BOUCHAYER

FRANCE (see also List of Individuals)

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26.7.1867 Grenoble/F - 2.5.1928 Grenoble/F

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The enterprise of Bouchayer & Viallet was founded some months after Aimé Bouchayer's birth by his father and a colleague in Grenoble, whom Aimé joined in 1886 after having graduated from a professional school. Bouchayer's first works were related to pipelines for hydropower purposes, of which Aristide Bergès (1833-1904) had presented pioneering works in the late 19th century. In 1898, once his father had passed away, Bouchayer took over as director together with Félix Viallet, because they had realized the enormous hydropower potential of the Grenoble region and the massive demand of electricity for industrial purposes. The growth of the French electric industry around 1900 was the basis for Bouchayer & Viallet's rapid expansion and its fortune. Bouchayer was at the end of his career involved in Société Hydrotechnique de France SHF and presided in 1919 over the Société Scientifique du Dauphiné. Besides, he was also a member of the Grenoble University Council. He was in addition a Grand Officer of Légion d'Honneur. Bouchayer & Viallet ended activities in the early 1970s.

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Bouchayer's name is closely linked to the development and the fame of the hydropower industry in the Grenoble region. Bouchayer was mainly an industrial and a designer of hydropower elements, including pipelines, gates, turbines and other hydraulic machinery. Besides, he was a successful organizer and administrator of a large family enterprise and was a generous and social companion towards his collaborators. Hydropower around 1900 was required mainly by paper-mills, the concrete industry, the metallurgic industry and transportation companies. Bouchayer developed from a technician towards a consultant for industries to answer questions such as: How can more electric power be produced?, Where can novel hydropower installations be erected?, and What is the most economical way for hydropower generation?

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_{Anonymous (1928). Aimé Bouchayer. Revue Générale de l'Electricité 24(1): 5-6. P Bouchayer, F. (1954). Les pionniers de la houille blanche et de l'électricité. Dalloz: Paris. Gariel, M. (1928). Aimé Bouchayer. Bulletin Société Scientifique du Dauphiné 49: 416-423. P Linossier, J. (1989). Une famille d'industriels dauphinois dans la grande aventure de l'électricité: Les Bouchayer. Bulletin d'Histoire de l'Electricité 13: 7-20.}

_{Robley, P. (1926). L'Association des producteurs des Alpes françaises fête la rosette de son président M. Aimé Bouchayer. Alpes Industrielles 9(9): 215-216. P}

_{Vernus, I., Linossier, J. (1993). Bouchayer & Viallet. Compogravures: Grenoble.}