Article : L'Echo du Berry, 4 december to 10 december 2003
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This Neuvy-based company set up in 1998 specialises in clothing.
It now employs fifty people.
Clothing and fashion are considered sectors in crisis in the Berry region. Although evidence of this is clear, and factories have closed following redundancy plans, there is occasionally some good news to brighten up this gloomy picture. For example, Neuvy-based company Berry Services has just been awarded the 2003 international ‘Façon’ prize at the recent clothing industry suppliers' trade show in Paris.
Adaptability and versatility
For Jean-Claude Benéteau, the 39-year-old engineer who is the director and founder of Berry Services, “this award highlights the quality of the collective work that we have carried out. In terms of business, it will enhance our reputation and undoubtedly allow us to gain new markets. We were competing against twenty-seven other companies, including twelve from the Centre region!"
Berry Services began operations at the end of 1998 in the Le Fay small business area, which Jean-Claude Benéteau likes owing to its proximity to Châteauroux. “We started out by doing wrap packaging for a range of products including euro converters and boxes,” he says. “Then, bit by bit, we specialised in textile packaging. Since then, we have diversified our activities in this field to become a true supplier of the ready-to-wear sector. We offer our customers a wide range of services. Indeed, it is this versatility that won the jury over.”
Berry Services endeavours to constantly adapt to market needs. “We carry out quality control on textiles, and we also provide services such as tag insertion, labelling, placing garments on hangers, putting items into packets and boxes, in addition to a range of sewing services, including alterations, taping an ironing,” says Jean-Claude Benéteau. “We adapt out workforce and our machines to customer demands.”
The company is currently thriving and has a customer base both in France and abroad, with customers from other European countries and even from North Africa. Moreover, Jean-Claude Benéteau plans to grow the company. His ambition is to double the surface area of the workshop to improve working conditions and allow for the storage of goods. This expansion will most probably lead to new employees being recruited. There are currently fifty staff members—twenty-five permanent employees and twenty-five employed on a fixed-term basis. These individuals are mainly women who live in Neuvy and the surrounding municipalities.
Laurence Maître
