Maxime Renaud, 30, and Florian Cante, 31, wanted to move on. From industry to creation for individuals. After a year of preparations, the friends took the plunge. They resigned in February 2022 from the company for which the two had worked for five and six years and set up their own business on March 23, 2022: The Forge of Gobannosnamed after the patron saint of blacksmiths.
Railings, gates, stairs, verandas, furniture
Their 260 m² workshop is located in the Blanzat district, in Montluçon. They make railings, gates, stairs and other verandas decorated with scrolls. It is ironwork, metalwork, locksmithing and the creation of custom-made furniture.
They didn’t advertise. Their Facebook page was only created a month ago. Maxime Renaud explains:
“It works by word of mouth. The order book is full until the end of August and there are still quotes to be made”
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Tailor-made projects for individuals
The duo is currently working on a big project: a fifty-four meter guardrail and two six meter gates. With the installation, the painting, the fitting of the engines, the customers have it for 47,000 €. It’s a budget, especially with the rising price of steel. But the assembly will not move, unlike the aluminum structures that can be found on the market, compare the professionals.
Personal contribution, bank loan and loan of honor
They put everything into their business: €4,000 of personal contribution each, a bank loan of €47,000. They also received a zero interest loan of €8,000 from Initiative Allier. This association supports business creators and buyers in their projects.
In Montluçon (Allier) Atelier Lamarque relies on high-end furniture
Seher Turkmen
[email protected]
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