History
The Historical Evolution of Saarstahl Rail Factory
A journey through time
Inaugurated in 1702 and initially owned by the de Wendel family, the St. Jacques factory in Hayange, Lorraine, was intended from its start for rail production.
The first rail was rolled at the factory site on January 2, 1897. The factory was under German administration during World War I, from 1914 until the end of the occupation in 1918.
In 1926, eight years after the end of World War I, the Hayange rail mills produced 81,000 tons of rails with the help of approximately 2,466 workers.
The factory was again placed under German administration in 1941, during the occupation in World War II. The de Wendel family regained ownership of the factory with the end of the war in 1945.
In 1964, Raymond Stammbach filed a patent for universal rail rolling after its development at St. Jacques.
The plant became part of the Corus Group in 1999, before becoming Tata Steel France Rail in 2010, and then British Steel France Rail in 2016. In August 2021, SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co. KGaA acquired the company (Hayange and Saint-Germain-en-Laye sites). Since then, Liberty Rail Hayange has operated under the name Saarstahl Rail.
Milestones
