La Fabrique Circuit Court (FCC)
- Location
- Namur, Belgium
- Industries
- Shortening supply chain, Sustainable packaging & plastic alternatives, Waste efficiency
- Domains
- Poultry, Animal based primary products, Ice cream, Processed food products, Fruit, Plant based primary products, Ingredients, Vegetables
- Technologies
- Power-heating technology, Processing
About La Fabrique Circuit Court (FCC)
La Fabrique Circuit Court (FCC) is a cooperative umbrella organization and a local agro-food hub based in Rhisnes-Namur, Belgium. It brings together businesses active on the site, along with the Paysans-Artisans cooperative that supports the project, and its role is to animate the site, strengthen cohesion between tenants, encourage partnerships and shared resources, manage shared communications and signage, and handle admissions for new workshops.
FCC positions itself as a short-supply-chain platform for artisanal food transformation and distribution. Its project markers are short-chain artisanal food production, fair trade, sustainable development, and a cooperative spirit. Beyond coordination, it also finances and manages shared infrastructure such as land, technical facilities, parking, a wood-fired heating system, meeting and dining rooms, and some rented office space.
Core Values
- Short supply chains: The project is built around local food transformation and distribution, with a clear preference for circuit court sourcing and sales.
- Cooperation: FCC emphasizes mutual support between actors on the site, shared resources, and collective organization through cooperative structures.
- Sustainability: The site highlights sustainable development through shared infrastructure, resource pooling, and facilities such as a wood-fired heating system.
- Fair trade and responsible production: The project explicitly includes fair trade as one of its core markers, alongside artisanal production and responsible food practices.
Unique Aspects
- Umbrella cooperative for a multi-actor food site: FCC is not a single producer but the coordinating structure for a cluster of food businesses, giving the site a shared identity and governance model.
- Shared employment pool: The Groupement d’Employeurs de la Fabrique Circuit Court allows staff to work across different entities, with 8 people engaged at the time described on the site.
- Significant collective investment: The site’s total investment is stated at about €4.6 million, with FCC’s own structural investments amounting to €1.2 million.
- Broad partner network: FCC is backed by a range of cooperative, public, and financial partners including Paysans-Artisans, W.Alter, Triodos, BEP, SPW, the City of Namur, the Province of Namur, Fondation Chimay-Wartoise, Coopeos, and Champ d’Energie.