Former Saint-Vincent paper mill | Former Barbier-Daubrée factory

Blanzat bears the remnants of a rich industrial past, in connection with the history of the paper plant and the Michelin company.

The Saint-Vincent paper mill was set up in 1825 to the western corner of the municipality. The plans, the technology and the machines came from England, given by John Dickenson, the leading paper manufacturer in England. Following some financial difficulties, the company was taken over in 1849 and renovations were completed in 1851. The machines were activated by harnessing freshwater springs and creating a water fall 30 metres high. The paper was made from rags, like in Ambert. The paper mill was bought by Navarre, one of the largest French paper-making groups, in 1923. It was in operation until 1934. Above, the manor house looked out over the industrial site.

Below the road, the other factory was founded in 1850 by the company Barbier-Daubrée, predecessor of the Michelin factory. In 1832 Barbier and Daubrée started to manufacture farming machines and equipment for the sugar industry. At the suggestion of Édouard Daubrée’s wife, Elisabeth Pugh-Barker, niece of the Scottish chemist Macintosh, inventor of textile waterproofing, the company diversified into the production of small rubber items (balls, joints, marbles, pipes). After their death, the company languished until André and Édouard Michelin, grandsons of Aristide Barbier, rescued the family company; these were the early days of the future Michelin empire. The historic headquarters of the workshop were in Clermont-Ferrand in the Carmes district, on the edge of the Tiretaine.