Released by Caterpillar, Tim is in turmoil

Tim, a subsidiary of Fritzmeier specializing in the manufacture of construction machinery cabins, is in an unfortunate position. Impacted by lower orders from its main customer Caterpillar, which has just closed its facilities in Belgium, the company has been placed under receivership.

Based in Quaëdypre, near Dunkerque, Tim has been producing the cabins for construction equipment and farm machinery for years for the Caterpillar manufacturer. A major customer represented 80% of its business until the announcement of its facilities in Charleroi (Belgium). And it is not with such a construction sector, still fragile in the north of France, that Tim compensates for this loss.

In May, the Fritzmeier subsidiary decided to adopt a social plan for 123 of its 630 employees. That will not be enough. The company lost half its turnover in a few years, reaching € 92.7 million in 2015 (compared with € 123 million in 2014). Placed on legal redress by the Commercial Court of Lille Métropole on January 6th, Tim is forced to launch a new social plan involving 200 layoffs before March 15th.

Other avenues are explored to remove the company from the rut as the setting up of footbridges with the Japanese manufacturer Kubota, recently established in the agglomeration. But problems arise at the level of production, much lower than that of Tim. The Japanese manufacturer produces 2,000 to 2,500 tractors per year, compared with 3,000 cabs per month for Tim.