Usine de Montzeron

The Montzeron plant is a metallurgical plant that ceased production in 2009.

The first traces of industrial activity on the Montzeron site date back to 1835. The site took off in 1856 when it was bought by Etienne Bouhey. This industrialist became the first in France to mass-produce machine tools, which were exported all over the world. Machine tools are machines that serve as tools and replace the hand of the worker. Lathes and milling machines are just two examples.

In 1913, the Bouhey factory became SOMUA: Société d'Outillage Mécanique et d'Usinage d'Artillerie. During the First World War, the activities of the Montzeron site changed: SOMUA became one of the major national defence companies. Machine tool production resumed at the end of the war.
In 1981, it was bought by the Japanese group Toyoda Machine Works, then by Joris Ide.

The site has undergone various expansions and demolitions during the course of the ownership changes.

These companies have sustained the area for over a century. A veritable small town, the industrial site housed production workshops, living quarters, shops, schools and leisure facilities. Whole families of workers lived and worked there. Even today, the memory of this period is kept alive by local residents.

Now abandoned, the site is not open to the public, but the factory, workers' housing and old shops are visible from the public space. Other elements, such as the chapel and the hospital, also remain, but are barely visible.

Guided tours of the Montzeron factory are nevertheless planned by the Pays d'art et d'histoire Auxois Morvan.