new factory downstream from the primitive tilt hammer. This included a novelty for France at the time, a reverberatory furnace. From 1820, these works produced 400 tons of goods each year, which doubled by 1840. Competition from coke-smelted cast iron from the United Kingdom—which was cheaper than charcoal-produced iron goods at Syam—hurt the business. Alphonse Jobez, the son of Emmanuel, set up a nail works in 1864, which gave new life to an enterprise that had neared collapse. The workforce increased from 40 to 70. Social and domestic life From 1825, Emmanuel Jobez developed the project of building a Palladian villa, the Château de Syam to replace the old house beside the original forge. He didn't see its completion, having died by accident in 1828. Alphonse, his son, took up the cause of Fourierist theory. He applied it at Syam by creating a cité ouvrière (compare Saltaire), adjoining the factory, encouraging the setting up of a school and a dispensary. He added a post office with telegraph in 1885. In parallel to this, he introduced exotic livestock to the estate farm and other lands he owned. A cultivated man, Alphonse also fitted out a library of 30,000 volumes on the first floor (American second floor) of the villa. Alphonse's granddaughter, who had married the son of Sadi-Carnot in 1910, would often stay at Syam. Twentieth century The nail works closed in 1914. Syam limited its range of products, specializing in those where there was limited competition. This enabled it to survive the two World Wars. In 1945, the firm of UMAS, from Arc-et-Senans, a specialist in making files, became the main stakeholder in Syam. The group went bankrupt in 1976. From 1969, a workforce would come from Morocco, from the village of El Hajjyenne. In 1976, the forges were sold to Experton-Revollier, a group from Isère. Modernization was necessary, as there was no travelling crane or electric motor-driven machinery (instead of belt transmission). Improvements went hand in hand with the retention of the steel rolling mill, the last of its type in France and one of the last in Europe. Present-day activity Today, this remnant of the iron industry of the 19th century feeds the market in short-run products, particularly in the fields of locksmiths' work, motor cars and lifts (elevators). See also Lac de Vouglans Hydro-electricity External links The official site of the château, residence of the forge-masters Samples