La España Industrial, (Catalan: L'Espanya Industrial), was a cotton textile company founded 1847, and which built its primary factory (known as Vapor nou) in the village of Santa María de Sans (modern day Sants). It was not only the first joint-stock company (Spanish: sociedad anónima) created in Spain for cotton manufacturing, but it was also the first company to undertake all aspects (carding, spinning, weaving and finishing) under one roof. It was for many years, the largest and most innovative cotton manufacturer in Spain.[1] It was formed in 1847, grew to 2,500 employees in late 19th century, consolidated factories in the 1970s and finally closed its doors for good in 1981.
The company was founded on January 28, 1847 by the Muntadas family from Igualadina. Although initially incorporated in Madrid, the company moved its domicile to Barcelona in 1851.
The primary manufacturing facilities were built within the village of Santa María de Sans, outside Barcelona as part of a general trend in the cotton industry which had outgrown the walled city. The steam engines and self-acting spinning machines were bought from Manchester in England, wood for construction from Charleston in the United States and printing machines from Mulhouse (Alsace).[2] As was normal at the time, engineers and mechanics came from these countries to install and then ensure proper operation,[3] though they were soon replaced by local mechanics.[4] The initial plans were for a workforce of 1,420 as follows: [5]
| women |
girls |
men | |
|---|---|---|---|
| carding | 6 | 8 | |
| sizing | 10 | 34 | |
| dyeing | 17 | ||
| bleaching | 25 | 24 | |
| spinning | 318 | 116 | 38 |
| weaving | 28 | 660 | 74 |
| steam engine ops |
22 | ||
| warehouse | 40 | ||
| Total | 387 | 776 | 257 |
The Sants factory was inaugurated on January 1, 1849 and by 1853 it was fully operational with 41,748 spinning bobbins and 1,000 weaving looms, making it the largest in the country.[6][4] In 1854 it was caught up in the strike called the Conflict of the selfactinas. By 1880, its workforce reached what would become its maximum of some 2,500.
La España Industrial was always one of the most modern companies dedicated to cotton, with a famous brand of towels and corduroy and even produced its own paper packaging.
The factory, in addition to manufacturing facilities, also provided a nursery, a soup kitchen and sports facilities for its workforce. The owners also provided loans for the workers, and continued to employ old-aged workers in menial tasks, intended to develop a sense of loyalty.[7]
The name Vapor nou (The New Steam Factory) was used in contrast to the name given to the other large textile factory in Sants (owned by Joan Güell), Vapor vell (The Old Steam Factory) which had begun operation in 1846.
The company was collectivised by the workers for two years during the Civil War. In 1969, the facilities in Sants were closed and in 1972 the remaining manufacturing in Sabadell moved to a plant in Mollet del Valles. The company finally closed its doors in 1981.
In 1934, the sports club of the factory founded a football club which was to be named CD España Industrial, a subsidiary team of FC Barcelona. In 1956 it became independent from FC Barcelona, changing its name to CD Condal. The club managed to climb to the First division, but remained there for only a single year.
In 1985, after many neighborhood demonstrations, the site of the old factory was converted into a housing complex and a large park that adopted the name of the factory, becoming the Parque de la España Industrial, repurposing some of the old buildings including the Casinet d'Hostrafrancs Civic Center, the Pau Nursery, the building called Casa del Mig and the banana forest that form the central body of the current park.
For the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, the España Industrial Sports Center was built, where the weightlifting events were held.
41°22′39.23″N 2°8′22.16″E / 41.3775639°N 2.1394889°E / 41.3775639; 2.1394889
