Saut-du-Tarn Steel Works
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Native name
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Société des Hauts-Fourneaux, forges et aciéries du Saut-du-Tarn |
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| Manufacturer | |
| Industry | Iron and steel |
| Fate | Liquidated |
| Founded | 1824 |
| Founder | Léon Talabot |
| Defunct | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Saint-Juéry, Tarn, France |
The Saut-du-Tarn Steel Works (French: Société des Hauts-Fourneaux, forges et aciéries du Saut-du-Tarn) was a steel maker in Saint-Juéry, Tarn, France. It originated with Léon Talabot et Compagnie, founded by Léon Talabot in 1824. The factory specialized in manufacturing steel handtools such as files, scythes and sickles, but later moving into manufacture of machine tools. It closed in 1983 and was liquidated in 1984. Several successor companies acquired some of the facilities and continue to operate.
The factory in Saint-Juery, Tarn, was founded in 1824 as L. Talabot & Cie. The factory was near to Albi, Tarn, specializing in steel production and the manufacture of tools. It was located beside a rocky gorge on the Tarn river, holding a falls where the water drops by about 18 metres (59 ft). The factory used the river as a source of power, and produced hardware such as files and scythes. The first rolling mills were installed in 1831. The Société Léon Talabot was formed in May 1832 and was restructured in 1840.
The Société de Mokta el Hadid was established in Algeria in 1863. Plans were drawn up to combine the Mokta el Hadid mines with the Firminy, Loire, steelworks, the Gard coal mines and the Saut-du-Tarn steelworks. 20 million francs of capital would be needed, including 8 million of fresh capital for upgrades at the various sites. These plans dragged out and came to nothing. In 1870 the Société Léon Talabot was liquidated and on 11 March 1870 sold to the Société Anonyme des Aciéries du Tarn. The products were marketed under the TALABOT and SDT brands.
In 1881 a rolling mill hall was built with two mills. In 1882 a coke-fired blast furnace was installed for production of cast iron. The 1886 film Carmaux, défournage du coke by Lumière is a one-minute sequence of men lifting a large coal block out of a smelter in Carmaux. The first hydroelectric power station was built in 1898, supplying electricity to the factory and the village.
In 1904 there were 1,545 workers in factories that covered 18 hectares (44 acres) The hydraulic power plant was delivering 3,000 horsepower (2,200 kW). In 1913 the company had assets of 11.2 million francs. New rolling mills were installed in 1913. During the period from 1884 to 1934 many peasants came to work in the steel works from Cahuzaguet, Saint-Grégoire, Arthès, les Avalats and Marsal. Many settled in Saint-Juéry, which grew from 1,400 inhabitants in the 19th century to 7,000 inhabitants today. By 1925 there were 2,500 workers.
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