Poudreries Réunies de Belgique
THE ABANDONED FACTORY IN BELGIUM
‘PRB’, short for ‘Poudreries Réunies de Belgique SA’ was one of Belgium’s oldest and largest manufacturers of munitions. Its mining branch was built in Matagne La Grande in 1886. The company went bankrupt in 1993.
The company was established by Jan-Frans Cooppal from Wetteren in 1778. His gunpowder factory was named ‘Koninklijke Buskruitfabriek Cooppal’. Following a catastrophic explosion in 1880, he decided to build a new plant in Kaulille. In 1881 the company changed its name to ‘NV Cooppal en Co’, ten years later ‘Poudrerie Réunies de Casteau’ was formed.
As a result of a merge with other factories, the company was renamed ‘Poudreries Réunies de Belgique’ in 1919. Years later production was scattered over six locations, namely in Clermont, Vivegnis, Mechelen, Kaulille, Balen and this one in Matagne La Grande. The latter was established in 1886 and employed up to 400 people. Eventually by its 200th anniversary in 1979 PRB had 73 factories throughout the world, with the headquarters in Brussels.
Mining industry
The Matagne plant specialized in producing explosives for the mining industry. The site features numerous buildings and bunkers. It includes laboratories, explosion-proof rooms, and facilities where workers tested the products.
After the company was demilitarized in 1990, PRB faced financial difficulties and went bankrupt in 1993. Different buyers acquired parts of the company. Mecar SA purchased the Matagne site, while the French company SNPE recovered the explosive materials. This transition returned the site to civilian use. The surrounding forest received a designation as an area of “great biological interest.”
I visited ‘Poudreries Réunies de Belgique’ in 2008 and 2016. Today the site is used as an airsoft location. Also read my report on this Dutch ammunition factory.
