The French group Eurenco, which is owned by the French state, will invest 40 million euros in its branch in Clermont, Wallonia, near Liège to increase the production of gunpowder for bullets.
It has been written before: so many projectiles are being fired in the war in Ukraine that it is putting pressure on ammunition supplies in the US and Europe. This now also has consequences in our country. Eurenco is investing 40 million euros in its factory in Clermont, in the Liège municipality of Engis, to almost double the production of gunpowder for projectiles. The project may benefit from EU support under the military ASAP programme. ASAP stands for Act to Support Ammunition Production.
The factory in Clermont, which employs about 140 people, increased production to 2,240 tons of gunpowder last year due to Ukraine. As a result, turnover increased to 38.6 million euros and net profit to 3.6 million euros. The investment of 40 million euros may create up to 100 jobs.
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Clermont is one of the five production sites of the French Eurenco. The factory has existed since 1850 and was long ago part of PRB, a group that belonged to the former holding company Generale Maatschappij van België. Eurenco was created in 2004 from a merger of the explosives and propellants activities of the French chemical group SNPE and those of the Swedish aerospace and defense group Saab and the Finnish Patria. Eurenco is now completely owned by the French state.
The Walloon branch produces gunpowder for civilian applications (hunting and sporting projectiles), but mainly for military purposes. The military projectiles propelled with the factory’s powder can reach a diameter of up to 20 mm. Eurenco Clermont is the largest player in its sector in Europe and number two worldwide. Customers include the nearby arms manufacturer FN Herstal, which is owned by the Walloon government.
Eurenco as a whole employs around 1,200 people and saw turnover increase to 300 million euros last year. This year growth is expected to around 400 million euros. Production is also increasing in France. Eurenco also makes civilian applications of explosives, such as dynamite sticks for mining and for the extraction of oil and gas.