Hainaut-Sambre
Company type | S.A. (corporation) |
---|---|
Industry | Steel |
Predecessor | Usines Métallurgiques du Hainaut and the metallurgical division of Sambre et Moselle |
Founded | 1955 |
Defunct | 1981 |
Fate | Merger |
Successor | Cockerill-Sambre |
Headquarters | , |
Hainaut-Sambre was a Belgian group of steel companies based in the Charleroi region, it was founded in 1955 by the merger of Usine Métallurgiques du Hainaut (based in Couillet, Charleroi), and the metal making division of Sambre et Moselle (based in Montignies-sur-Sambre, Charleroi).
The company absorbed another Charleroi based steel group
A predecessor company SA Marchinelle & Couillet built locomotives at the Usines Métallurgiques du Hainaut which were used on industrial railways, and exported around the world. The locomotive builder was commonly known as Couillet.
History
Background
It has been speculated that the beginnings of industrialised iron working around Charleroi may date at least to 1000AD, with water powered forge, and furnace fed by charcoal. The first official record of an iron industry dates to ~1600[1] By the 19th century the metallurgical inventions of the industrial revolution had reached Belgium; in the Charleroi area Paul-François Huart-Chapel would be instrumental in the development of the steel industry as his contemporary, the naturalised Belgian John Cockerill was in the nearby Liège area.[2] In the 1820s he introduced puddling furnaces then coke fired blast furnaces.[2][3]
In 1828 the maison de commerce "Fontaine-Spitaels" bought land for the construction of iron works and in 1830 merged with Usines des Hauchies of Paul Huart-Chapel to form Fontaine-Spitaels et Cie. The company had, in addition to blast and reverbatory furnaces and coke ovens, licenses for the extraction of coal and iron ore. In 1835 the company became the Société Anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux, Usines et Charbonnages de Marcinelle et Couillet with a capital of 4.5 million francs.[2]
Further expansion and development took place, with a mill for iron bar installed, then railways in the 1840s aiding the transportation of ore, the
In 1906 the metal working and mining divisions separated; with the colliery at Marcinelle becoming a separate company, the metal division of the company became La Société Métallurgique de Couillet, renamed as Société Métallurgique du Hainaut in 1910.[2]
In 1955 the company merged with the metallurgical division of Sambre et Moselle to form Hainaut-Sambre.[4][5]
Hainaut-Sambre
In 1967 the group acquired 51% of the shares of Société des Aciéries et Tréfilerie de Neuves-Maisons - Chatillon, this subsidiary was acquired by Chiers-Chatillon in 1977.[6]
In 1978 the company had a steel production capacity of ~2million tonnes pa.
Since the
Locomotives "Couillet"
The Société anonyme Usines Métallurgiques du Hainaut (English: 'Hainaut metal works company'), part of SA Marcinelle & Couillet, built steam locomotives at a plant in Couillet near Charleroi, so they are commonly known as "Couillet Locomotives".[11][12]
The locomotives were exported and a few now operated on
One locomotive on the Chemin de fer touristique du Tarn (
External links
References
- ^ Notice historique sur Couillet, "Industrie du Fer, pp.34-35
- ^ a b c d e Notice historique sur Couillet, "Siderurgie", pp.36-39
- ISBN 9780719035999.
- ^ "Société Métallurgique de Sambre et Moselle". www.industrie.lu (in French).
- ISBN 9780415019361.
- ^ "La sidérrurgie à Neuves-Maisons". amo.fjep.pagesperso-orange.fr (in French).
- ^ Fusulier, Vandewattyne & Lomba 2003, p.56 (table 3).
- ^ "ArcelorMittal Liège : Historique". www.cockerill-sambre.com (in French). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
- ^ Fusulier, Vandewattyne & Lomba 2003, p.83.
- ^ Fusulier, Vandewattyne & Lomba 2003, p.83, note 65 (p.97).
- ^ "FABRICATIONS FERROVIAIRES COUVERTES PAR RAIL ET INDUSTRIE". www.railetindustrie.com (in French). C: Couillet.
- ^ "Usine Métallurgique du Hainaut". www.rail.lu (in French).
- ^ "The Locomotive". www.puffingbilly.com.au.
- ^ "Locomotive Fleet". www.puffingbilly.com.au. 861, 986.
- ^ "La collection". www.cftt.org (in French). Archived from the original on 2010-10-09.
- ^ Base Palissy: locomotive à vapeur : locomotive-tender Couillet, à voie inférieure à 1 mètre, 030 T 1586, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ "La " Couillet " a 100 ans !". www.bienpublic.com (in French).
Sources
- Bolle, Alfred. "Notice historique sur Couillet". www.couillet.be. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06.
- Fusulier, Bernard; Vandewattyne, Jean; Lomba, Cédric (2003). Kaléidoscopie d'une modernisation industrielle. Usinor-Cockrill Sambre-Arcelor (in French). Presses univ. de Louvain. ISBN 9782930344126.
Further information
- Andre Warzée (1861). Exposé historique et statistique de l'industrie métallurgique dans le Hainaut (in French). Masquillier et Dequesne.