Blue Tower / Orange Factory, Belgium

The Blue Tower (Orange Factory) was an abandoned factory in Belgium. The tall structure cast a shadow on the surrounding houses, a reminder of the region’s long history of steel production. The nearby blast furnace was torn down in 2016. The Blue Tower/Orange Factory followed it into memory with its demolition in 2021.

I visited the Blue Tower during a short but successful road trip across Belgium in the winter of 2019.

HISTORY of Blue Tower / Orange Factory

This processing plant opened in the 1960s to recycle waste from the nearby steel works. Specifically, this facility produced synthetic graphite from blast furnace coke waste. Graphite is made up of layers of hexagonal groups of six carbon atoms. Even though the bonds between the carbon atoms are strong, the bonds between the layers are weak. This enables them to “slide” over each other with little resistance. This gives graphite its slippery surface and makes it a high-performance solid lubricant, often used in electrical engineering. In contrast to oil- and grease-based lubricants, graphite does not leave behind a sticky residue. This reduces the possibility of attracting dirt, dust, or other contaminants. Another use is as an electrode material in electrochemical cells (e.g lithium ion batteries).

For nearly 40 years, the tall Blue Tower crushed, screened, and processed waste coke day and night. The factory constantly releasing massive amounts of dust pollution, regularly exceeding the legal dust emission limits. To make matters worse, it appears that the factory had expanded without the necessary permits. Despite court cases and action plans, the company failed to fully comply. Astoundingly , the plant continued to operate for many years, despite a barrage of negative press and legal issues. As the city’s blast furnaces closed down one by one in the late 2000s and early 2010s. This plant began to wind down operations and was demolished in 2021; its silhouette on the town’s skyline certainly will not be missed!