FR
Les Forges de La Providence était une société spécialisée dans la production d'acier, basée dans la région de Charleroi en Hainaut.
La société comptait trois sites de production: Marchienne-au-Pont en Belgique, Réhon (usine de La Providence Réhon) et Hautmont-sur-Sambre en France.
Fondée en 1836, la société a été indépendante jusqu'en 1966, date à laquelle est est rachetée par Cockerill-Ougrée, qui deviendra le groupe sidérurgique Cockerill-Sambre.
Les usines françaises ont fermé leurs portes dans les années 1980. L'usine belge est restée active jusqu'en 2008 avant d'être fermée pour trois ans puis de reprendre brièvement son activité. En 2012, date de la fermeture définitive, l'usine comptait environ un millier d'employés.
EN
Forges de la Providence was a Belgian steel producing company based in the Hainaut region around Charleroi. Founded as Société Anonyme des laminoirs, forges, fonderies et usines de la Providence the company had three steel production sites at Marchienne-au-Pont in Belgium, and Réhon and Hautmont in France.
The company was independent until 1966 when it became part of the Cockerill-Ougrée, briefly being absorbed into Thy-Marcinelle et Monceau before becoming part of Cockerill-Sambre.
In the 1980s the French steel plants closed, the Belgian plant continued to operate until 2008, becoming part of the Duferco group as Carsid at the beginning of the 21st century.
The plant at Marchienne-au-Pont operated for over 100 years until in 2001 it began to be run down.
In 2001 Carsid was created from the Charleroi plant at the same as the creation of Arcelor, and became part of the Duferco group. In 2006/7 the plant became part of a joint venture with Novolipetsk Steel: CARSID-SIF. In 2007 the blast furnace No.4 was recommissioned after a 3 month refurbishment process, in 2008 the sites coking plant was closed; the plant now being supplied through a strategic arrangement with Novolipetsk (Russia). Duferco used Carsid to supply slab to its other Belgian steelmaking works, Duferco La Louvière and Duferco Clabecq.
Blast furnace production was stopped in November 2008 due to low economic demand. Production at the plant was halted for three years; by 2011 the joint venture between NLMK and Duferco had ended, with NLMK acquiring the joint venture's flat production at Clabeque and La Louviere and other sites for $600 million, supplied by it own blast furnaces; Duferco continued to seek a partner or buyer for Carsid.
In March 2012 the Duferco announced that work at the blast furnace would not restart. Approximately 1000 people were to be made redundant by the end of 2012.