Family business. The most important in Spain

In the back of its first store, the Álvarez Gómez family business begins to make cosmetic preparations, elixirs and various perfumery products, marketed under its own brand. In 1912 a special perfumery preparation became a real bestseller and still enjoys great prestige today. The components of the formula were lemon, bergamot, rosemary, geranium... scents and aromas from the fields and flowers that resulted in a clean, refreshing and pure cologne. the "Agua de Colonia Concentrada Álvarez Gómez", still retains its name today and its Art Deco design bottle is very familiar to us due to its use not only in Spanish homes, but also in prestigious hotels and restaurants in our country. . Since the 90s, with a new generation at the helm, the Álvarez Gómez company has had a factory in which it standardized production, a nationwide distribution network and the total professionalization of the different areas of the company. The objective was to incorporate the best professionals, without losing the original family character of the company. There are already 4 generations of the family business. Currently they have opted for international expansion and the creation of new aromas and products.

The Barceló Group currently has more than 33000 employees around the world. As the most important dates in its evolution we will highlight the following:

• 1954: entry into the tourism sector
• 1962: Beginnings in the hotel industry
• 1968-1981: International Expansion
• 1992: Entry into the North American market
• 1995: First hotel within a city in Spain (Barceló Sants in Barcelona)
• 1997: Expansion of the Barceló Hotel Group
• 2001: Grupo Barceló reaches 100 hotels
• 2002: Franchises in Malta, Tunisia and Morocco. Grupo Barceló becomes the first hotel company in the USA.
• 2003: Barceló Hotel Group launches its first website and creates a new Online Reservation Center.
• 2005-2010: Success of the strategic plan. The Barceló Group enters the Top 30 worldwide (2007)
• 2011: To combat the crisis, renovation replacing expansion.
• 2015: Expansion is reactivated
• 2016: Landing in the capital: Madrid

       

At Abengoa SL we can highlight the following stages: 1941-1950: Development of the first activities and expansion throughout Andalusia. Turnover exceeds 45 million pesetas (€270.456) 1951-1960: Expansion throughout Spain, consolidating the company's activity. Turnover reaches 4.880 million pesetas (€29.329.391) 1961-1970: Activity begins on the international market. The first international projects are in Colombia, Venezuela and Guatemala. The first office abroad is created in Argentina. 1971-1990: Birth of new specialized companies with continuous innovations in the market. The turnover is more than 52 million pesetas (€314.906.303). 1991-2003: The company focuses its activity on the development and innovation of new information technologies, renewable energies, biofuels and respect for the environment. Invoicing exceeds 144 million pesetas. (€865.457.431) 2004-2010: The projects grow and the geographical locations are more and more varied. Abengoa is positioned as a leader in the sector and operates in places such as the USA, India or China. This stage ends with the sale of 40% of Telvent, with the aim of focusing the strategy and all activity on energy and the environment. 2011-up to the present Abengoa seals the incorporation of the former head of the Royal House Alberto Aza to the board of directors as an international advisor due to his extensive career and professional experience. The company focuses on the application of innovative technological solutions for sustainable development in the infrastructure, energy and water sectors.

From 1980 to 2000, Bergé y Compañía began its international diversification and expansion. There are innumerable agreements confirm important as Toyota, Rolls-Royce, Ferrari or Maserati. From the beginning of the century to the present, the company stands out for making a qualitative and quantitative leap in the automotive division of Bergé y Compañía with the incorporation of new brands such as Kia, Subaru, Mitsubishi and Infiniti, among others.  

Emilio Botín Sanz de Sautuola y García de los Ríos, after spending several years as General Manager, was appointed president of Banco Santander in 1986, succeeding his father. Since then the Santander Group has not stopped growing and expanding, being one of the most important financial entities in Spain, Europe and Latin America. Upon the death of Emilio Botín Sanz de Sautuola y García de los Ríos in 2014, the Board of Directors unanimously appointed Ms. Ana Botín as the new president.  

In 1936, with the Spanish Civil War, some directors of the company were assassinated and in the postwar period it was put back into production after various repairs to the silos and the fermentation area. In subsequent years, the expansion stage of the brand began with the acquisition of other small factories spread throughout the Spanish geography. In 1969 a new factory was put into operation in San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid) and it was in parallel operation with the initial factory in Madrid until 1982. The expansion towards the north of Spain began in 1968 with a factory in Zaragoza. As the most important innovations of the brand, we will highlight that in 1962 the traditional wooden barrel was replaced by the aluminum one and the popular litrona began to be used. In 1971 the wood is replaced by the plastic to package the products. Starting in 1972, different beer specialties began to be produced, such as: Águila Dorada, Águila Imperial (1976) and Águila Reserva. Subsequently, Águila Sin, one of the pioneers of this type, and a special black beer called Niger, are launched. In the 80s Águila Pilsener, Adlerbrau, Máster and Buckler came onto the market, the latter being the leading non-alcoholic beer in the Spanish market. In 1984 Heineken acquired 32% of the shares of Él Águila and in 2000 it merged with the Cruzcampo Group, acquired in its entirety by Heineken. Since Heineken acquired shares in El Águila in 1984, it has been progressively replaced by the Amstel brand, becoming Águila Amstel in 1992. Little by little, the name of Águila disappears from the lettering in the logo and finally disappears, leaving Amstel as the name of the brand. In 2019, the company's management decides to put El Águila back on sale, inspired by the original recipe, launching the first unfiltered beer on the market, just like the beer of the year 1900.

In 1885, the Echevarría brothers (Federico and José), associated in the Echevarría Hermanos company, took charge of all the industrial businesses of their father, who died in 1896. Although Federico Echevarría soon undertook new projects for which he associated with Juan de Zuricalday , buying new land for the mechanical manufacture of horseshoe nails (with worldwide export). In 1894, as the owner of the Recalde factory, he signed a collaboration contract with Frederick Siemens, achieving the installation of the first steel furnace in Spain and several rolling mills. In 1901, Federico acquired the Santa Ana wire factory (Castrejana) with a blast furnace and drawing sections. Through a railway branch it manages to connect the Recalde factory and the Santa Agueda Iron and Foundry Factory. He thus expands the initial steel complex, setting up a mechanical workshop for the construction and repair of machinery. After the death of his wife in 1902, Federico formed the limited partnership Federico Echevarría e Hijos (1903) with his eldest children (Juan and Luis) and limited partners (his remaining 8 children). The company merged with other Echevarría factories has 230 workers in Recalde and 83 in Castrejana, reaching an annual production of 2500 tons of steel. The company Federico Echevarría e Hijos was transformed into Sociedad Anónima Echevarría in 1920. The company is dedicated to the manufacture of fine and special steels and appears on the market under the name HEVA. The company is gradually growing until it reaches 780 workers. The investments made in the 1920s allowed him to overcome the crisis of 1930-31 with relative ease. After the Civil War, the proximity of the company to the urban center of Bilbao, forced the transfer to Basauri (1963) with the installation of dependencies and new ovens. The factory began operating in 1967. After the crisis in the steel sector in the 70s, the Echevarría company became part of the public sector (1988) and two years later it merged with Acenor and Forjas y Aceros de Reinosa. The full integration of activities is in the year 2 and a year later the privatization process of the group is carried out, where the old Echevarría de Basauri plant is integrated, which in the year 1994 launched a new steel mill. The site of the old Echevarría factory in Begoña was acquired by the Bilbao City Council to build a public park, leaving a chimney as evidence of its industrial use.

Starting in 1969, José Entrecanales delegated the control and direction of the company, although he continued as director and honorary president until his retirement in 1974. He continued as an advisor until he retired definitively in 1981, at the age of 82. old. Throughout its existence, Entrecanales y Távora, SA tried to evolve to adapt to the national and international economic situation, to meet the demand for new constructions that were increasingly larger and more complex, such as the replacement of sections of metal bridges with others of reinforced concrete (40s). The company Entrecanales y Távora, SA played a decisive role in different development projects such as the Industrialization Plan for Spanish Companies, the Avilés plan, the REDIA plan and also left its mark on the field of construction by building the headquarters of the Ministries of Industry and Energy, and Trade and Tourism, in Madrid, by the architect Antonio Perpiñá; and private: shopping and business centres, hotels and apartments on the peninsular and island coasts (Hotel Mencey in Tenerife, by the architect Marrero Regalado, or the Santa Catalina in Las Palmas, based on a project by Ángel Martín Fernández de la Torres), headquarters official and institutional (the building designed by Sáenz de Oiza that serves as the headquarters of the BBV, or the Madrid Torre Europa by Miguel Oriol, among many others), sports facilities, health cities, residential complexes, etc. Entrecanales y Távora, SA was, from the moment of its creation, one of the main companies in the Spanish construction sector and continues to be so today after merging in 1997 withcubiertas and MZOV in the company Acciona. after its merger with Covers and MZOV, as Acciona and it is still today — since 1997, after its merger with Covers and MZOV, as Acciona

The president of the hotel group continues to be its founder Gabriel Escarrer Julià, while Gabriel Escarrer Jaume is the vice president and CEO.

In 1934 Pepín Fernández founded Sederias Carretas, together with César Rodríguez and other businessmen. The premises are expanding and are maintained even during the civil war. After this, the business occupies an entire building. In 1935, he acquired a plot of land located on Calle Preciados and opened the first Galerías preciados 8 years later. It is in the 50s when competition from other department stores appears: El Corte Inglés, directed by Ramón Areces. El Corte Inglés expands with the opening in 1962 of its store in Barcelona. Galleries bought Almacenes Jorba, (Jorba Preciados). By the mid-1981s, it already had more than twenty centers. The different strategies of both companies (Ramón Areces financed the new centers with the profits acquired, while Pepín Fernández went into debt to be able to expand), caused a heavy indebtedness of the company. Its main creditor: The Urquijo bank takes control of the company and sells it to Rumasa in 1982. Although Pepín Fernández continues to manage the company, after his death (1983), it ceases to be under the control family. After the expropriation of Rumasa in 1995, Galerías Preciados is privatized and finally absorbed by El Corte Inglés in 1972, after a suspension of payments. In XNUMX, Pepín Fernández received the Medal of Merit at Work for his professional career.              

Arturo Fierro-Viña has belonged to 29 boards of directors of banks and companies linked to the family financial group. As most important positions we highlight: president of Naviera Fierro, Banco de Finanzas, Fasa-Renault, Taurus Ediciones; Vice President and CEO of Banco Ibérico; Vice President of Financiera Fierro; member of Industrias Cemar, the Compañía Trasatlántica Española and the Compañía Ibérica de Valores. In 1977, Arturo Fierro joined the board of directors of the Central Bank, when it acquired Banco Ibérico.

Ignacio Fierro-Viña, was the youngest of the 3 brothers. He was on 28 boards of directors of banks and companies linked to the family financial holding company. Like his brother, after the death of his father in 1961, he was in charge of the Latin American companies dedicated to tobacco, matches and spirits. In Venezuela he was president of the Venezuelan Fosforera and the great promoter of the Banco Exterior de Caracas.

He was also president of Banco Ibérico like his brother Alfonso and of Cointra, of Cementos Triefierro, of the Compania Auxiliar de Fósforos, of Ibérica de Electrodomesticos, of Cervantes, of the Unión Comercial del Atlántico; Vice President of Fosforera Española; Petroliber advisor; member of the Anglo-Spanish Company of Portland Cement, of the Santa Comba Mining Company, of Financiera Fierro, of the Spanish Company of Special Cements El León and of Campsa.

Like his other 2 brothers, he was a director of the Central Bank, after its absorption of the Banco Ibérico (1977). The crisis and financial problems affected him much less than his brothers Arturo and Alfonso, since he had kept the American investments and the Spanish businesses that he had personally managed: Cointra and Camping Gas. In 1990 he went on to open a small bank in New York.

Since then the company, already with the Iberostar brand (1983), has not stopped growing, first creating its first hotel in the Canary Islands (1987) and 7 more hotels in Mallorca (1990). A year later, Miguel created the first Spanish capital tour operator abroad (Sunworld) and the company began its internationalization stage with the first Resort hotels in the Caribbean and Mexico.

It is currently owned by Jesús Franco after the agreement formalized with Joaquín's heirs. The acquisition by Jesús responds to a corporate strategy to maintain the company's leadership in the gaming industry.

Pedro Gandarias, along with his wife's relatives and other important businessmen in the sector, participated in the founding of the Sociedad Anónima Metalurgia y Construcciones "La Vizcaya" in 1882. This company, along with Altos Hornos de Bilbao and La Iberia, will be the parent company of the future company Altos Hornos de Vizcaya. The Altos Hornos de Vizcaya company was founded in 1902, a year after the death of Pedro Gandarias, and was located in Baracaldo and Sestao. The company had various mining facilities and small factories distributed throughout Cantabria, Asturias, Almería, Murcia and Guadalajara. It also had many auxiliary companies along with other mines in Vizcaya. During the second half of the 1980th century, Altos Hornos de Vizcaya spread throughout the Valencian Community (Altos Hornos del Mediterráneo) and Navarra. The company underwent a strong industrial reconversion in 11.000, having more than 1996 direct workers and finally in July XNUMX, it had to permanently close its last facilities.      

In March 2004 he was appointed Managing Director of the Company and a year later, the General Shareholders' Meeting named him Executive Chairman of Ebro Puleva. After various national and international purchase/sale operations, the Group acquires SOS to focus on the business that the company controls worldwide and is renamed Ebro Foods. Antonio Hernández Callejas is appointed Chairman of Ebro Foods and also a member of the Board of Directors of various Group companies. The Ebro Foods Group has become the leading food company in Spain, the leading rice company in the world and the second largest producer of fresh and dried pasta globally. Some well-known brands such as Brillante, SOS or La Fallera depend on the Group...among others. Ebro Foods has been the protagonist of an important international expansion process. In addition, it has been reorganized to discard and stop making investments in businesses that were not profitable, nor did they allow it to achieve a leadership position at an international level. The company closed 2020 with a historic result, shooting up its sales by 15% and earning 36% more (192 million euros), thanks to the increase in consumption at home in the last months of the pandemic. Ebro Foods is about to acquire the Ronzoni brand, the leading dry pasta brand in the USA. With this operation it is expected that the company will obtain more than 100 million euros in profit.

At the end of the 90s, trips to the Caribbean, North America, Africa and Europe began to consolidate. In 2003 Halcón Viajes acquired Viajes Ecuador. In addition, the company has been a pioneer in many aspects such as:

• First travel agency to publish an advertising page in a newspaper.
• The first to put ads on TV.
• The first to implement the “All Inclusive” formula in the Caribbean.

Links of power hitherto unknown are known, with family lineages, their connections and businesses spread throughout the territory. The reader will recognize names that represent construction magnates and the motor world, famous surnames linked to the pharmaceutical and food industry, the media and, of course, there is a prominent role for La Caixa and Barça.

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The book also dedicates a very interesting section to the notorious murder and kidnapping cases linked to the spheres of power. We are before a work, The Great Web, which is an attempt to make visible the structures of power in Catalonia in recent decades and to verify how they affect our current society.

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In 1916 he founded the Transmediterránea company with an initial capital of 100 million old pesetas. The company integrated several shipping companies, and controlled communications between the Balearic Islands and Morocco and cabotage traffic in Levante. After the civil war, he carried out various very important financial operations, highlighting the purchase of Barcelona Traction, after which he founded FECSA. In 1955 he created the Juan March Foundation (imitation of other foundations such as Rockefeller or Carnegie), to promote science and culture.

In 1977 Ortega set up his first factories in Arteixo (A Coruña), the current headquarters of the Inditex Group. In the following years, Zara spread throughout the country, with Ponferrada (León) being the first factory to open outside of Galicia (1978). In the 80s, Zara grew rapidly throughout the Spanish territory. In 1984, the first logistics distribution center (Arteixo) was opened and in 1985 Inditex, the Group's Holding company, was founded. From 1988, Zara's international expansion began, opening stores in Porto (1988), New York (1989) and Paris (1990). In 1991 Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti joined the Inditex Group. In 1998 Bershka was incorporated and in 1999 Stradivarius. In 1992 Zara opens its first store in Mexico and in 1993 it does so in Greece. Currently there are Zara stores spread all over the world. We are now in the 2001st century, in the year 1 when the Inditex Group was listed on the stock market (valued at 2003 billion pesetas). In this same year when the company launches the Oysho women's underwear store. In 2008 the Zara Home store is opened and in 2005 Uterqüe, The current executive president is Pablo Isla, who went from CEO of Inditex (2011-2011) to chief executive (XNUMX-...) when Amancio Ortega, founder and main shareholder, resigns from the position of the presidency. ?  

In 1980 the company marketed for the first time at a national level, the first brand of skimmed and semi-skimmed milk. In addition, the group began to diversify its business through other sectors such as the marketing of Bezoya mineral water (1974) or Zumosol (1986).

In 2005 Polanco was considered the third richest person in Spain and in 2006 Forbes magazine included him in the list of the richest in the world in position 258. He was also the producer of El País, a generalist newspaper with the largest national circulation and included companies such as Cuatro or the Digital+ pay television platform. In addition to SER, he had such important music radio stations as Los 40 Principales and Cadena Dial in Spain and Radio Caracol in Colombia.

In 1914, the company began with the name of its founder, Antonio Puig SA, and since then it has always focused its business on cosmetics and perfumes. In 1922 Puig marketed Miladu, the first Spanish-made lipstick. In the 40s he began to market the Agua Lavanda Puig fragrance, one of the company's most emblematic products. In these years the company moved to the popular Barcelona neighborhood of Gràcia. In the following years, the 4 sons of the founder take the reins of the company. Antonio and Mariano focus on perfumery, José María on diversification and Enrique on institutional relations. The company began to expand internationally, creating its first delegation in the United States (1959) and later another in Paris (1968), when the Spanish designer Paco Rabanne joined the company. In 1976 the company built a factory in Chartres (France) and it was in 1987 that it definitively acquired Paco Rabanne's fashion house. One of the most important moments in the company's international expansion is the agreement reached with the fashion designer Carolina Herrera in New York (1980), to create and market all her fragrances. In 1995 Puig joined the Carolina Herrera fashion sector. In 1997 Marc Puig, grandson of the founder, is the executive president of the company and reaches an agreement with Antonio Banderas, for the creation and commercialization of the Antonio Banderas Fragrances brand. In 1998 the company acquired the Nina Ricci brand. In 1999, the Puig family re-founded the company, changing its name to Puig Beauty & Fashion Group, having the three lines of business under the same structure: fashion, cosmetics and perfumes. The company does not stop growing and expanding in the following years, one of the most relevant events being the agreement reached in 2008 with the singer Shakira for the development of a fragrance with her name. In 2009 the company goes back to its original name, incorporating new firms to its structure such as Valentino (2010) and Jean Paul Gaultier. The first brand would be taken from him in 2018 by the French company L'Oreal. While he becomes the majority shareholder of the second (Jean Paul Gaultier). The company celebrates its centenary (2014) by opening a new headquarters in the Plaza de Europa in L'Hospitalet del Llobregat, called Torre Puig. In recent years the company has opted for the growth of new brands such as Dries Van Noten, and promoted the development of Penhaligon's and L'Artisan Perfumeur. In addition, the company has completed the majority acquisition of Eric Buterbaugh Los Angeles, and has reached an agreement with Christian Louboutin to develop its beauty business.

?Despite the fact that the beginnings were quite complicated, having the support of Benigno Arce and many other business professionals enabled the company to meet its needs and acquire the necessary raw materials to move forward. The company began operating in 1874, initially dedicated to supplying hardware stores in Santander. As relevant data in the evolution of Forjas de Buelna, we have: Until 1877, Quijano traveled daily from Torrelavega to Los Corrales de Buelna, in a car pulled by 2 bull ponies, one of them called Espartero, would remain as the emblem of the new New Mountain Quijano society. In 1880 he installed public lighting in the workshops and in 1881 he introduced the telephone in his industries. In 1883 Quijano bought a flour factory and set up a wire-rolling train and a wire-drawing mill in its building. He thus avoiding imports of raw materials to manufacture tips from France and England. In 1892 he manages to obtain more hydraulic energy from artificial waterfalls. He creates a worker cooperative, endowed with a fund for retirement and accidents (8 years before the Labor Accident Law). He also promotes the construction of cheap houses for all his workers. In 1899 he founded the company Altos Hornos de Nueva Montaña in Santander, being its first president. In addition to being a director and founder of the Santander-Bilbao railway and the Cantabrian railway. Quijano was a provincial deputy at the age of 25 and represented Cantabria on several occasions as a Senator. In 1906 the company had more than 600 workers from the towns surrounding the Buelna valley. José María Quijano completed the Forjas de Buelna with warehouses, buildings and came to join the waterfalls by means of a railway of more than 3 kilometers. Currently, there are seven family branches descending from José María Quijano Fernández-Hontoria: Quijano Otero, Díaz de Bustamante Quijano, Quijano González-Camino, Mazarrasa Quijano, Quijano Secades, Quintana Quijano and Quijano Agüero.

Gestamp has gone from being a small local stamping supplier to a global company, with a presence in the main nerve centers of automobile manufacturing. It has a presence in 24 countries around the world and is dedicated to the design, development and manufacture of metal components for automobiles. It is specialized in creating products with an innovative design to achieve ever safer and lighter vehicles, and therefore better in relation to energy consumption and environmental impact. Currently the company is managed by the sons of the founder, Francisco José Riberas Mera and Juan María Jon Riberas Mera, with nearly 50.000 employees and a turnover of 8548 million Euros, devoting part of its time to researching and developing cutting-edge technologies.     ?       Gestamp is a Spanish international group of automotive engineering. The company is dedicated to the design, development and manufacture of metal components for automobiles. Gestamp was founded in 1997 by Francisco Riberas Pampliega with the goal of becoming a global supplier. Currently the company is managed by the sons of the founder, Francisco Jose Riberas Mera y Juan Maria Jon Riberas Mera, is present in 22 countries around the world and has more than 100 production plants and 13 R&D centers. As of December 2018, its workforce was made up of more than 43.000 employees with a turnover of 8.548 million.¹?²?

Starting in 1981, Francisco Roig's sons, Juan, Fernando and Francisco, took charge of the company to make it one of the greatest success stories in Spain. Mercadona currently has more than 75000 employees and more than 1300 branches spread throughout the Spanish territory. Mercadona's success consists in offering quality products at affordable prices (white label). Mercadona is currently chaired by Juan Roig Alfonso. In 1972 Francisco Roig Ballester also founded Pamesa Ceramics in the town of Almassora in Castellón. It is the parent company that will give rise to the Pamesa Group, being the largest seller of tiles in Spain and one of the best-known companies in the world for the sale of ceramics. Pamesa has 1150 employees in Spain and is present in countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Portugal with an annual turnover of 500 million Euros. The Pamesa Group is currently chaired by Fernando Roig Alfonso. The Roig family is also well known in the field of professional sports. Fernando Roig is the largest shareholder of Villarreal CF and on his day he was also the largest shareholder of Pamesa Valencia basketball and an important shareholder of Valencia CF.          

This small workshop/warehouse of 400 square meters was the origin of a true holding company for the distribution and transformation of metal, reaching more than 50 centers throughout the country. In addition to having subsidiaries in France and Poland that could distribute iron and steel, through different sectors such as the locksmith or the automobile industry. The real growth of the Ros Casares Group came in 1959, when the Francoist government lifted the ban on buying metal directly from state factories. That year, the profit of Ros Casares skyrocketed to 250 million pesetas (1,5 million euros). In the decades that followed, Ros maintained wholesale steel distribution and opened a line of stores dedicated to hardware. Thus, it was introduced in the transformation industry, the commercialization of machinery and the auxiliary automobile sector. Ros Casares achieved alliances with large Spanish groups, such as the Basque Aristrain, and international ones, such as Thyssen (1984). The Ros Casares Group progressively began to be directed by Francisco's sons (Francisco Juan and Germán Ros García) and was seriously affected by the crisis. Aristrain acquired 50% of the business in 1990, although the family would repurchase that 50% 8 years later from the Arcelor company. In addition, Francisco Ros Casares was very closely linked to Valencia CF, becoming president of the club in 1973. Although during his tenure he did not win any title, thanks to his management the Valencian club acquired the land of Paterna, where it built its current sports city. and also acquired the Godella Basketball Club, which was even renamed Ros Casares Valencia, reaching the elite of Spanish women's basketball, before disappearing in 2012.

As of 1970, the name of the company will be Papelera de Leitza SA, the result of the absorption by this company of Sarrió, Compañía Anónima de Papeles SA and Eurokote SA, dedicating itself to the process of obtaining raw materials, manufacturing paper and its distribution. All the companies that make up the group tend to be self-sufficient in base paper at their factories in Berrobi and other points. It even attends to requests for reforestation, starting eucalyptus plantations in the province of Badajoz. The company has developed multiple subsidiaries that go as far as direct sales to the consumer. It has exported to 43 countries in Europe, Asia Minor, Africa and America. In 1989 it merges with "Cartiere Saffa" (Italy). The new company has a 65% Spanish stake and a 35% Italian stake. A year later "Cartiere Saffa" came to have 49% of the capital and after the purchase of 4,9% of the German firm "Feldmühle", it came to control the company. In 1991 the company was bought by the «Torraspapel» group, changing its name to «Sarrió, Papel y Celulosa». Between 1997-1999 it is absorbed by the Lecta Group.

The history of Segarra footwear begins with the founding of the company in 1882. Segarra has an adjective sewn into its name: reputation. This reputation refers to craftsmanship, guarantee, safety, innovation and quality. The family had great master craftsmen specialized in the manufacture of footwear. They became one of the largest European shoe stores for years, manufacturing millions of pairs of shoes and boots a year.

Currently, Calzados Segarra has managed to provide the brand with its own design and continue to expand internationally. It is present in selective points of sale and is consolidating itself as a reference brand in European markets, as a high-quality brand in sectors such as the military, security, hardware, agriculture, work or informal/casual.

Inocencio Figaredo Sela, Luis's cousin, was also a director of Banesto and was another of the visible heads of one of the most prominent families of the Asturian industrial and financial bourgeoisie. It should be noted that the father of Luis Sela Figaredo had been the founder of Banca Sela, in Mieres, and shareholder of the Oviedo and Gijonés de Crédito banks, all of which were absorbed by Banesto in the 1903s, and the promoter of numerous mining businesses. and industrial after the acquisition in 1969 of Mina Tres Amigos from a French group, whose property was transferred by the family to the state company Hunosa in XNUMX.

Banco Popular came to control various regional banks such as: Banco de Andalucía, Banco de Castilla, Banco de Crédito Balear, Banco de Galicia and Banco de Vasconia. In 2004, Valls handed over the presidency of the financial group to Ángel Ron, which he had shared with his brother Javier since 1989. Despite this, he continued to be linked to the entity, chairing the meetings of the general shareholders' meeting. . Banco Popular was sold to Banco Santander for the symbolic amount of €1, in June 2017. This fact affected thousands of shareholders due to bankruptcy. El Popular was finally absorbed by Banco Santander in September 2018.

The company still has a strong family accent. The 3 sons of Pedro Velasco (he also has 2 daughters) are the current pillars of the Group, which has been divided into 2 companies, Laminados Velasco, which acts as a distributor, and Cosimet, responsible for assets. In addition to the distribution of steel, and the real estate and insurance sectors, the Velasco family has made a strong commitment to renewable energies and its current challenges are to maintain the level of solvency, financial strength and prestige, backed by its track record. In addition, Cosimet intends to continue deepening its diversification and growth in strategic markets, reinforcing its expansion at an international level.

In 1987 he was one of the negotiators of the attempted merger of Banco Bilbao with Banesto. In addition to actively participating in the merger with Banco Vizcaya. In 1988 Ybarra is elected Vice President of the new bank (BBV). In 1990 he was proposed as president at the end of the merger period between the two banks. Upon reaching the position, the entity experienced great growth abroad, reaching first place in the classification of Spanish banks. The BBV was a sponsor of events as important as the Universal Exhibition in Seville (1992) and became a shareholder in companies such as Repsol, Telefónica and Iberdrola. He also made multiple investments in Latin America.

In the last years of the decade, Ybarra led the merger of BBV with Argentaria. The resulting Bank BBVA became the second largest operator in the sector in the country, only surpassed by BSCH (Banco Santander Central Hispano). Ybarra was elected co-president of the new bank (along with Francisco González) until, on December 18, 2001, he tendered his resignation. He maintained his positions as co-president of the BBVA Foundation and vice-president of Repsol. In the first months of 2002, after learning of his alleged involvement in the scandal involving the BBV's secret accounts in Jersey, he resigned from all positions related to the entity.