History

BEFORE, THE HISTORY . . .

IGRETEC is an intermunicipal company.

As its name suggests, this structure corresponds to the association of towns/cities and communes to safeguard and develop an interest or a common objective that they pursue. Here are a few examples leading to the creation of our company…

Helping the citizen

In 1937, the Intercommunale d’Œuvres Sociales pour la Région de Charleroi (I.O.S. – intermunicipal company of social works for the Charleroi Region) was set up, bringing together thirty-three communes (*) with the same objective: to help people retain their dignity and their health. And so, over the years, it set up and operated numerous social establishments including in particular the famous Maternité Reine Astrid de Charleroi (maternity centre), Cité de l’Enfance de Marcinelle (children’s centre) and Rayon de Soleil (geriatrics and traumatology centre).

In 1938, the Union Intercommunale des Consommateurs de Gaz et Electricité des Régions de Charleroi et du Centre (Intermunicipal Union of Gas and Electricity Consumers of the Charleroi and Centre Regions), established in 1933 and comprising thirty-one communes (*), created three intermunicipal companies, two of which distributed electricity and one gas.

Uniting to rebuild

Then came the war and the post-war period, bringing huge economic and social upheavals. The communes were faced with complex problems such as distributing water, collecting and destroying waste, checking foodstuffs, creating or restructuring radio broadcasting, reorganising public transport, etc.

How could all these issues be resolved and the region saved without uniting?

THE HISTORY. . .

Seeking unity of action

In 1946, seventy communes (*) joined forces around a high-performance technical tool whose unity of action was to guarantee their development and the best services: the Union Intercommunale pour l’Etude et la Gestion des Services Publics à Caractère Industriel et Commercial (I.E.G.S.P. – Intermunicipal Union for the Study and Management of Industrial and Commercial Public Services).

Its mission was later summed up by one of its Presidents: “being able to do everything, quite simply”.

As a place of coherence, it was to stand unceasingly by this philosophy, which IGRETEC continues to apply today, managing a wide range of integrated and interdependent services, permanently interacting and coordinating many disciplines.

Adding a dimension

At the same time, the Association Intercommunale pour l’Aménagement du Territoire et le Développement Economique et Social des Régions de l’Est et du Sud du Hainaut (ADEC – Intermunicipal Association for Spatial Planning and the Economic and Social Development of the Eastern and Southern Hainaut Regions) was working to create major industrial zones in the Charleroi region.

In 1985, the merger of the two intermunicipal companies officially gave rise to IGRETEC, Intercommunale pour la Gestion et la Réalisation d’Etudes Techniques et Economiques – Intermunicipal Company for the Management and Production of Technical and Economic Studies).

In 2004, Intersud stopped some of its activities and these were taken over by IGRETEC which, incidentally, includes 28 Intersud agents among its staff. This was the purpose of the creation of sector 5 ‘Economic and tourist development of South Hainaut’, whose activities were integrated into sector 2 on 27 June 2013.

(*) Note: before merger of the communes.

TODAY

This is why:

• through its history, IGRETEC constitutes an integrated structure, comprising a design office, the manager of a pure financing intermunicipal company, an economic development and spatial planning body as well as an Approved Decontamination Body for the collection and treatment of waste water and the management of flood water evacuation structures.
• The ‘integral economic developer’ can thus adopt all the approaches and undertake all the studies needed to implement a project, including the vital role of coordination.
• The design office and manager of an intermunicipal company can also help its clients to prepare their projects, whether these are mono- or multi-disciplinary.