Menier Chocolate - Factory at Noisiel

Factory At Noisiel

In 1825 the company began an expansion through the acquisition of a second production facility on land on the banks of the Marne River at Noisiel, at the time a small village of less than 200 inhabitants at the outskirts of Paris. Initially used as a grinding works for the production of medicinal powders, a modernization of the Noisiel facility in 1830 made it the first mechanized mass production factory for cocoa powder in France. Following the development of solid chocolate, Menier introduced to the market a block of chocolate wrapped in decorative yellow paper. By 1842, the success of the chocolate business led to another expansion of the Noisiel plant and by 1853 annual chocolate production reached 4,000 tons.

Under the leadership of the founder's son, Emile-Justin Menier, the company concentrated solely on the manufacturing of chocolate products. In 1864 he sold off the pharmaceutical manufacturing part of the business and began a period of expansion that made the Menier Chocolate company the largest chocolate manufacturer in France. Under Emile-Justin Menier, the company purchased cocoa-growing estates in Nicaragua along with sugar beet fields and a sugar refinery at Roye in the Somme in France.

Beginning in 1860, Emile-Justin Menier oversaw the addition of several new buildings then, after constructing a factory in London, England and a distribution center in New York City, in 1872 he initiated a major expansion that saw the construction of the most modern production facilities in the world. Designed by architect Jules Saulnier, many historians cite the building as the first true skeleton structure with exterior walls needing only simple infill. The February 1997 issue of the Architectural Review called the 1872 iron and brick chocolate factory at Noisiel "one of the iconic buildings of the Industrial Revolution". In 1992, the factory was designated by the government of France as an official Monument historique and is on the list to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As a result of the factory expansions, by the mid 1880s production capacity at the Noisiel plant jumped to 125,000 tons annually and the company employed 2000 people. Because of the Menier company's rapid growth, the shortage of workers available from the small village forced the company to try to attract labor from other towns and cities. However, a lack of housing in Noisiel made that nearly impossible and as a result, in 1874 Menier completed construction of 312 residences on 30 hectares of land near the factory. They would build a school for their employees' children and three decades later, a senior citizens' home for their retired workers. In the 1870s, the Meniers also built the Noisiel town hall where a family member would serve as mayor without interruption from May 11, 1871 to November 8, 1959. At the 1878 World's Fair in Paris, the company was awarded seven gold medals plus the Grand Prize for the excellence of their products as well as citations for their modern production methods and the importance the company placed on the well-being of its employees.

Following the death of Emile Justin Menier, in 1881 his sons Henri and Gaston assumed control of the business. As the eldest son, Henri Menier became the titular head of the company. Although involved in the business, he spent a great deal of his time pursuing various leisure interests and left much of the company's management to brother Gaston who would oversee a period of sustained prosperity. Of extreme importance to the sustaining of the Menier Chocolate Company's competitiveness were several internal and external developments in the second half of the 1870s and the early part of the 1880s. The Menier plant added modern refrigeration systems and in 1881 a railroad line was built to the Noisiel factory which reduced costs for incoming and outgoing freight and allowed for wider and faster distribution. Externally, Swiss chocolate manufacturers were making advancements in product development. They began mass production and promotion of milk chocolate and the new conching process provided a type of chocolate that consumers liked because it would melt in the mouth.