Forging mills of Syam

The Forges of Syam are installations of forging mills and rolling mills still in activity in 2005, whereas the buildings were built at the 19th century and that part of the tools of time is still in service. They are built with the confluence of the Ain and Healthy, in the south of Champagnole in the department French of the the Jura.

History of the place

a trip hammer is attested in 1757 and 1788. It would have functioned since 1690. One manufactured there primarily forgeries, famous in all the area, so much this manufacture was delicate. This craft industry of quality had been able to develop thanks to the talents of workmen come from the Tyrol. In 1763, the owners, Péry produced more 15 000 forgeries and more 60 000 tires.
After the Revolution, the production of forgery of quality having become a stake of importance, other industrialists of the Vosges and Alsace launched out in manufacture with happiness, constraining Charles-Joseph Péry to be declared in bankruptcy, the July 24th 1810.
the unit was repurchased the same year by Claude Jobez , of Morez. This one was already with the head of a handsome fortune which it owed with marketing in all the metropolis of the clocks comtoises and various participations in the capital of other iron and steel workshops.
In 1810, Etienne Monnier which had married in 1800, Adélaïde, the girl of Claude Jobez, entered the capital of the company to the sides of his/her father-in-law and of the son of this one, Emmanuel. Emmanuel conceived as of 1825, the project of the villa palladienne to replace housing close to the old trip hammer. He did not see the completion of the villa, being accidentally deceased in 1828.
Between 1811 and 1820, one built a new factory downstream from the primitive trip hammer with in particular, innovation for the time in France, a Four with reverberator. 400 tons left as of 1820 and tonnage doubled as of 1840.
the competition of the pig iron and cast iron to the coke of the the United Kingdom, less expensive than the production with the wood of Syam, involved the bad health of the company. Alphonse Jobez , the son of Emmanuel, created a nail factory in 1864, which gave a new dash to the company which périclitait. Manpower passed from 40 to 70 workmen.
Alphonse had taken makes and causes for the theses fourierists; he applied them to Syam by creating a working city being next to the factory, supporting the installation of a school, of a dispensary; a post office was installed with the telegraph in 1885…
Parallèlement, in the farm of the field and into others belonging to him, it introduced exotic cattle.
extremely cultivated Man, Alphonse installed on the first floor of the villa, a library of 30 000 volumes.
the grand-daughter of Alphonse who had married in 1910, the son of Sadi-Carnot often remained in Syam.
the nail factory closed in 1914.
the great specialization of the products leaving Syam, without much competition made it possible the company to surmount the two world wars.
In 1945, the manufacturer of files UMAS of Arc-and-Senans became the principal shareholder of Syam; the group went bankrupt in 1976.

Current activity

From 1969, part of labor comes from the village from El Hajjyenne, with the Morocco.
In 1976, the forging mills are repurchased by Experton-Revollier, group of the Isere. A modernization process absolutely necessary in front of the absence of overhead travelling crane, from electrical energy (the transmissions are done by belts) went hand in hand with the maintenance of the tool rolling mill, the last of this type to France and one of the last to Europe.
Today, this vestige of the iron and steel industry of the 19th century feeds the market in very special products, in particular in the iron work, the car, the elevators…

External bonds

the official site of the castle, remains ironmasters

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