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Blast furnace nr. 6 of the iron works 'Usines Gustave Boël'
in La Louvière has been put to death on February 10th, 1997.
This marked the end of the long history of iron production
at the works.
Thanks to the extraordinary co-operation with the UGB staff,
I got the opportunity to take photographs of the iron works
in August 1997, a few months after the shutdown of the
blast furnaces.
It was a sweltering day, and I will never forget the exhausting
ascent to the top of blast furnace nr. 6.
I have been rewarded with an unforgettable view:
the plant ranks with the most impressive and beautiful
industrial installations in Europe. The blast furnaces
- some of them date back to pre-war - are of outstanding
beauty and can be regarded as masterpieces of engineering and design.
Today an electric furnace and a hot rolling mill are still
active at the plant, now owned by DUFERCO.
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contact me
hfinster@gmx.de
