The Unión Explosivos Río Tinto (ERT) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

business conglomerate that operated between 1970 and 1989, being present in many industries of the country. At the time, it was the main Spanish business group by size and assets, with a network of companies that included more than forty subsidiaries.

History

The ERT group, which started in 1970, was present in numerous sectors of the economy: mining, metallurgy, chemical industry, petrochemical industry, explosives, etc. In its beginnings, it had a workforce made up of 14,000 employees, as well as a network of facilities, factories and production centers that extended throughout the country. Its name came from the historical

Rio Tinto Mines Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational company that is the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). The company was founded in 1873 when of a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto, ...

, in the province of Huelva. During the 1970s, the Explosivos Río Tinto group undertook a business diversification that led to an increase of its presence in the real estate, pharmaceutical, petrochemical or publishing sectors. This was carried out through loans and significant indebtedness. In 1989, after many years of crisis due to financial problems, ERT was integrated into the holding Ercros.

References

Bibliography

* Angulo, Cristina (1998)
«Una historia muy explosiva»
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El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

''. * Fourneau, Francis (1980). ''Huelva hacia el desarrollo: evolución de la provincia de Huelva durante los veinte últimos años''. Diputación de Huelva/Instituto de Estudios Onubenses «Padre Marchena». * Tamames, Ramón; Rueda, Antonio (1998). ''Introducción a la economía española''. Madrid: Alianza Editorial. {{Authority control Chemical companies established in 1970 Chemical companies of Spain Companies based in Madrid 1970 establishments in Spain