Compagnie de l’Electrographite de la Meuse
THE ABANDONED GRAPHITE MANUFACTURER IN BELGIUM
This is the former ‘CEGRAM’ or ‘Compagnie de l’Electrographite de la Meuse‘ factory. It produced graphite electrodes. These electrodes are used in the metallurgy, almost exclusively for the iron and steel industry.
In 1972, a factory was built by the river Meuse, near Liege, close to other industries. In 1994, ‘CEGRAM’ was taken over by ‘SGL Carbon’. At its peak, the factory employed 300 people. However, after the 1986 crisis, the number of employees was reduced to 152.
The factory faced strong competition from China, leading to lost sales and big financial losses. In 1999 the company laid off many employees. Eventually, the factory stopped operating that same month. Most of the building was demolished between 2000 and 2004. Production never restarted, but from 2004 to 2007, some small-scale activities of sieving and grinding graphite powder continued. In the end, the factory went bankrupt. In 2007, all production stopped, and the site was liquidated.
After the factory was abandoned, the site suffered damage from illegal raves and a fire. Today, a 13-story-high silo still stands, but it is in poor condition.
‘SGL Carbon‘, or ‘Sigri Great Lakes Carbon’ is still an active company today. SGL is still owner of the abandoned site, but has no plans for new uses. These photos of ‘Compagnie de l’Electrographite de la Meuse’ were taken in 2017.
