Espérance-Longdoz
Encyclopedia
Espérance-Longdoz was a coal mining and steel production company located in the Liege region
of Belgium.
The company merged with Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence in 1970 to form Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence-Espérance Longdoz (known as Cockerill), later being merged into Usinor
, then Arcelor
then ArcelorMittal.
Production at Longdoz ceased in the latter part of the 20th century, the factory site was redevelopend in the 2000s into a shopping complex Médiacité, one part of the buildings at Longdoz has been preserved and is now the home of an industrial museum La Maison de la Métallurgie et de l'Industrie de Liège.
A later steelworks development, built at Chertal in the 1960s is still in operation (as of 2010) and is part of the ArcelorMittal group, within the Liege division.
The innovation of Hot-dip galvanizing
was introduced in 1881 by Paul Borgnet who later founded the Phenix Works in Flémalle
in 1911. In 1920 Evence Coppée & Cie. acquired the company.Evence Coppée & Cie : formed 1914, founded by Evence Coppée I, patentee of a Coke oven in 1853, developed into a vertically integrated coal mining and processing company. Disbanded in 1970, holdings later merged with Lafarge
to form Lafarge Coppée. Source
The company became the largest Belgian producer of sheet metal, reaching a peak production of 142,000 tonnes in 1948. The plant in Longdoz, however was hemmed in by the city, and could not expand. After 1957 the Longdoz plant ceased hot rolling of steel, and was used only for finishing of the plate, and distribution.
In 1960 the company formed, in joint venture with Allegheny Ludlum, a new stainless steel producer: Allegheny-Longdoz (ALZ) in Genk
, Flanders. Additionally a new plant at Chertal on a greenfield site was built in 1963, with a capacity of 1.6 million tonnes of steel produced by the Linz-Donawitz process.
The company was sold by Evence Coppée & Cie. to Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence in 1970, merging to form Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence et Espérance Longdoz (abbr. Cockerill), and later became part of Cockerill-Sambre
, Usinor
, and ultimately Arcelor and ArcelorMittal though the mergers of its parent companys.
accredited complex opened 20 October 2009.
One part of the steelworks remains, the museum La Maison de la Métallurgie et de l'Industrie de Liège; originally opened in 1963 when production was moved to Chertal, in 1971 the collection was expanded by the addition of relics from the Cockerill company. In 1976 the museum was donated to the City of Liege
. The museum contains the reconstruction of the earliest Belgian blast furnace, 19th century steam engines and steam driven machinery, as well as other historically important industrial inventions, including the second prototype dynamo of Zénobe Gramme
(1871) and a Herman Hollerith
Tabulating machine
(1889),
The facilities became part of the ArcelorMittal Liege division. Hot rolling briefly stopped in from May to April 2009 due to the economic downturn caused by the financial crisis of 2007–2010.
The mill is supplied by rail using 130t capacity torpedo wagons. The plant has three LD converters, facilities for iron desulphurisation and vacuum treatment. Production is by continuous casting
with a capacity of 3.5million tonnes pa, the primary product is hot rolled steel coil up to 2m wide.
Liège (province)
Liège is the easternmost province of Belgium and belongs to the Walloon Region. It is an area of French and German ethnicity. It borders on the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and in Belgium the provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, Walloon Brabant , and those of Flemish Brabant and Limburg . Its...
of Belgium.
The company merged with Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence in 1970 to form Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence-Espérance Longdoz (known as Cockerill), later being merged into Usinor
Usinor
Usinor was a French steel making group formed in 1948. The group was merged with Sacilor in 1986, becoming Usinor-Sacilor and was privatised in 1995, and renamed Usinor in 1997....
, then Arcelor
Arcelor
Arcelor S.A. was the world's largest steel producer in terms of turnover and the second largest in terms of steel output, with a turnover of €30.2 billion and shipments of 45 million metric tons of steel in 2004...
then ArcelorMittal.
Production at Longdoz ceased in the latter part of the 20th century, the factory site was redevelopend in the 2000s into a shopping complex Médiacité, one part of the buildings at Longdoz has been preserved and is now the home of an industrial museum La Maison de la Métallurgie et de l'Industrie de Liège.
A later steelworks development, built at Chertal in the 1960s is still in operation (as of 2010) and is part of the ArcelorMittal group, within the Liege division.
History
In 1845/6 the Dothée brothers established a tinplate factory in Longdoz in Liege, then in 1862/3 the Dothée brothers merged their business with the Société anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux, Usines et Charbonnages de l'Espérance (founded 1836) forming the Société des Charbonnages, Hauts Fourneaux et Laminoirs de l'Espérance. In 1877 the company disposed of the coal mining business of the company and became the Société métallurgique d'Espérance-Longdoz.The innovation of Hot-dip galvanizing
Hot-dip galvanizing
Hot-dip galvanizing is a form of galvanization. It is the process of coating iron, steel, or aluminum with a thin zinc layer, by passing the metal through a molten bath of zinc at a temperature of around 860 °F...
was introduced in 1881 by Paul Borgnet who later founded the Phenix Works in Flémalle
Flémalle
Flémalle is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liége. On January 1, 2006 Flémalle had a total population of 25,140. The total area is 36.68 km² which gives a population density of 685 inhabitants per km².-Subdivisions:...
in 1911. In 1920 Evence Coppée & Cie. acquired the company.Evence Coppée & Cie : formed 1914, founded by Evence Coppée I, patentee of a Coke oven in 1853, developed into a vertically integrated coal mining and processing company. Disbanded in 1970, holdings later merged with Lafarge
Lafarge
Lafarge is a French industrial company specialising in four major products: cement, construction aggregates, concrete and gypsum wallboard. In 2010 the company was the world's second-largest cement manufacturer by mass shipped behind Holcim.-History:...
to form Lafarge Coppée. Source
The company became the largest Belgian producer of sheet metal, reaching a peak production of 142,000 tonnes in 1948. The plant in Longdoz, however was hemmed in by the city, and could not expand. After 1957 the Longdoz plant ceased hot rolling of steel, and was used only for finishing of the plate, and distribution.
In 1960 the company formed, in joint venture with Allegheny Ludlum, a new stainless steel producer: Allegheny-Longdoz (ALZ) in Genk
Genk
Genk is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the city of Genk itself...
, Flanders. Additionally a new plant at Chertal on a greenfield site was built in 1963, with a capacity of 1.6 million tonnes of steel produced by the Linz-Donawitz process.
The company was sold by Evence Coppée & Cie. to Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence in 1970, merging to form Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence et Espérance Longdoz (abbr. Cockerill), and later became part of Cockerill-Sambre
Cockerill-Sambre
Cockerill-Sambre was a group of Belgian steel manufacturers headquartered in Seraing , on the Meuse River, and in Charleroi, on the shore of the Sambre River....
, Usinor
Usinor
Usinor was a French steel making group formed in 1948. The group was merged with Sacilor in 1986, becoming Usinor-Sacilor and was privatised in 1995, and renamed Usinor in 1997....
, and ultimately Arcelor and ArcelorMittal though the mergers of its parent companys.
Longdoz
In 2006 the land occupied by the disused steelworks at Longdoz was authorised to be used to create a shopping and leisure complex known as Médiacité. The BREEAMBREEAM
BRE Environmental Assessment Method is a voluntary measurement rating for green buildings that was established in the UK by the Building Research Establishment . Since its inception it has since grown in scope and geographically, being exported in various guises across the globe...
accredited complex opened 20 October 2009.
One part of the steelworks remains, the museum La Maison de la Métallurgie et de l'Industrie de Liège; originally opened in 1963 when production was moved to Chertal, in 1971 the collection was expanded by the addition of relics from the Cockerill company. In 1976 the museum was donated to the City of Liege
Liege
Liège is a municipality and a city of Belgium. The term Liège or Liege may also refer to:* Liege, a party to the oath of allegiance in feudalism .* Liège Island, in the Antarctic...
. The museum contains the reconstruction of the earliest Belgian blast furnace, 19th century steam engines and steam driven machinery, as well as other historically important industrial inventions, including the second prototype dynamo of Zénobe Gramme
Zénobe Gramme
Zénobe Théophile Gramme was a Belgian electrical engineer. He invented the Gramme machine, a type of direct current dynamo capable of generating smoother and much higher voltages than the dynamos known to that point.In 1873 he and Hippolyte Fontaine accidentally discovered that the device was...
(1871) and a Herman Hollerith
Herman Hollerith
Herman Hollerith was an American statistician who developed a mechanical tabulator based on punched cards to rapidly tabulate statistics from millions of pieces of data. He was the founder of one of the companies that later merged and became IBM.-Personal life:Hollerith was born in Buffalo, New...
Tabulating machine
Tabulating machine
The tabulating machine was an electrical device designed to assist in summarizing information and, later, accounting. Invented by Herman Hollerith, the machine was developed to help process data for the 1890 U.S. Census...
(1889),
Chertal
Production at the Chertal site continued through Cockerill, Cockerill-Sambre, Arcelor, and ArcelorMittal ownership.The facilities became part of the ArcelorMittal Liege division. Hot rolling briefly stopped in from May to April 2009 due to the economic downturn caused by the financial crisis of 2007–2010.
The mill is supplied by rail using 130t capacity torpedo wagons. The plant has three LD converters, facilities for iron desulphurisation and vacuum treatment. Production is by continuous casting
Continuous casting
Continuous casting, also called strand casting, is the process whereby molten metal is solidified into a "semifinished" billet, bloom, or slab for subsequent rolling in the finishing mills. Prior to the introduction of continuous casting in the 1950s, steel was poured into stationary molds to form...
with a capacity of 3.5million tonnes pa, the primary product is hot rolled steel coil up to 2m wide.