Sogerail

The iron industry at the Sogerail site in Nilvange/Knutange near Hayange (Moselle department, Lorraine, France) dates to c. 1892 with the establishment of the Usine Saint Jacques by the de Wendels.[1][2]

By the late 20th century the works had become part of Usinor-Sacilor it its long products division in the Sollac subsidiary. Under Usinor-Sacilor steel was supplied to the plant from the nearby Florange steelworks, and earlier from the Unimétal plant in Gandrange (sold to Ispat). In the 1990s Usinor-Sacilor sought to divest its long products division.[3]

In 1999 Sogerail, then employing c. 500 persons was acquired from Usinor by British Steel Corporation (BSC) for £83 million, adding to its pre-exisintg rail manufacturing site in Workington, Cumbria, UK.[4][5] Steel supply from Sollac continued until BSC began to supply Sogerail with unfinished steel from its Scunthorpe plant.[3]

In 2005 BSC's successor Corus Group plc restructured its railway rail manufacturing, closing its Workington site, and establishing rail manufacturing at the Scunthorpe steelworks, UK.[6]

In 2006 Tata Steel acquired Corus forming Tata Steel Europe - the Hayange plant became Tata Steel France Rail SA. (France Reg. No. B 391 575 354); in 2016 the long products division of Tata Steel Europe including the Hayange plant was sold to Greybull Capital for a nominal sum.[7][8] In August 2020, UK-based Liberty Steel acquired the Havange plant.[9]