The Forges de Syam is a set of forge works and sheet metal mills in France's Jura department, at the confluence of the Ain and Saine rivers. For 200 years, it produced scythes and iron tires before closing in 2009. But what endures beyond its product line is the nail works, the last of its kind in France, and one of the last in Europe. Alphonse Jobez, son of Emmanuel, began operating the Forges de Syam in 1864 to revive the struggling business. Promoting Fourierist theory, he built a cité ouvrière (worker city) adjacent to the factory. The villa he built remains, but the school and dispensary added to the cité ouvrière no longer do. The nail works closed in 1914, and the Forges de Syam went bankrupt in 1976. UMAS, a specialist in making files, became the main stakeholder in Syam in 1945. The company still provides short-run products for locksmiths' work, motor cars, and lifts.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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