World War II slowed business in Le Cateau, as Allied bombings destroyed the canal system used to transport goods such as steel, vital to the construction of water filters. When a barge containing 300 tons of steel was abandoned in a silt-filled canal, Degrémont bought the barge and its contents from the steel manufacturer for a tiny sum, then mobilized teams of workers to remove the steel within a week. The steel cache lasted the company six months in a time when competitors had none.