Espérance-Longdoz

Espérance-Longdoz was a Belgian industrial company associated with coal mining, ironmaking, steel production, tinplate, sheet metal and rolling operations in the Liège region. Its corporate history developed from two nineteenth-century industrial businesses: a tinplate factory established by the Dothée brothers at Longdoz in 1845 or 1846, and the Société anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux, Usines et Charbonnages de l'Espérance, founded in 1836. The Dothée enterprise and the Espérance concern combined in 1862 or 1863 as the Société des Charbonnages, Hauts Fourneaux et Laminoirs de l'Espérance. After the coal-mining activities were separated in 1877, the remaining metallurgical business became the Société métallurgique d'Espérance-Longdoz. The company was part of the industrial expansion that made the Liège basin one of continental Europe's important iron and steel centres. It produced sheet products and developed a reputation for technological adaptation. In 1881, hot-dip galvanizing was introduced at the company by Paul Borgnet, who later established Phenix Works. In 1920, Evence Coppée & Cie. acquired Espérance-Longdoz. During the interwar and post-war periods, the company concentrated increasingly on steel transformation and sheet production. It became Belgium's largest sheet-metal producer, reaching reported peak output of 142,000 tonnes in 1948. The original Longdoz works faced a structural limitation: the plant was enclosed by the expanding city of Liège and had little room for further enlargement. From 1957, hot rolling at Longdoz was discontinued, leaving the site mainly to finish plate and distribute products. The company nevertheless pursued larger-scale and more modern production elsewhere. In 1960, it joined Allegheny Ludlum in establishing Allegheny-Longdoz, a stainless-steel producer in Genk. In 1963, it built a new works at Chertal on a reclaimed island site in the Meuse floodplain. The Chertal complex was designed around large-scale basic oxygen steelmaking using the Linz-Donawitz process and was supplied with liquid iron from Seraing by rail-mounted torpedo wagons. Espérance-Longdoz ceased to exist as an independent company after its 1970 sale by Evence Coppée & Cie. to Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence. The businesses were combined as Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence et Espérance Longdoz, commonly known as Cockerill. The industrial assets subsequently passed through Cockerill-Sambre, Usinor, Arcelor and ultimately ArcelorMittal. The historical corporate identity is therefore associated with a succession of Belgian and international steel groups rather than with a continuing standalone company. The original Longdoz production site was eventually redeveloped. The former works land was authorized for a shopping and leisure complex, Médiacité, which opened in 2009. A surviving portion of the industrial buildings became the home of La Maison de la Métallurgie et de l'Industrie de Liège, an industrial museum whose collection includes steelmaking artifacts, steam machinery, an early Belgian blast-furnace reconstruction, a prototype dynamo associated with Zénobe Gramme and a Herman Hollerith tabulating machine. The later Chertal facilities continued under successive owners for decades, although primary steelmaking in the Liège division was curtailed in the early 2010s and the remaining hot-strip operations faced an uncertain future.

The industrial lineage of Espérance-Longdoz reaches back to the nineteenth-century development of the Liège basin. The Société anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux, Usines et Charbonnages de l'Espérance was founded in 1836. At Longdoz, in Liège, the Dothée brothers established a tinplate factory in 1845 or 1846. These activities were combined in 1862 or 1863, creating the Société des Charbonnages, Hauts Fourneaux et Laminoirs de l'Espérance. The organization initially combined mining, blast-furnace production and rolling. In 1877, the coal-mining business was separated from the industrial undertaking. The metallurgical company then adopted the name Société métallurgique d'Espérance-Longdoz. This marked the formation of the steel producer generally identified by the Espérance-Longdoz name. Its operations covered iron and steel production and the manufacture and finishing of flat products. In 1881, Paul Borgnet introduced hot-dip galvanizing at the company. Borgnet later founded Phenix Works, another notable Belgian steel enterprise. Evence Coppée & Cie. acquired the company in 1920. Under that ownership, Espérance-Longdoz expanded its importance as a sheet-metal producer. Its reported 1948 output of 142,000 tonnes made it Belgium's largest producer of sheet metal at the time. The Longdoz works, however, was constrained by its urban setting. The surrounding city prevented the broad expansion possible at newer industrial sites. After 1957, the plant no longer performed hot rolling and was used mainly for plate finishing and distribution. The company responded by participating in new facilities and partnerships. In 1960, it formed Allegheny-Longdoz with Allegheny Ludlum in Genk, creating a stainless-steel producer. In 1963, it developed a major new steelworks at Chertal on a reclaimed island in the Meuse floodplain. The site used Linz-Donawitz basic oxygen converters and was supplied with liquid iron from Seraing, approximately 22 kilometres away, by special rail wagons known as torpedo wagons. The complex included steel converters, iron-desulphurization and vacuum-treatment facilities, continuous casting and a wide hot-strip mill. Espérance-Longdoz's independent corporate existence ended in 1970, when Evence Coppée & Cie. sold it to Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence. The combined company was named Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence et Espérance Longdoz, usually shortened to Cockerill. Through later corporate combinations, the assets became part of Cockerill-Sambre, then Usinor, Arcelor and ArcelorMittal. At Longdoz, production ended during the later twentieth century. The former works site was ultimately redeveloped as Médiacité, a shopping and leisure complex that opened in 2009. A surviving section of the works houses La Maison de la Métallurgie et de l'Industrie de Liège. The museum preserves industrial equipment and documents the technological history of the Liège steel basin. The Chertal site remained within the successor steel groups for much longer. Hot rolling was temporarily halted during the 2008 financial crisis, and in 2011 ArcelorMittal announced the closure of liquid-steel production in its Liège division. By 2012, the Chertal hot-strip mill was described as operating with slabs supplied from other ArcelorMittal plants, while the site's longer-term future remained uncertain.

1. 2011Liège hot-phase closure announced

   ArcelorMittal announced closure of liquid-steel production in its Liège division, including part of Chertal.

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2. 2009Médiacité opened at Longdoz

   The former Longdoz works site was redeveloped into a shopping and leisure complex.

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3. 1970Merged into Cockerill

   The company was sold to Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence and combined into Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence et Espérance Longdoz.

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4. 1963Chertal works built

   A new large-scale steelworks was built at Chertal on a reclaimed floodplain island site.

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5. 1960Allegheny-Longdoz established

   Espérance-Longdoz and Allegheny Ludlum formed a stainless-steel venture in Genk.

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6. 1957Hot rolling ended at Longdoz

   The urban Longdoz plant ceased hot rolling and focused on finishing and distribution.

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7. 1948Peak sheet-metal production

   Reported output reached 142,000 tonnes, making the company Belgium's largest sheet-metal producer at that time.

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8. 1920Acquired by Evence Coppée & Cie.

   Evence Coppée & Cie. acquired Espérance-Longdoz.

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9. 1881Hot-dip galvanizing introduced

   Paul Borgnet introduced hot-dip galvanizing at the company.

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10. 1877Espérance-Longdoz became a metallurgical company

    After disposing of its coal-mining business, the company became the Société métallurgique d'Espérance-Longdoz.

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11. 1863Businesses combined

    The Dothée business was combined with the Espérance concern to form the Société des Charbonnages, Hauts Fourneaux et Laminoirs de l'Espérance.

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12. 1845Dothée tinplate works established at Longdoz

    The Dothée brothers established a tinplate factory in Longdoz, in the Liège region.

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13. 1836Espérance industrial concern founded

    The Société anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux, Usines et Charbonnages de l'Espérance was established, providing one part of the later company's industrial lineage.

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A historically important Liège steel producer that progressed from integrated nineteenth-century metallurgy into large-scale sheet and flat-steel manufacturing, before being absorbed into successive European steel groups.

• TinplateFlat steel1845

  Tinplate was part of the company's early industrial activity. The Dothée brothers' Longdoz factory, established in the 1840s, produced tinplate before the business was combined with the Espérance concern.

• Sheet metalFlat steel

  Sheet metal became the company's principal commercial specialization and an important measure of its scale. Espérance-Longdoz was described as Belgium's largest sheet-metal producer in the post-war period, with reported output peaking at 142,000 tonnes in 1948.

• Galvanized steelCoated steel1881

  The company adopted hot-dip galvanizing in 1881 under Paul Borgnet. This process added a zinc coating to steel to improve resistance to corrosion and represented an important technological development in the company's history.

• Stainless steelSpecialty steel1960

  Through the 1960 creation of Allegheny-Longdoz with Allegheny Ludlum, the company participated in stainless-steel production at Genk in Flanders. The venture extended Espérance-Longdoz beyond conventional carbon-steel sheet products.

• Hot-rolled steel coilFlat steel1963

  The later Chertal complex produced wide hot-rolled coil through continuous casting and hot-strip rolling. The mill was designed for coils up to two metres wide and, after primary steelmaking changes, could receive slabs from other production sites.

• 2006Authorize redevelopment of the Longdoz siteStrategy

  The former Longdoz works had become a disused industrial site within the Liège urban area.

  What changed. The land was authorized for conversion into the Médiacité shopping and leisure complex.

  Aftermath. Médiacité opened in 2009, while a surviving portion of the works was retained for the industrial museum La Maison de la Métallurgie et de l'Industrie de Liège.

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• 1970Combine with Cockerill-Ougrée-ProvidenceM&A

  Evence Coppée & Cie. sold the company amid consolidation in the Belgian steel industry.

  What changed. Espérance-Longdoz was merged with Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence to create Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence et Espérance Longdoz.

  Aftermath. The Espérance-Longdoz company ceased operating independently, and its assets later passed through Cockerill-Sambre, Usinor, Arcelor and ArcelorMittal.

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• 1963Develop the Chertal steelworksStrategy

  The company needed a larger site capable of supporting modern high-volume steelmaking outside the constraints of the urban Longdoz works.

  What changed. Espérance-Longdoz built a new works at Chertal using Linz-Donawitz converters, continuous casting and associated treatment facilities.

  Aftermath. Chertal became the principal successor steelmaking location and remained within the Liège steel division after later ownership changes.

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• 1957Concentrate Longdoz on finishing and distributionStrategy

  The original Longdoz site was constrained by its urban surroundings and could not expand sufficiently for modern hot-rolling operations.

  What changed. Hot rolling was discontinued at Longdoz, while the site continued with plate finishing and distribution.

  Aftermath. Large-scale production shifted toward newer facilities, culminating in the Chertal development.

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• 2011ArcelorMittal announced closure of Liège hot-phase production

  ArcelorMittal announced the closure of liquid-steel production in its Liège division, including blast furnaces in Seraing and part of the Chertal operation.

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• 2009Médiacité opened on the former Longdoz works site

  A shopping and leisure complex opened on redeveloped land formerly occupied by the disused Longdoz steelworks.

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• 1970Espérance-Longdoz merged into Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence

  Evence Coppée & Cie. sold Espérance-Longdoz to Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence, creating Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence et Espérance Longdoz.

  M&A
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1. Espérance-Longdoz