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La Boîte Bleue (the blue box/Die blaue Kiste)
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I came across this fine factory when I was photographing trams in Nantes, and had to divert some of my time to getting some views of it. At the time I had no idea what it was producing, and my first guesses were completely wrong.
Further research was enlightening. The name 'La boîte bleue' was apparently given to it by local inhabitants when it was refurbished in 1991. The colour has clearly faded since then, but the reason remains clear. The factory was built by the Say company (later to become Beghin Say) in 1933 to refine raw cane sugar imported from various locations in the French empire, and was the last cane sugar refinery to be built in France. It ceased refining in 2009, and the residual operations were expected to cease in 2011 or 2012. There still seemed to be some activity when I was there.
The factory had its own electricity generating plant, and even at the end of its life was still considered to be very energy efficient.
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