzky (President France of Claas)
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Ahmed Taghza
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