Vincent Frères of Haguenau began as a 19th‑century forge run by three brothers and evolved—by the 1930s—into one of Alsace’s major manufacturers of industrial measuring instruments and water meters, later becoming part of the Actaris water‑meter group. 🏭 Origins: A Haguenau Forge (Late 19th Century) The earliest traceable history shows that Vincent Frères began as a forge operated by the three Vincent brothers at 5 rue du Maréchal‑Joffre, Haguenau in the 1890's. At this stage the company was not yet a water‑meter manufacturer but a metalworking enterprise—typical of Alsace’s mixed Franco‑German industrial landscape. 🔧 Industrial Expansion and Shift to Water‑Meter Manufacturing (After 1930) A major transformation occurred after 1930, when Vincent Frères constructed a new factory outside the town centre, along the canal de la Moder. This new site enabled the company to scale production and “actively enter the manufacture of all kinds of measuring apparatus and water meters,” which soon became its hallmark products. This shift aligns with broader European trends of the interwar period, when municipal metering, industrial flow measurement, and precision instrumentation expanded rapidly. 🧰 Product Line: Water Meters for Municipal and Industrial Use By the mid‑20th century, Vincent Frères was producing a full range of water meters for: - municipal water authorities - industrial plants - general commercial measurement applications A surviving 1957 company catalogue confirms the firm’s mature product line and its identity as a dedicated water‑meter manufacturer. This places Vincent Frères among the significant regional meter makers of post‑war France, comparable to contemporaries in Mulhouse, Strasbourg, and Lyon. 🏢 Corporate Evolution and Modern Successor The original Vincent Frères factory—rebuilt after wartime damage—was later modernized and ultimately became part of Compagnie des Compteurs, then Schlumberger, then Groupe Eau Actaris and finally Itron, a major European water‑meter and metering‑technology company. The former Vincent Frères site is today identifiable at 8 Boulevard Pasteur, Haguenau. This confirms a continuous industrial lineage from a 19th‑century forge to a 20th‑century metering manufacturer and finally into a 21st‑century global metering group. 👤 Leadership Note: Auguste Vincent A record from SYMOGIH identifies Auguste Vincent (born 1890, Haguenau) as a director (PDG) of Vincent Frères (Ets SA), serving on the board until 1945. This places the Vincent family directly in the firm’s management during its transition into precision metering. The HWM-Museum has two VH surviving meters in its collection, with the meter pictured below previously installed at the Chateau de Belleverine France.