Workers' chronicles of the Creillois Basin
In the sprawling warehouse, the small family workshop, the ancestral factory or the brand new farm, the know-how is different but the humans are similar. The series resulting from this time of creation in the great industrial basin of Creillois sails from repeated gestures to lucid faces. All of them have a story to tell, they have a dignified and constant look on what occupies them. In spite of the relative beauty that can be observed in the workings of a machine, it is indeed their courage and their dreams of elsewhere that are the subject of these images. This work is dedicated to them.
"The company innovates and naturally seeks to renew itself, it must have an inventive look at the world in order to resist globalized competition. The artist also perceives the world in his own way and invents new forms that he uses to propose his perception of our environment. Bringing together the youth of creation and the business world is to create bridges between worlds that do not necessarily interact. The principle of this artistic residency is to allow a young photographer to immerse himself in a company and to take a personal look at the world of work and its environment.
Extract from the press kit of Usimages 2021
Carte blanche en entreprises, exhibition from April 17 to June 20, 2021, Creil
With the support of Diaphane and the Agglomération Creil Sud Oise
"On the occasion of Usimages, biennial event of industrial heritage photography, we propose you to discover more in detail some of the photographs exposed. Morgane Delfosse presents one of the photographs made during her residency in four companies in the Creillois basin." - Diaphane, pôle photographique des Hauts-de-France
"On the occasion of Usimages, the biennial event for industrial heritage photography, we invite you to take a closer look at some of the photographs on display. Morgane Delfosse presents one of the photographs taken during her residency in four companies in the Creillois basin." - Diaphane, photographic center of Hauts-de-France
Stokomani, Creil
Kris, known as Grandpa, has worked in the company's warehouses for seven years. At 64, he is one of the company's oldest employees. He recounts a memory from his native Mauritius, thousands of miles from the piles of boxes that surround him today; before leaving the Indian Ocean a few years ago, Kris sailed in a glass-bottomed boat loaded with tourists in search of coral reefs. The mention of this past life makes his colleagues' eyes shine. He doesn't seem to regret anything.
The first historical logistics platform attached to the Stokomani head office is located in the Alata park, which is defined as a "business clearing" on the edge of the Halatte forest.
Now retired, Brigitte has been working in the region since the age of 16, first as a spinner and then as a bartender for about 30 years. "As long as her health is good, she continues to work as a temp in the warehouse to make ends meet.
Vanessa joined the firm on a fixed-term contract last December. After a decade of shelving in stores, notably for a company that renewed its precarious contracts for four years before going bankrupt, she hopes to sign a permanent contract soon and find some stability.
Verdin walks slowly through the maze of warehouse aisles. Discreet and silent, he has only been here for four weeks, and hopes to see his temporary contracts become more durable.
Stokomani is a company of destocking of big brands. Its system is commendable but also generates a lot of waste, including the plastic film used to wrap the orders.
Laurene has been with the company for almost ten years. After a short education and experience in the bakery, she became pregnant. Now a mother of two, and with a partner who works a rotating shift every eight hours, the warehouse hours are convenient and comfortable. Yet, at 29, she sometimes longs for something else. Laurene talks about her passion for meticulous work. She has completely completed the decorations for her wedding in 2019. Going back to school, learning a more delicate trade, would suit her well.
Cartonnages Bazin, Villers-Saint-Paul
Cartonnages Bazin exists since 1962. After more than fifty years in the hands of the founder, the structure was taken over by Alexandre, a passionate engineer who left international firms without regret to become a local boss. Carried by this impetus, the small team designs, creates prototypes, cuts, glues and assembles cardboard packaging in small series on humming machines.
An expert in "flying plates", Jacques deploys his arms, supple and fast, like a dancer or a bird of prey. Today, he is making protective boxes for the stairs of Falcon aircrafts.
Like the company's workshops, the attic is full of all kinds of cardboard and archives. We also store manufacturing plates calibrated to the measurements of various prototypes.
Armand studies in Compiègne to become a computer engineer. Although far from his future job, these few weeks of "worker" training are formative. Conscientious, here he decorates the cardboard boxes prepared that very morning. This consists in removing the useless pre-cut parts, which are then sent for recycling.
End of the day for Murielle. Leaning against the huge machine that is her workstation at the moment, she consults her phone. For her last order, Murielle has cold glued 2992 pieces, in a succession of precise and repetitive gestures.
Murielle poses with pride in the center of the workshop. For 30 years, she has taken care of her five children. After having suffered a few dramas in the last few years, she had to find a job. Cartonnages Bazin offers her an internship. Murielle learns on the job and finally signs a contract for the first time in her life. Today, she wouldn't trade her place for anything in the world.
The workshops of Cartonnages Bazin are a real small museum of machines. Among them, the guillotines are used to cut paper and cardboard at right angles. Here, we use a Flandres 1350 guillotine dating from the 80s. It is a monster of cast iron, equipped with a laser with detection of movement to avoid the accidents.
Clouterie Rivierre, Creil
As a Living Heritage Company, the Clouterie Rivierre seems frozen in time. Its forged nail looms, unique in the world, have been striking metal wires since 1888. Today, it is the last company of its kind still operating in France. The traditional know-how, not adapted to modern standards, implies particularly harsh working conditions. The charm of the old and the dilapidated rub shoulders in the four corners of the immense factory.
Kevin, a young worker, pours nails into the blueing furnace. While heating, the iron oxidizes and forms magnetite. This deposits a thin layer of petroleum color on the steel and protects it from rusting. The task is difficult, and Kévin wears a helmet to protect himself from the heady clamour of the machines.
Kévin, a young worker, pours nails into the blueing furnace. When heated, the iron oxidises and forms magnetite. This deposits a thin petroleum-colored layer on the steel and protects it from rusting. The task is difficult, and Kévin wears a helmet to protect himself from the noisy clamour of the machines.
Raymond lifts, not without difficulty, bins filled with nails, each weighing more than thirty kilos. He pours their contents into a last mechanism to clean the remains of wood wax. The latter is used to degrease the nails after their passage in the daily oiled looms.
Behind a door at the back of the machine room, the large workshop seems silent. More than a century's worth of tools, workbenches and objects have been accumulated here. They respond to the constant need for repair that the old mechanisms and the sometimes dilapidated premises of the factory require.
At the factory, coal was used to turn the ovens, but also to heat the workers thanks to the cast iron stoves scattered in the aisles.
Anthony and Lahcen adjust the heart of a giant nail loom with four hands. Here, workers tool the machines, both to replace worn elements and to create new shapes.
In a mixture of oil to grease the machines and rain piercing the old tin roofs, everywhere surfaces and objects shine.
Lib Ferroviaire, Montataire
A few months ago, Lib Ferroviaire moved into the small desert that had become the industrial site of Montataire. Mehdi checks concrete sleepers before putting them away for the next delivery to the SNCF, the company's sole customer. He has been a temporary worker for three weeks and lives a stone's throw from here. He remains discreet about what drives him. At 25, Mehdi wants to work and only aspires to a little material comfort.
This imposing concrete pouring machine is the keystone of the young production line. It pours the mineral preparation into molds that have been carefully calibrated to meet the specifications. The concrete sleepers produced in this way are fundamental elements of the railroads. Longer lasting and less expensive than wooden sleepers, they are gradually replacing them in the French railway landscape.
In the plain surrounding the new structure, the elements that make up the concrete are stored in the open air before being mixed in a gigantic skip.
Lyann is 18 years old. Although he is happy to start earning a living, he hesitates to continue his studies to become an entrepreneur and one day claim a better salary. Crazy about basketball and full of ambition, he dreams of one day running a big company in the sports industry.
Recently, Romanian workers have been added to the workforce. They don't speak French and they work very hard. Here, Adi manipulates the control panel of the concrete batching machine.
Lib Ferroviaire is setting up on a site with a long industrial history, dating back to the end of the 18th century. After years of struggle, the former ArcelorMittal buildings were demolished just a few months ago, leaving behind a devastated area.
A forklift operator for the past few weeks, Warren is speeding around the outside of the building on his forklift, stacking ties or hauling rubble with a backhoe loader. He stops for a moment, for a final portrait.