Balsan (Company)

Balsan is a creator and manufacturer of textile (carpets and carpet tiles); it is the leading French producer of the sector and the fourth largest employer of the department/region of l’Indre. This French society is the heir of the Royal Manufacture Château du Parc created in 1751 in Chateauroux.

In 1751, Louis XV grants Jean Vaillé the right to create the Royal Manufacture close to Chateauroux, a pioneering city of the clothing industry. The foundations of the first buildings were laid in 1752 although the business really began in 1755. Despite difficult times, the Manufacture experiences periods of prosperity and quickly became the first business in Châteauroux and Sud-Berry. It also consolidates a strong local textile tradition that continues to this day. The factory has been the subject of numerous publications on the organization and respect for the lives of workers.

From 1856, the manufacture became associated with the name Balsan. Jean-Pierre Balsan bought it and gave it a second life. After he started working with his two sons Auguste and Charles, the company took the name of Balsan & Sons. Between 1860 and 1869, a new factory is designed by the architect Henry Dauvergne. His project was both innovative and ambitious: in addition to the 60,000 m² of workshops and warehouses it also included administrative buildings, a gas production plant, water towers, a worker township of 100 homes, a clinic. Its leaders Augustus and Charles Balsan lead in parallel political careers; they were both elected representative of the department of l’Indre. Charles advocates for a social and paternalistic capitalism. He works on women's employment laws, mutual aid and work accidents.

In 1912, the company took out its final form as a Limited Liability Company with a share capital of 9 million French old Francs. It became the "Anonymous Society of Balsan Establishments". It mainly produces fabric intended for making uniforms for the Armed Forces, including the "blue horizon" wore by the "Poilus" during the First World War, and the various public administrations.

In 1954, Louis Balsan succeeded to his cousin François. After he graduated from Sciences Po and Harvard, he was deported during the Second World War. He made contact with American factories specializing in TUFT, a new textile production process used for creating carpets, bath mats, bedspreads... The company then diversified its activities by manufacturing five meters tufted carpets with unique machines in France. The social development of the company continues with the introduction of paid internships and the construction of a day-nursery and a company restaurant. In 1972, Louis Balsan decides to build a new plant in Corbilly following the innovative concept of the era of "plant in the countryside". After its opening in June 1974, the plant experiences some difficulties which lead Louis to sell Balsan to Bidermann Textile Group in May 1975.

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