Altos Hornos de Vizcaya, S.A. was a Spanish

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

manufacturing company. It was the largest company in Spain for much of the 20th century, employing 40,000 workers at its height. The business began in 1902 in

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with the merger of three iron and steel businesses: ''Altos Hornos de Bilbao'', ''La Vizcaya'', and ''La Iberia''. In the 1990s, following a series of mergers, it joined with

Arcelor Arcelor S.A. was the world's largest steel producer in terms of turnover and the second largest in terms of steel output, with a turnover of €30.2 billion and shipments of 45 million metric tons of steel in 2004. The company was created in 2002 ...

. The location was chosen for the iron mineral resources around Bilbao, the proximity to a

sea port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, and the metallurgical tradition of the area. After the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, the industry of Basque Country was left basically intact. This proved to be an attractive feature that drew many people during Spain's rural exodus. The business was thus one of the major forces responsible for the economic development of many of the municipalities of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, including

Barakaldo Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo ha ...

Sestao Sestao is a town and municipality of 27,296 inhabitants located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is in the left bank of the Estuary of Bilbao and part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. Se ...

Portugalete Portugalete is a town lying to the west of Bilbao in the province of Biscay in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. The town has 45,766 inhabitants (2019 census) and is part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. It is located a ...

Ortuella Ortuella is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, northern Spain. Nowadays part of Greater Bilbao region, until ...

, and Abanto y Ciérvana. As a consequence of the implementation of the "Plan de Competitividad Conjunto AHV - Ensidesa", in December 1994 the CSI Group (''Corporación Siderúrgica Integral'') was formed, and it in turn was reorganized in 1997 forming the Aceralia Iron and Steel Corporation.

References

*Villar, J. E.: ''Hornos altos 1 y 2. Altos Hornos de Vizcaya'

*Villar, J. E.: ''Altos hornos de Vizcaya. Central Ilgner'' (pp. 852–856) y ''Altos Hornos de Vizcaya. Horno alto'' (pp. 883–889)

{{Authority control Steel companies of Spain Biscay Non-renewable resource companies established in 1902 1902 establishments in Spain Estuary of Bilbao Organisations based in Bilbao 20th century in the Basque Country (autonomous community) 1994 disestablishments in Spain Economy of the Basque Country (autonomous community)

See also

References