Mersen

Mersen, previously called Carbone Lorraine, is a French international company in electrical power and advanced materials. In 1937, the company was admitted to Bourse de Paris. Mersen, previously named Carbone Lorraine (until May 20, 2010), was created in 1891 by the Compagnie lorraine de charbons pour l’électricité in Pagny-sur-Moselle (Lorraine), where the Group still owns a plant. In 1937, it merged with Le Carbone, a company based in Gennevilliers, (Hauts-de-Seine) where the Group kept and operated the original plant. La Compagnie lorraine de charbons pour l’électricité was founded in Meurthe-et-Moselle in1891. It first manufactured motors, dynamos and lighting lamps before producing « carbons » for electric lighting. At the same time, Le Carbone, founded in 1892 in Paris, produced brushes for electric motors. In 1893, Charles Street, an engineer at Le Carbone, discovered and patented the process of carbon graphitization which allowed the manufacture of synthetic graphite. He patented his idea under the title « Continuous electric furnace system » During the 80s, Groupe Pechiney acquired a majority stake (61 percent) in Carbone Lorraine and financed an expansion and diversification process. The company expanded beyond its core production of graphite brushes, starting to manufacture carbon–carbon disc brakes for racing motorcycles and developing specific components for nuclear and aerospace industries In addition, it acquired a number of competitors such as Ferraz, one of the biggest manufacturers of fuses and electrical protection systems. Then, it took the control of Stackpole, which led it to become one of the world leaders in graphite production. In 1995, Pechiney sold 21% of its stake to Paribas Affaires Industrielles (PAI). In the following years, Carbone Lorraine strengthened its position by making acquisitions in Europe and in the United States, in particular in 1999 the acquisition of the Gould-Shawmut Protection Electrique division; enabling it to become a leader in power semiconductor protection.