Interim industrial director: turning around the performance of a site after a massive investment

An industrial site invests several tens of millions of euros in a new line. Six months after commissioning, production is still far from its objectives. This scenario affects many French sites, including those that rely on energy recovery and heating networks. The interim industrial director exists for this specific moment: to take over a site whose investment is not yet producing the expected performance.

Contents

• A sector under pressure: record investments, ramp-up in question
• Situations that call for an interim

industrial director

• What an interim industrial director does as soon as he takes up his position
• The case of an energy recovery unit after winning a public

service delegation

• Why entrust this mission to WAYDEN
• FAQ
• Conclusion
• Sources

A sector under pressure: record investments, ramp-up in question

You may think that an industrial investment alone is enough to guarantee performance. Recent reality shows rather the opposite.

In 2025, France recorded only a net balance of nine factories created or expanded in the first half of the year. This is far from the 48 observed in the second half of 2024, according to the State’s industrial barometer published in October 2025. The reindustrialization dynamic is slowing down significantly.

However, investments in energy and the environment remain strong. The Heat Fund financed nearly 1,200 installations in 2025, for €801 million committed. The renewable heat produced reaches 3.5 TWh each year, according to a report relayed by the Banque des Territoires in April 2026.

At the end of 2025, a waste operator even signed the largest contract in its history to build a new energy recovery unit. Two additional furnaces are planned by 2031, as part of a 26-year public service delegation.

But a committed investment does not equal a performance acquired. According to a KPMG analysis published in February 2026, the ramp-up phase that follows commissioning concentrates the most risks. Energy, nuclear and defence are among the most exposed sectors. An agri-food site cited in this study had to regain between 20 and 30 points of overall equipment effectiveness after its start-up.

This gap between the investment made and the actual performance weighs all the more heavily as the recruitment of a permanent site manager takes time. The difficulties of recruiting executives are declining, but remain real. 49% of companies still encounter them, compared to 60% in 2023, according to an Apec study relayed in May 2026.

Meanwhile, contractual deadlines do not wait. A public service delegation or public funding with performance objectives imposes precise milestones. A site that misses these milestones exposes the operator to penalties and a loss of confidence with the delegating authority or the funders.

 

Situations that call for an interim industrial director

Three scenarios come up most often when an industrial site or an infrastructure operator asks us for this type of mission.

The first is a ramp-up that drags on after the commissioning of a line or unit. Production or energy efficiency objectives remain out of reach several months after start-up. The second is the entry into force of a public service delegation or an operating contract. The operator must then deliver a contractual performance in the first few months. The third is the sudden departure of the site manager in the middle of a critical phase, with no successor immediately available.

In all three cases, the situation is similar. The teams continue to run the facilities, without a single pilot arbitrating between technical, financial and contractual priorities.

A more discreet signal deserves your attention. When performance indicators stagnate for several months without any single cause being identified, it is often a sign of a management deficit. The isolated technical problem is not the real issue. This is when an industrial transition management profile makes the difference.

What an interim industrial director does as soon as he takes up his position

As a manager, you don’t expect another audit. You expect a single point of contact to take control of the site’s performance from its first week.

An immediate technical and financial diagnosis

The interim industrial director cross-references production data with the commitments made to financiers, local authorities or the group. He quickly identifies the items that explain most of the performance gap, rather than dispersing efforts on all fronts at once.

This initial photograph rarely takes more than a few weeks. It distinguishes between what is a technical defect, a lack of staff or an organization that needs to be reviewed.

Operational stabilization

It then structures a prioritized action plan with the maintenance, production and operation teams already in place. To do this, it relies on a change management method proven on other industrial sites.

This phase most often includes:

• the review of start-up and series change procedures;

• strengthening the dialogue between the design and operation teams;
• setting up monitoring indicators shared with the funders or the delegating authority.

Transmission to the successor

The interim industrial director documents each decision taken and prepares for the handover. It is done to a permanent site manager or to an internal team with increased skills, depending on the situation.

The case of an energy recovery unit after winning a public service delegation

A French player in the energy transition had invested heavily in an energy recovery unit. The project combined a new treatment line, the optimisation of the site’s energy performance and the extension of an urban heating network. This investment followed the winning of a public service delegation.

Several months after commissioning, the ramp-up did not produce the expected performance. The volumes treated remained below the contractual objectives. The heating network did not recover all the energy available on the site.

An interim industrial director took over full responsibility for the site. He first objectified, line by line, the gap between contractual performance and actual performance, before prioritizing the technical and organizational causes.

The action plan focused on the reliability of the most critical equipment and the reorganisation of the shift teams. It also strengthened the energy management of the heating network. The site’s performance gradually improved, until it came close to the commitments made to the delegating community.

Why entrust this mission to WAYDEN

WAYDEN relies on a pool of 8,000 qualified managers. In just a few days, the firm identifies the right industrial profile for your site and your sector. It manages more than 100 assignments each year, with deployment possible in less than a week.

Each interim industrial director presented generally has fifteen to twenty-five years of operational experience. You receive several candidates within 48 to 72 hours, and each assignment remains monitored, from diagnosis to handover, by an associate director of the firm.

This approach applies to an industrial site in turnaround as well as to a recently commissioned plant. WAYDEN also supports the industrialization processes that often precede these ramp-ups.

Discover our expertise in interim management in the industry.

FAQ

Can an interim industrial director work on a site that has just been commissioned?

Yes. In fact, it is one of the most frequent cases. The interim industrial director takes over as soon as the expected performance is slow to materialize, without waiting for a crisis to set in.

How long does an industrial performance recovery mission take

?
The duration varies according to the complexity of the site and the extent of the gap to be filled. It is based on the time needed to stabilize performance and hand over responsibility to a permanent holder.

Does the interim industrial director replace the current site manager?

It depends on the context. He can take over the entire position in the event of a vacancy, or intervene alongside the director in place during the critical phase.

Which sectors make the most use of this type of profile?

Energy, the environment, chemicals and agri-food are among the sectors most affected, due to their regular investments and strong regulatory constraints.

Sources

• economie.gouv.fr, “State Industrial Barometer: reindustrialisation continues in 2025”, published on 31 October 2025: net balance of factory creations in the first half of 2025 compared to the second half of 2024.

• Banque des Territoires, “Heat Fund: nearly 1,200 installations supported in 2025 with strong growth in geothermal energy”, published on 23 April 2026: budget committed and volume of renewable heat produced by the Heat Fund in 2025.

• Environnement Magazine, “Paprec signs a historic contract: 1.3 billion”, published on 3 December 2025: amount and duration of the public service delegation contract for a new energy recovery unit.

• KPMG France, “Industrial ramp-up: successful ramp-up”, published on February 12, 2026: causes of failure of the ramp-up and performance gap observed after start-up.

• ToutMontbéliard.com, “Executive recruitment difficulties are declining according to Apec”, published on May 22, 2026: evolution of the rate of difficulty in recruiting executives in France.