YOU ARCHES® Emilie GAND, QHSE Manager at the Arches Paper Mill

Introduce yourself briefly: first name, surname, whether you live in Arches or nearby, for how long…

My name’s Emilie Gand and I live about 30 km from Arches.

Have long have you worked for ARCHES®? How/in what circumstances were you recruited?

I have just celebrated 21 years at Arches!

I arrived in 2003, as a student on a 2-year sandwich course in papermaking. When I finished my course, I was hired as a quality officer.

Over the years, I’ve progressed in the company. First I became quality manager and then, two years ago, QHSE manager (Quality, Health, Safety and Environment).

You’re in charge of Safety. Can you tell us what that involves?

For the safety aspect of my job, the aim is to do everything possible to ensure every employee is working in the best possible conditions for their own health and safety and those of their colleagues.

Day to day, that requires spending a lot of time observing the work environment and the tasks that people are carrying out. It is important to record everything that could be improved to reduce the risks as much as possible.

Of course, it’s a team effort too, as we all are responsible for our own safety. And the observations made by the people who work in the workshops themselves also provide opportunities for improvement.

Are Safety training courses offered to staff at the Arches paper mill?

Yes, of course, there is training in areas specific to the job, but also training sessions to raise awareness of more general issues.

For example, recently I did an awareness raising session on the risk of cardiopulmonary arrest and the use of a defibrillator. These information sessions are also a chance for us to share our experiences, which is also a great learning experience in itself.

What does the ARCHES® brand mean to you?

It’s a brand you get attached to. I can’t walk past a picture without wondering if it’s been done on our paper. ARCHES® is one of the great brands manufactured in our beautiful region, the Vosges, and I’m very proud to be part of that adventure!

In your opinion, how do artists see the ARCHES® brand?

When I’m lucky enough to see an artist working on our paper and to hear them talking about it, I always have the impression that they adore it with a capital A. It’s always fascinating to me.

Who knows, maybe it’s the paper that manages to pass on to the artist the passion we put into making it!

Are you an artist yourself? Or someone close to you?

Unfortunately I have absolutely no artistic talent!

What would you like to say to the people reading this article?

To the artists who know us, I would like to say that we do everything we can to satisfy them. And to those who don’t know us, I’d like to convince them to give our beautiful paper a chance to win them over!