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Six-Century-Old Bonpertuis Forges Shut After Liquidation Ruling

Rising energy and raw‑material costs left the owner unable to keep the plant operating.

Overview

  • The commercial court in Lyon placed Aciéries de Bonpertuis into judicial liquidation on October 23, ending nearly 600 years of activity in Apprieu, Isère.
  • Two takeover offers were examined and rejected by the court, and the furnaces have been definitively stopped with the site vacated.
  • The closure eliminates 68 jobs at the plant, a site that once employed around 500 workers in the 1970s.
  • Owner Groupe Forlam attributes the collapse to sharply higher energy and input prices that the company could not absorb.
  • The protected 1859 brick chimney, listed as a Monument historique, underscores both the site’s heritage value and the constraints facing any reuse as unions press authorities for action.