La Brugeoise et Nivelles, later BN Constructions Ferroviaires et Métalliques was a Belgian manufacturer of railway locomotives and other rolling stock; it was formed by a merger of two companies: La Brugeoise et Nicaise et Delcuve and Les Ateliers Métallurgiques de Nivelles.
The company was acquired by
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...
in 1988, plants in
Nivelles
Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstre ...
and
Manage
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
closed in 1989 and 2000; as of 2011, the plant located in Bruges operated as Bombardier Transportation Belgium.
History
![Refurbishedbrugeoise](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Refurbishedbrugeoise.jpg)
In 1851, Joseph De Jaegher founded a hardware store in the Burg in
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
; in 1855, this expanded with a steel workshop on the Raamstraat, named ''Ateliers J. Jaegher''; in 1891, this merged with another steel making company in the nearby Gieterijstraat, the Usines Ferdinand Feldhaus, to form the Ateliers de Construction Forges et Aceries de Bruges. By 1900, the company was a major Belgian metal engineering company. In 1905, the company moved its plant and offices to a larger site with good railway connections close to the Ghent Ostend Canal at
Sint-Michiels
Sint-Michiels (French:''Saint-Michel-lez-Bruges'') is a suburb of Bruges, in the province of West Flanders, Belgium.
The amusement park Boudewijn Seapark with the dolphinarium is situated in Sint-Michiels.
Bus & Car
In 1959 the American long di ...
in Bruges. Until 1913, the company operated as the Société Anonyme La Brugeoise,
[Sources]
abbreviated as La Brugeoise.
In 1913, the company La Brugeoise et Nicaise et Delcuve was formed by the merger of the Bruges-based companies La Brugeoise and
Nicaise et Delcuve during a re-organisation of the interests of the holding company Trust Métallurgique Belge-Français,
and capitalised at 10 million francs; the new company included a modern steel works, forge and mills at
Sint-Michiels
Sint-Michiels (French:''Saint-Michel-lez-Bruges'') is a suburb of Bruges, in the province of West Flanders, Belgium.
The amusement park Boudewijn Seapark with the dolphinarium is situated in Sint-Michiels.
Bus & Car
In 1959 the American long di ...
.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the facilities were occupied by German forces, and at the end of the war had been substantially damaged,
however post war construction also required the organisation products. In 1919, control of the company was taken by the
Société Générale de Belgique
The ' ( nl, Generale Maatschappij van België; literally "General Company of Belgium") was a large Belgian bank and later holdings company which existed between 1822 and 2003.
The ''Société générale'' was originally founded as an investm ...
.
In 1956, this merged with Les Ateliers Métallurgiques de Nivelles to form La Brugeoise et Nivelles. In 1977, the company merged with Constructions Ferroviaries du Centre (CFC) (in Familleureux,
Hainaut, Belgium) to form BN Constructions Ferroviaries et Métalliques (BN).
In 1986, Bombardier took at 45% share in BN, which was increased to 90.6% in 1988. The plants at Bruges and Manage became the BN division of Bombardier Eurorail in 1991.
The factory in Nivelles closed and was demolished in 1989/90.
In 2000, Bombardier announced it was to close the subsidiary plant BN Manage based in
Manage
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
, Belgium; the action attracted criticism from both
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s and the Belgian government; perception was that Bombardier had used the 'jobs card' to win a Belgian double deck train contract worth 8.5 billion Belgian francs. The closure announcement came as a complete
volte-face
Volte-face ( or ) is a total change of position, as in policy or opinion; an about-face.
The expression comes from the French language.
In the context of politics a volte-face is, in modern English, often referred to as a U-turn or a flip-f ...
from Bombardier's previous statements which included optimistic statements about the Manage plant's future. Train-making ended at the site which was re-purposed by
Duferco
Duferco Participations Holding SA, is a company based in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Its main business is trading, producing, importing and exporting steel.
History
Duferco was founded in 1979 by Italian Bruno Bolfo. His goal was to learn fr ...
for steel plate processing.
As of 2011, the factory in
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
was part of
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...
as Bombardier Transportation Belgium.
Products
In 1875, the Manage plant produced its first rail vehicles; in 1885, the Bruges plant produced its first tram.
Much of the early output prior to that was freight wagons.
In addition to railway rolling stock, the company also manufactured bridges, locks and sluice gates, cranes, and vessels for the chemical and sugar industries.
In 1961, the company acquired a license (from
Anglo-Franco-Belge) to manufacture
GM-EMD
Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its sub ...
locomotives for the European market.
[These included the Class 55, Class 62 & CFL 1800.] In 1973, factories in Bruges and Familleureux produced the company's first underground trains, for the
Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company
The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company (french: Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles or ; nl, Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel or ) is the local public transport operator in Brussels, Belgium. It is u ...
.
BN produced 26 veículos Leves sobre trilhos (VLT)
light rail cars for use on
Line 2 of the
Rio de Janeiro Metro
The Rio de Janeiro Metro ( pt, MetrôRio, ), commonly referred to as just the ''Metrô'' () is a rapid transit network that serves the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Metrô was inaugurated on 5 March 1979, and consisted of five stations op ...
, which were later converted to full metro cars. Eight cars (delivered 1979) were built in Belgium and the remaining 18 (delivered 1980 and 1982) by Cobrasma in their plant in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
. Some of the ones built by Cobrasma were briefly used by the
Campinas Light Rail system.
The original "Type 1" cars for
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
's
MAX Light Rail
The Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is a light rail system serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Owned and operated by TriMet, it consists of five color-designated lines that altogether connect the six sections ...
system, ordered in 1981, were built by BN in association with
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...
. They were assembled in North America using bodyshells sourced in
La Pocatiere
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
, Canada.
In 1989, a consortium of BN,
ANF Industrie
Alstom Crespin, formerly Bombardier Transport France and ANF Industrie, is a French rolling stock manufacturer based at Crespin, in Hauts-de-France region, France. The company was acquired by Bombardier Transportation in 1989, then by Alstom in 20 ...
and Bombardier won the order for the construction of the passenger
Eurotunnel Shuttle
Eurotunnel Le Shuttle (sometimes shortened to Le Shuttle or The Shuttle) is a railway shuttle service between Coquelles (near Calais) in Pas-de-Calais, France and Cheriton, Kent, Cheriton (near Folkestone) in Kent, United Kingdom. It conveys ro ...
wagons, valued at 36 billion francs, of which BN's contribution was valued at 8 billion.
In 1994, the company, in association with INKA and
Holec, built commuter trains for the
KRL Jabotabek
KRL Commuterline, or commonly known as Commuterline, is a commuter rail system for Greater Jakarta in Indonesia. It was previously known as KRL Jabodetabek. It is operated by PT KAI Commuter Indonesia (KAI Commuter/KCI), a subsidiary of the In ...
system.
In 1998, after takeover by Bombardier, the company obtained an order with a total value of 22.2 billion Belgian francs to produce 78
Bombardier Voyager
The Bombardier Voyager is a family of high-speed 125 mph diesel-electric multiple units built in Belgium by Bombardier Transportation, for service on the railway network of the United Kingdom. Construction of the Voyager family took place betwe ...
trains for the railways in the United Kingdom at the Bruges and Manage plants; BN's value share of the contract was estimated at 8 to 10 billion Belgian francs. Deliveries took place in the early 2000s.
[Sources:]
Also as part of Bombardier, the company also produced
Flexity Outlook
The Bombardier Flexity Outlook is a series of low-floored, articulated light-rail trams manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Part of the larger Bombardier Flexity product line (many of which are not low-floor), Flexity Outlook vehicles are ...
and
Flexity Swift
The Bombardier Flexity Swift is a series of urban and inter-urban tram, light rail and light metro vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is part of the Bombardier Flexity family of rail vehicles, and like the others, Flexity Sw ...
vehicles for Brussels and Rotterdam respectively, the bodyshells of the
Autorail à grande capacité for the
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
, and
B09 vehicles for the
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Londo ...
.
Finally, the company continues to supply the Belgian Railways (
NMBS/SNCB
french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen
, type = Statutory corporation
, industry = Rail Transport
, foundation = 1926
, founder = Government o ...
) with passenger rail vehicles.
See also
*
Ateliers de Constructions Electriques de Charleroi
SA Ateliers de Constructions Electriques de Charleroi (abbrev. ACEC) was a Belgian manufacturer of electrical generation, transmission, transport, lighting and industrial equipment, with origins dating to the late 19th century as a successor to th ...
(ACEC), manufacturer of electrical equipment for BN-built locomotives
*
Ateliers de Construction du Nord de la France
Alstom Crespin, formerly Bombardier Transport France and ANF Industrie, is a French rolling stock manufacturer based at Crespin, in Hauts-de-France region, France. The company was acquired by Bombardier Transportation in 1989, then by Alstom in ...
(ANF), rolling stock manufacturer in northern France, part of Bombardier Transportation
*
La Brugeoise cars (Buenos Aires Underground)
''La Brugeoise cars'' were Buenos Aires Underground (''Subte'') Line A rolling stock since its inauguration in 1913 till 2013 when replaced by new Chinese stock. They were built by the Belgian railway rolling stock manufacturer La Brugeoise e ...
Notes
References
External links
*, Former 'La Brugeoise' factory gatehouse, protected historic building
*, Alstom Transportation Belgium S.A. factory location
{{Authority control
History of Bruges
Companies based in West Flanders
Defunct locomotive manufacturers of Belgium