Du moteur à l’usine, ou petite histoire d’une grande entreprise nancéenne : la Compagnie Générale Electrique

Abstract

The industrial revolution of electrification was played out during the last two decades of the 19th century. Nancy, a medium-sized city, was affected by this revolution which spread across the whole of Europe and the United States, and which was characterised by the importance of the capital investment it required. Electricity used as motive power for production was a powerful incentive to industrial development and the arrival of electric motors in factories brought about new styles of production and a new division of labour. This is the context in which the Compagnie Générale Electrique was founded at Nancy in 1898, a firm primarily devoted to the construction of electric motors. The modern design of its factory was itself emblematic of the new industrial trends.

Keywords

• Compagnie Générale Electrique
• electric motors
• electrification
• Nancy