The town of Surgères is known for its activities in the food farming industry, especially milk processing. Of equal promininence is
boilermaking and
engineering.
Dairy industry The town is principally known for its
butter which has
AOC designation "Beurre des Charentes" or "
Beurre Charentes-Poitou". The "Glac" (, "Group of Dairy Co-operatives") distribute many brands of butter, milk and cheese such as Bougon, Saint-Loup, Lescure, Surgères, Le Petit Vendéen and
Mottin charentais. With its brand Saint-Loup, the Glac is the shirt sponsor of the
Chamois Niortais when they play at home, and has been a partner in the club for many years. The town is also home to the , a syndicate that developed at the end of the 19th Century to get Charentes-Poitou butter to the shops of Paris in under 48 hours. The syndicate is a partner of the
Surgères 48 Hour Race and appears on the shirt of the best climber. The dairy industry was started by Eugène Biraud after the
Phylloxera crisis, with the first co-operative created in 1888 in an old distillery at Chaillé, to the northwest of Surgères. In 1907, a dairy college completed the picture. Training in the food industry is under the control of the ("Training policy of the National College of the Dairy and Food Industries and Higher National College of Milling and Cereals"). These groups provide training from granting new licences (theory and apprenticeship) onwards, with the aim of meeting the needs of employers. The college takes students from all over France, and foreigners. Research activities are conducted on behalf of companies. The college works with 2,500 companies in 80 countries.
Metallurgy industry The engineering sector with Poyaud
diesel engines became
Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques, then
Wärtsilä Diesel. The Surgères site produced
Char Leclerc engines but also engines for
railcars and
locomotives, and marine engines. This technology is also used in the production of large
electric generators for hospitals, industry and offices of large companies. There are many other companies at this site, such as
Sassaro (specialising in
stainless steel for the dairy and pharmaceutical industries) and Saro (specialising in
precision engineering).
Other sectors The Sibcas
slaughterhouse employs around fifty people and is near the creamery. Every October Surgères hosts a
livestock show. Despite there being a
carpentry school there is no furniture industry. In the neighbouring commune of
Saint-Germain-de-Marencennes there is the Sofec factory, owned by Teissa the kitchen designer.
Media The town has two major media for the north of
Charente-Maritime: • Radio
Hélène FM (Surgères 89 FM, Saint-Jean d'Angély 102.9 FM), a general radio station with local information. It is the organiser of the singing competition ("Milky Voices"). • The newspaper ("Charente-Maritime Weekly"), published by
Groupe Sud Ouest, which has many regional correspondents. It prints local information for the northern cantons of Charente-Maritime. ==Culture==