Rairies Montrieux celebrates 110 years of land know-how at the service of a forward-looking brand

This process has made the reputation of RAIRIES MONTRIEUX, which retains its ancestral know-how despite the industrialization of the process.

RAIRIES MONTRIEUX today produces bricks, tiles and facing bricks in natural or enamelled terracotta for floors, interior walls, exterior facades and landscaping of gardens.

Sacred fire and family spirit

The surrounding Rairies region, located on the border of Maine-et-Loire (49) and Sarthe (72), has a so-called red clay which has made it famous for the transformation of clay into terracotta. . From the 1864th to the XNUMXth century, the reputation of the village was well established, but it was from XNUMX that recognition of the know-how of the villagers of Les Rairies became firmly established.

Apart from clay, a brickyard needs two essential elements: a well, a kiln. The manufacturing hall and the barn being optional constructions. The barn (or dryer) is a wooden construction whose frame has four low sides covered with tiles whose shape and layout ensure good air circulation without letting rain in. To date, Rairies Montrieux operates this barn as an exhibition space.

Ensure the transition between ancestral process and industrialization

Once the clay has been stretched, after three weeks of drying, the materials (bricks, tiles, plates, etc.) are methodically placed in the kiln which gives them this specific shade. After preheating the oven, cooking lasts about thirty-six hours without stopping (the temperature of the oven fluctuating between 800°C and 1°C depending on the weather). A week elapses between the start of filling the oven and the end of the cooking cycle.

If the manufacturing technique for terracotta products remains unchanged, certain processes have been industrialized since 1910 (date of creation of RAIRIES MONTRIEUX by Ernest and Victor Montrieux); period when the demand for clay products becomes stronger. One then replaces the man by machines then the generalization of electricity supplements the industrialization of the production. Despite this, the manufacturing process has not fundamentally changed. Cooking is always partly done in a wood-fired oven, nothing can replace human intervention to perfectly control all the parameters.

Sustain the business

Coming from the seventh generation of a family of brickmakers, Rémy Montrieux took over the management of the company in 1972. He then began to modernize the production tools and directed the brand's products to architects by offering facade solutions. The bet is now proving to be a winner, the company being present throughout the territory and seeing its export sales progress. Thanks to its clientele made up of 90% professionals as well as its reputation, RAIRIES MONTRIEUX participates in nearly 300 projects a year, including prestigious projects such as the Nantes Conservatory, the Cité du Cinéma in Paris, the Hexagones in London, the headquarters of Immobilière Podelhia in Angers...

A mark of recognition, a brand recognition

In 2006, RAIRIES MONTRIEUX obtained the “Living Heritage Company” label. A true mark of recognition granted by the State, this certification created in 2005 gives it a place of choice in the peloton of French companies with artisanal and industrial know-how of excellence.

Issued under the authority of the Ministry of Economy and Finance after rigorous investigation, this label aims to reward small and medium-sized companies that are emblematic of French industrial or artisanal excellence. Its criteria make it possible to clearly underline the high added value of “made in France” manufacturing. This label thus crowns the know-how of RAIRIES MONTRIEUX valuing a tradition, renowned and ancient, based on the mastery of ancestral techniques and linked to the origins of a territory.

In 2020, RAIRIES MONTRIEUX also received the “Produit en Anjou” label, the purpose of which is to highlight and publicize the many skills of Maine-et-Loire. In a context of globalization of trade, this label is a sign of recognition intended to promote the products and services produced in Maine-et-Loire, by combining energy and transparency. Obtaining this territorial brand is based on two cumulative criteria: more than 50% of the added value of the product must be acquired in the territory of Maine-et-Loire and the constituent elements of the product must come from or be developed in the department.

An R&D laboratory at the service of made-to-measure

The R&D laboratory and the RAIRIES MONTRIEUX design office are able to respond to many problems by providing technical solutions inherent to each project.

Creator of new trends, RAIRIES MONTRIEUX can rely on a research laboratory where the competence of the employees performs daily in order to guarantee achievements of irreproachable quality. This expertise allows, among other things, the creation of new colors and a tailor-made response in colors based on RAL shades. RAIRIES MONTRIEUX has thus positioned itself as one of the major players in color enamelling, for products with character.

The concern for the environment

Resource Protection: from the extraction of quarries to the recycling of the final material, terracotta is part of the sustainable development project and the High Environmental Quality (HQE) standard. The company is committed to the control of raw materials and the restoration of extraction sites at the end of operations.

Energy saving : thanks to the limitation of energy resources and emissions into the atmosphere, the use of wood for cooking for floor tiles and natural drying make it possible to reduce the consumption of fossil energy.

Water recycling: the production site includes a wastewater treatment and recycling station to have a zero waste policy and to be an environmentally friendly company.

Ecological waste: classified as inert (decree 2002), terracotta waste is guaranteed not to be dangerous for human health and the environment.