| Industry | Iron and steel manufacture |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Compagnie des Fonderies, Forges et Aciéries de Saint-Etienne  |
| Founded | Saint-Chamond, Loire, France (14 November 1854 (1854-11-14)) |
| Headquarters | Saint-Chamond, Loire, France |
| Products | Iron and steel |
The Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécourt ('Company of Marine Forges and Steelworks and of Homécourt'; FAMH) was a French industrial enterprise that made iron and steel products for the French navy, army, and railroads. It is often known as Saint-Chamond from its main location in Saint-Chamond, Loire.
Origins
In 1815 James Jackson, a manufacturer from Birmingham, England, set a steelworks near Saint-Étienne at Trablaine. Jackson returned to England around 1823. His sons, naturalized Frenchmen, established an important steelworks at Assailly in 1830. In 1837 H. Pétin and J. M. Gaudet, mechanics and forgers, set up shops at Saint-Chamond and Rive-de-Gier. In 1841 Pétin et Gaudet introduced one of the first steam hammers at their works. Later they introduced innovations such as a mobile crane for moving large pieces around the works, and a hydraulic press. Starting in 1771 the Neyrand brothers became owners of several coal mines and ironworks in the valley of the Gier river. The company of Neyrand frères et Thiollière was formed in January 1845 to exploit an enlarged and modernized factory at Lorette. The partnership of Parent, Schaken, Goldsmid et Cie was formed on 28 February 1854 to acquire and exploit the forges of the Vierzon company located at Vierzon, Clavières, Reblay, Bonneau and Courbançon.
These four companies became one on 14 November 1854 when Jackson Frères and Pétin et Gaudet merged and combined with Neyrand-Thiollière, Bergeron et Cie of Lorette, and Parent, Schaken, Goldsmid et Cie of Paris. The new company was called the Compagnie des Hauts-fourneaux, forges et aciéries de la Marine et des chemins de fer. The company, which engaged in extracting, processing and selling iron and coal was initially based in Rive-de-Gier. On 9 November 1871 it moved its headquarters to Saint-Chamond and became a limited company. The factories were mainly concentrated in the Loire basin, in Saint-Chamond and Assailly.
Early years
In 1874 the Company was struggling in a difficult economy. Pierre de Montgolfier-Verpilleux was named general director. Montgolfier remained head of the company for most of the rest of his life. When he took office in 1874 the annual sales turnover was 20 million francs, and at the end of his tenure in 1908 it had risen to 80 million francs. He paid particular attention to the works at Saint-Chamond and Assailly, where he developed the special fabrications that brought fame to the factories. At Saint-Chamond he built a forge that could make 80-ton ingots, and he installed a great steam hammer with a 100-ton ram.
He developed arms manufacture at Saint-Chamond, and also delivered large quantities of rails to major French railroad companies. In 1881 he founded the Forges du Boucau near Bayonne. The factory at Boucau in the Hautes-Pyrénées was created when the Midi rail network decided to replace its iron rails with steel. Between 1887 and 1890 he built huge workshops which, among other products, made most of the land turrets that armed the eastern fortresses of France, and provided turrets to various foreign powers, particularly Romania. The forges also produced train shields and marine turrets.
In 1903 the company moved into the east and north when it acquired the assets of the Vezin-Aulnoye company, which included factories at Homécourt in Meurthe-et-Moselle and iron mines at Hautmont in the north. The name was changed to Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la Marine et d'Homécourt.
World War I
During World War I (1914-1918) the company built several different types of weapons, notably the Saint Chamond-Mondragón 75 mm gun which had been designed mostly by colonel Rimailho, the Saint-Chamond tank and the deficient Chauchat machine rifle. They also produced naval guns, such as the quadruple gun turret design for the unfinished Normandie-class battleships.
Later mergers
In 1932 the company purchased the Neyrand et Cie company with a plant at Onzion, Loire. The company went through major changes after World War II (1939-1945). In 1950 the properties in the east and north were transferred to the Lorraine company SIDELOR, and the company returned to its focus in the Loire region. In 1952 it merged with the Compagnie des Aciéries de Saint-Étienne to form the Compagnie des Forges et Aciéries de la Marine et Saint-Étienne.
In 1954 the company became a holding company, combining its industrial operations with the Établissements Jacob Holtzer and Usine de la Loire des Aciéries et Forges de Firminy to create the Compagnie des Ateliers et Forges de la Loire (CAFL). The company went through further transformations in 1961 by merging with Firminy, which had also become a holding company, to form the Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la Marine, Firminy et Saint Etienne. This became Marine-Firminy in 1968. That year SNCF Class A1AA1A 68000 production was over, and that signified the end of locomotive production of the company.
In March 1970 the latter company merged with Société des forges et ateliers du Creusot [fr] to form Creusot-Loire holding. 1973 oil embargo caused a steel crisis, and in 1974 French government nationalized the steel industry.
Marine-Wendel was created by acquiring most of the industrial and commercial interests of the Lorraine company.
References
Citations
- Evans & Rydén 2005, p. 77.
- Thiollier 1891, p. 87.
- ^ Compagnie des forges et aciéries ... Creusot-Loire, p. 2.
- Berend 2012, p. 201.
- Armengaud 1871, p. 97.
- Chassagne 2007, p. 369.
- Chassagne 2007, p. 370.
- Journal des notaires et des avocats 1858.
- ^ Guillet 1913, p. 1384.
- ^ Guillet 1913, p. 1385.
- Jolly 1977.
- Fitzsimons, Bernard (1978). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare. Vol. 6. Columbia House. p. 584. ISBN 978-0-906704-00-4.
- Preston 2002, p. 68.
- "Wendel - 300 years of history". Archived from the original on 2013-04-12.
Sources
- Armengaud, Jacques-Eugène (1871). Publication industrielle des machines, outils et appareils les plus perfectionnés et les plus récents employés dans les différentes branches de l'industrie française et étrangère. Chez l'auteur. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
- Berend, Tibor Iván (2012-11-15). An Economic History of Nineteenth-Century Europe: Diversity and Industrialization. Cambridge University Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-107-03070-1. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
- Chassagne, Serge (2007). "Une Famille de Maitres de Forges Catholiques de la Region Lyonnaise". Histoire des familles, de la démographie et des comportements: en hommage à Jean-Pierre Bardet. Presses Paris Sorbonne. ISBN 978-2-84050-523-5. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
- "Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la Marine et d'Homécourt" (PDF). Société anonyme Creusot-Loire. 16 December 1971. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
- Evans, Chris; Rydén, Göran (2005-01-01). The Industrial Revolution in Iron: The Impact of British Coal Technology in Nineteenth-century Europe. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-7546-3390-7. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
- Guillet, L. (December 1913). "Adrien de Montgolfier (1831-1913)" (PDF). Revue de la métallurgie (in French) (12). Retrieved 2013-08-17.
- Jolly, Jean (1977). Dictionnaire des parlementaires français: notices biographiques sur les ministres, sénateurs et députés français de 1889 à 1940 (in French). Presses universitaires de France. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
- Journal des notaires et des avocats. Librairie du Journal des notaires et des avocats. 1858. p. 217. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
- Preston, Antony (2002). The World's Worst Warships. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0851777546.
- Thiollier, Lucien (1891). La Chambre de commerce de Saint-Étienne et les industries de sa circonscription, 1833-1890. Impr. Théolier. p. 87. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
External links
- Documents and clippings about Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécourt in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW