Société Franco-Belge
| Industry | Rail vehicle manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Compagnie Belge pour la Construction de Machines et de Matériels de Chemins de Fer (1862-1881) |
| Successor | Société Anglo-Franco-Belge de Matériel de Chemins de Fer (1927-64) Société Franco-Belge a Raismes, later Soferval (1927-82) since 1982 Alstom subsidiary |
| Founded | 1881 |
|
Key people
|
Charles Evrard |
| Products | Locomotives, carriages, wagons |
Coordinates: 50°23′10″N 3°28′30″E / 50.38614°N 3.474877°E
The Société Franco-Belge was a Franco-Belgian engineering firm that specialised in the construction of railway vehicles and their components and accessories. The company originated in 1859 as the Belgian firm Compagnie Belge pour la Construction de Machines et de Matériels de Chemins de Fer, founded by Charles Evrard. The company expanded its share capital in 1881 forming a new firm Société Anonyme Franco-Belge pour la Construction de Machines et de Matériel de Chemins de Fer and constructed a factory in Raismes (Valenciennes) in the Département Nord in France.
In 1927, the company split into a Belgian (Société Anglo-Franco-Belge, SAFB) and a French company (Société Franco-Belge).
The company’s factories were occupied during World War I, during which period it was used as a sawmill, and during World War II, during which period it manufactured Kriegslokomotives. SAFB merged with the Ateliers Germain in 1964; the company closed in 1968 due to lack of work.
The Franco-Belge (based in Raismes) was acquired by Alstom in 1982, as of 2012 the factory Alstom Petite-Forêt, Valenciennes operates as an Alstom subsidiary, specialising in metros, trams, and double deck trains, A test track Centre d'Essais Ferroviaire is located west of the Raismes factory.
In 1859, Charles Evrard acquired Parmentier Freres et Cie. based in La Croyère, (La Louvière, Belgium) and merged it with the Aleliers Charles Evrard (of Brussels, Belgium) to form the Compagnie Belge pour la Construction de Machines et de Matériels de Chemins de Fer (1862), with a capital of 1 million francs. Charles Evrard was the company’s director. At the Exposition Universelle (1867) in Paris, the company exhibited a locomotive, passenger coaches, an iron goods wagon, and a steam rail crane.
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