Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Tréfimétals factory of Dives-sur-Mer, founded in 1891 by Pierre-Eugène Secrétan, marks a turning point in the history of this Norman city. Installed on a marshy site acquired for 1 franc per square metre, it transforms Dives into an industrial city, attracting hundreds of workers housed in paternalist cities. The factory, which specializes in electrolysis of copper, brass and tin, quickly becomes a major player in French metallurgy, with prestigious customers such as the Ministry of War and the Creusot Forges.

Production grew rapidly until the First World War, with numbers increasing from 300 to 2,000 workers. The workers' towns, built between 1891 and 1914, reflect a strict social organization, marked by difficult living conditions (promiscuity, lack of sewers). The factory, modernized after 1918, diversified its production (durumin, lead, aluminium) but suffered the crises of the 1930s, causing dismissals and strikes, such as that of 1936.

After World War II, the factory, renamed Tréfimétals under the aegis of Péchiney-Ugine-Kuhlmann, specializes in copper rolling. Despite investments (rolling mill in 1975), it closed in 1986, a victim of deindustrialisation. Only the belfry and the offices, classified in 2007 and restored in 2023 to accommodate a music school and a puppet arts centre remain. The site, transformed into a marina (Port-Guillaume), today symbolizes the reconversion of the industrial heritage.

The belfry, 16 meters high, embodies the industrial authority facing the town hall and the church. Built in rubble, bricks and flint, it initially houses the director's office and housing. Its ceramic clocks, restored in 2023, and its palisander interior walls testify to an eclectic style. The workers' towns, partially preserved, recall the paternalism of Secrétan, mixing decent housing and social control.

Dives-sur-Mer was deeply influenced by the factory, increasing its population from 1,097 in 1886 to 6,000 in 1962. Its history reflects social tensions (records of 1906, 1936, 1968) and health issues, such as the use of asbestos, responsible for deaths after 1986. The destruction of the workshops in 1989 and the conversion of the site into a cultural and residential area illustrate the challenges of preserving the industrial heritage.

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