In March 2009, the Société des Ardoisières d’Angers Trélazé, which is the last slate company in France still in business, will be closing one of its two quarries, thanks to the crisis in the building trade. Some fifty jobs will be lost within two years.
The Trélazé Slate Co., which was given "Living
HeritageEnterprise"status last May, has a reputation for
its superlative quality slates, used on the Loire
châteaux and elsewhere including other historical
monuments like the Louvre, Les Invalides and Versailles.
70% of its sales nowadays are for public contracts - roofing
for high schools, colleges, or low-cost housing - which has the
advantage of preserving the Loire Valley's identity in its
buildings. The firm is trying to develop the market for the stone -
schist - in the
urban landscape (paving stones, coping stones, or broken
slate for gardens, ground cover, and beautification of urban
features such as roundabouts).
The Living Heritage Enterprise
label, awarded by the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and
Employment, was set up to celebrate French businesses with
outstanding craft or industrial know-how.
Their distinctive features are:
- a long (sometimes age-old) history and heritage;
- capacity for innovation;
- rare or advanced know-how.
Trélazé
Slate Co.: one of two quarries closes (Ouest-France, 23 Jan
2009)
Living Heritage
Enterprise
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