In Corbelin, in the Guiguet family, we also know the founders of the workshop which would become a motorcycle manufacturing company (MGC). The site still houses the market hall (and its original tools), the shed, the barn and the family home.
The Guiguet property site is located along the road and is made up of a group of buildings built on the same plot. A shed and a hall with three gables (the workshop) rise along the road while a barn is located opposite, perpendicular to the road. The dwelling house stands at the rear. The workshop is divided into several parts. To the north, the open shed is built parallel to the road. This is where the sawmill and carpentry were also located, while the southern extension of the hall housed the forge. Attached to the south, a hall with three gables built of clinker rises perpendicular to the road. This is where Marcel Guiguet's mechanical workshop was located. The gable roofs are covered with mechanical tiles. Oriented east-west, the buildings have a series of large openings with fixed and glazed frames on the east side. All of the tools and machines used to make motorcycle parts, as well as the engines, are still fully preserved. .The workshop is equipped with machine tools driven by a set of wooden pulleys. Before being electrified, a steam engine was responsible for driving the entire transmission (see old photo). The stone base of the steam engine is visible between the house and the workshop.
The building has obtained the “Heritage in Isère” label, rewarding the heritage quality of a building of departmental interest.
History, culture and heritageFounded in 1895 by Ferdinand Guiguet, the brother of the painter François Guiguet, this workshop remained famous for the production of Marcel Guiguet's M. G. C. motorcycles. It was in fact in this workshop, during his apprenticeship, that Marcel, Ferdinand's nephew, built his first machine from scratch. From 1927, the latter devoted himself to the manufacture and assembly of motorcycles by creating his own company "M. G. C." (Marcel Guiguet et Compagnie) with the help of his brother Joseph, also interested in mechanics. The latter also built his own car called “the dangerous”. The emblem of M. G. C. motorcycles was the Stork, thus recalling the air force squadron of the First World War, and the brand of the Hispano-Suiza company where Marcel perfected his skills before returning to his hometown. In order to promote his brand, Marcel did not hesitate to take part in numerous races and thus won the Paris / Pyrenees / Paris. He created around twenty models.
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