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Stationery of Lancey à Villard-Bonnot dans l'Isère

Isère

Stationery of Lancey

    300 Avenue des Papeteries
    38190 Villard-Bonnot
Papeteries de Lancey
Papeteries de Lancey
Papeteries de Lancey
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Papeteries de Lancey
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Crédit photo : Jvillafruela - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1869
Creation of wood grating
1882-1883
Stationery extension
1889
Paris Universal Exhibition
1904
Death of Aristide Bergès
1921
Fondation des Papeteries de France
1992
Historical monument classification
2008
Final closure
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Forced conduct of 1869 and 1889 in their low portion; House of Aristide Bergès; facility of the site of the first factory at the entrance of the Combe (cad. AO 62; AN 352, 353): inscription by order of 23 July 1992

Key figures

Aristide Bergès - Engineer and founder Creator of stationery and pioneer of white coal.
Auguste Biclet - Post-Bergès Director Directed the factory after 1904, modernizes production.
Georges Durand - Resistant and employee Cache of guerrillas during World War II.
Pierre Rigault - Director after 1946 Follows Auguste Biclet.
Henry Jaussaud - Director in the 1960s Install the "Machine 8", ultra-modern machine.

Origin and history

Lancey's stationery, founded in the second half of the 19th century in Villard-Bonnot (Isère), is an emblematic factory of the French paper industry. Created by the engineer Aristide Bergès, they exploit hydraulic energy via forced pipelines, innovative with the "white coal" — a hydropower transformed to power the machines and illuminate the factory. The site spreads rapidly, including a stationery in 1883 and a dynamo Gramme, while illuminating neighbouring municipalities. Bergès, a key figure of this energy revolution, popularized the term "white coal" at the Universal Exhibition of 1889.

The factory experienced a major expansion between 1880 and 1907, shaping Villard-Bonnot with workers' towns, trams and public facilities. Employing up to 1,800 people in the 1920s (nearly half of them foreign, including Spanish and Italian), it diversified its production during the First World War, manufacturing up to 6,000 shells a day. In 1921, it merged with other sites to form the Société des Papeteries de France, the leading national group in the sector. Its decline began in the 1970s, marked by economic crises, redundancies and floods, culminating in its final closure in 2008.

The site has maintained a protected historical heritage since 1992: the forced pipes of 1869 and 1889, the home of Aristide Bergès (now the Musée de la Houille blanche in 2011), and the facilities of the first factory. These vestiges bear witness to industrial innovation and the social paternalism of the company, with workers' cities still visible. After closure, part of the site hosts a business incubator, while other flood-prone areas remain decommissioned. The legacy of stationery continues through its museum and its role in the history of industrial electricity in France.

External links