Origins of the Belgian car industry, and more particularly of cars SPRINGUEL.
  When one month ago, approximately, Mr Leleux gave me on behalf of Mr Frère an invitation to come to maintain you the origins from the car industry in Belgium, I asked for how I was going to cover the subject, so much my personal memories were thin; fortunately a cousin of my Father Mr Albert Springuel who lived this time agreed to document me.  It should indeed well be remembered that the majority of this emergent industry at the beginning of this century died with the war of 14/18 and that some marks only emerged after this one such:  Minerva, F/N., Nagant, Impéria, to die definitively about fifteen years after, during the great crisis of the Thirties.

  The first years of this century indeed were favourable in Belgium with the blossoming of a car industry, spontaneous blossoming, a little like a blossoming of mushrooms in a meadow in summer, therefore transitory blossoming. Only in the province of Liege, we can name the following marks: Mechanics & Engine, Nagant, Freney, Automix, F/N., Impéria, Springuel are already 7 marks; in the remainder of the country one can add amongst other things: Metallurgical, Pipe, Bovy, Minerva, Hupmobile etc But why this blossoming? With my direction parce that the conditions were necessary: Able, financial engineers undertaking, excellent labour, very valid draughtsmen, and especially an avid market and in full expansion without too much competition.

The history of the Springuel Cars which lasted only 6 years and half only is for the statement. Jules Springuel had left the University of Liege with the rank of civil engineer of the mines with the greatest distinction and congratulation of the jury. Young engineer, it created in Huy a small workshop of finishing towards 1902/1903, it had 7/8 workmen. One of his/her friends Edmond Dresse required of him to mount an engine on a tricycle. Jules Springuel built a second for itself of it; it could install a seat in overhanging wicker with the back, sits retained by leather thin straps, to install there his wife during certain displacements, and thus one Sunday the thin straps breakable it lost his wife and they are only a few hundred meters further which it realised from there . Extremely mary of this adventure, it decided to arrange its tricycle and to do one of them 4 wheels or his wife would have sat with her with dimensions. Thereafter, his/her friends Charles Delloye, of Lhonneu de Lamine asked him to build some for them, and thus a little later, the same ones and some others whose members of the family founded with him on July 10, 1907 S.a. Springuel Cars with the capital of 500.000 frs in 1000 actions of 500 frs.
Happy time! If in 1908 the assessment announces without profit nor loss, one starts to distribute a dividend since 1910 and in 1912, the business is so profitable that the shareholders meet as a General meeting in January to take part in a new issue of capital, but before this increase the former shareholders share 1000 junior stocks; one passes then to the increase in the capital of 1.000.000 frs is approximately 80.000.000.frs current. The authorized capital being of 1.500.000 frs. Part of the increase is used to remunerate the contribution of the company of the Impéria cars, the balance being used to improve the treasury and to practise certain investments. Henceforth, publicity will be done in favour of the marks Springuel and Impéria. At June 30 of the same year, the company announces a benefit of 162.132, 99 frs is approximately 13.000.000 frs current. One distributes 44.900 frs of them is approximately 3.600.000 A titrates indicative I notice that in the assessment one makes a tax provision of 4017,59 frs is approximately 321.000 frs current. And success continues so that the following year in 1913 the Board of directors announces in his report/ratio that the two factories that of Huy and that of Nessonvaux worked with full output and that if one had to produce more more, one would have made a greater benefit and however this one was doubled compared to the previous year. But from or this commercial success comes? Certainly with quality of frame left, and with philosophy of design of car by Jules Springuel, it writes besides in study on its cars that it seeks robustness, by simplicity, because a simple mechanism is increasingly more robust “although that can appear paradoxical, writes it, it is necessary to study much more one problem of mechanics to solve it in a simple way that in a complicated way, and one must deploy more ingeniousnesses to arrive at simplicity than with the complication. “Also the slogan of the Springuel cars is it at this time:

SPRINGUEL = Simple, Flexible, Solid, Quiet.

Also the results are not made wait, because the Springuel cars cup a solid reputation in the races, the rallys and with the Motor Show.

About these races of the time let us speak a little. There were many and of all species of it: race speed, race of endurance, hill climb, race of the km standing start, races of the 500 m departure and arrival stopped and this for several category of the types of cars: 12 HP, 16 HP, 25 HP with convertibles or closed; really one was full with initiative There were the rally of Oostende, that of Spa, the race of dimension of HUY, those of Béthane etc etc .. And abroad there was as much in France, Germany and especially in Russia: in its advertisements, Benz amongst other things announces to have gained in 1913 the Great Price of Star in Moscow (already a star!) , the verste standing start, the race Odessa Iekaterinoslaw and return is approximately 1160 verstes on the worst roads of Russia! Springuel , announces to him that it gained the race Cordoba-Rosario-Buenos Aires on the most execrable roads of South America to the average of 70 km at the hour. Benz still announces that in 1913 its Hornsted pilot reached on the motor-racing track of Brookland in the U.S.A. the speed of 199,7 km per hour. The potential buyer was thus informed possibilities of his future car, until 1912 it will buy a “frame” I.e. a car without body, sometimes even without tires, but whose engine was ground by the factory. My Father who was 18/20 years old at that time very often received factory a frame for his weekend, in order to grind the car and to indicate to the factory Monday morning the weak points. It made excursions in the Ardennes, the car having received its two seats in wickers. At that time when another car was crossed, one often stopped and one made knowledge; my Father thus knew a heap of personalities of Brussels and Antwerp.

The happy owner of a frame ordered itself the case that he wanted to obtain in a carriage-builder for example at Ieteren in Brussels at Gamette in Liege, in Léonard with. Waremme. There were thus never two exactly similar cars, each one added some details according to its taste or its imagination; thus my Large Uncle Barthélemy Springuel had ordered at Gamette a body, and in the specification of the order it is registered: “I want to receive a limousine with a height such as I can sit down with my top hat on the head when I make visits it was y to also have bevelled glass. “But with the reception, they , also Barthélémy Springuel proposes was not it a transaction: “I would agree not to claim you bevelled glass but want to add to your expenses of the small curtains to the windows. "

I would still say a word of the catalogues. Those are done by the means of the edge like one says: c.a.d. how there are no mannequins, nor with decorates, the photographs are taken on the spot for example with the castle of St Vitu, with the castle of Récollets with the lords of the manor like mannequins! Jules Springuel often leads to him-m cême one of his cars in the races; it happens sometimes that the name of a pilot is a pseudonym because Madam does not want that her husband controls a racing racing car they are too dangerous!

What costs a car or rather a frame?
A frame of 12 HP: 6600 frs is 528.000 frs today
A frame of 16 HP: 7700 frs is 616.000 frs
A frame of 25HP: 11.300 frs is 890.000 frs
At that time you could buy an OLEO candle starting from 2,85 frs tandis that a candle DOUGH cost 5 at least frs is 400 frs current! At the end of August 1914 the plant manager of Nessonvaux which was German, returned in Huy and required the plans, as Jules Springuel was not decided to collaborate, occupying it completely dismounted factories of Huy and Nessonvaux and carried the whole including the frames in the course of assembly. During the war Jules Springuel studied two types of cars of which a taxi; it also studied an engine whose dimensions would be standardized even race even boring for one four, one six, and one eight cylinders.

Just after the war, carrying out the large handicap compared to his competitors especially the French cars Renault and Citroen, Jules Springuel had contacted Minerva to try to create a national car industry. Alas, the disease quickly nailed with the bed and it could not any more continue to deal with its business. The factory of Huy was never re-starting, and machines it of Nessonvaux was sold and S.a. dissolved Springuel Cars.

Pierre Springuel
Genval, 15/12/1977
Prepared for a conference with the Royal Car Club in December 1977