Technological and corporate innovation in the Spanish specialised metallurgy: the case of Rivière (1860-1924)

Metallurgy is together with textiles the leading industry of the first industrial revolution in Spain, a feature highlighted by the literature from very early on. One of its sub-sectors, this of metal transformation, has received very special attention from researchers. However, certain gaps still persist in some branches especially those relating to various factors of the production system at the factory level, such as capital –equipment and energy, labour and corporate structure. Herein lies the main motivation of this research, which addresses the reasons for the success of medium-sized companies in specialised metallurgy in the late 19th and early 20th century, using a case study methodology, primary sources and the comparative procedure. The text is made up by three main sections, comprising the formation of the Rivière company, the production system of this company and its organisational innovation.


Introduction
Textiles and metallurgy led the first industrial revolution in Spain in two regions -Catalonia and the Basque Country -that brought Spain into the great European transformation. Vicens Vives alluded to this binomial of expansion of the textile industry and a rise of metallurgy, the latter still unpromising in the second half of the 19th century. This author completed his synthetic vision with a broad temporal scope, which began with the first industrialisation efforts in the 18th century, the weakening after the War of Independence, the slight recovery (1827-1834) and the effort to find a solid industrial structure through modern equipment and capitalist concentration in the cotton industry (1834-1854) 1 .
The characteristics of the metallurgy in Catalonia was marked to a large extent by its development in Barcelona and was strongly conditioned by the disadvantage of the remoteness from the major iron and steel centres, a differentiating factor that began to Ángel Calvo https://doi.org/10.1344/rhiihr.38531 appear at the end of the 19th century with respect to the Basque Country, better endowed in iron and steel 2 .
The city enjoyed locational and transport costs advantages, together with the external economies generated by its size and its dual seaport and industrial nature. No less important is its position as a hub with a strong institutional framework, in which the Junta de Comercio (Board of Trade) stood out through jurisdiction over the whole of the Principality of Catalonia. This institution ruled Catalan commercial and industrial activity in 1758-1876 with a special emphasis on demanding a protectionist policy from the State. The list of perks grows longer with Barcelona's easy access to technology and knowledge transfer flows in Europe, sometimes as a point of arrival of immigrants, in particular French 3 .
Three are the types of external economies driving spatial agglomeration: a shared skilled labour market, proximity of customers and suppliers, as well as quick and relatively cheap access to specific knowledge and information 4 . In the definition of Barcelona's harbour system, France (Marseilles), as well as Italy (Genoa), play an important role: both are the main suppliers of foodstuffs, raw materials, machinery and technical know-how for Barcelona 5 .
In its general features, the iron and steel industry in Catalonia has been covered in reference works and individual studies. In their pioneering works, Nadal and Tortella pointed out the traits of this sector and the characteristics of its take-off and early development 6 . We have also long been familiar with the trajectory of some companies, such as the emblematic Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima (MTM) 7 . In recent years, research has been carried out on major companies -Hispano-Suiza, MACOSA, and Nuevo Vulcano for instance 8 . On the one hand, it confirms the interest in the issue and, on the other, it ratifies the existence of gaps to be filled. In particular, there is still a lack of monographic studies on companies which, without the attractiveness of the large ones, are key in some sub-sectors.
This article sets out to describe and analyse a company of specialised segment of this industry, namely metal processing -wire drawing, wire mesh, wire cloth and nails -in the late 19th and early 20th century. Its structural traits define it as a capital-intensive industry with an overwhelming weight of raw materials in the production costs, as opposed to the secondary burden of labour. On the other hand, it meets a very broad demand because its products supply the various needs of the economy, i.e. agriculture, mining and industry. Researchers have devoted a very special attention to this sub-sector of specialised metallurgy 9 . However, certain gaps still persist, in particular those relating to various factors of the production system at the factory level, such as capital -equipment and energy-, labour and corporate structure. Herein lies the focus of this research, whose guiding thread lies on the reason(s) for success of medium-sized companies in specialised metallurgy and the mechanisms of oligopoly formation in non-core sectors, through a case study methodology, primary sources and the comparative procedure 10 . The main primary source comes from the Rivière Archive, which contained key information on the production process in the factories -in detail wages and working patterns-, organisational forms and technological change. Electrification, an essential feature of technological change that is generally underestimated, as well as the increase in production capacity stems from the Archivo Administrativo del Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, Industrias particulares (AAAB) [Administrative Archive of the Barcelona City Council, Particular Industries].
The article comprises three main sections devoted to the formation of the medium-sized company Rivière, its invention and innovation process and to corporate innovation, human capital and competitiveness.
It is worth noting that specialised metallurgy is closely linked to French investment and technology, a feature that distinguishes it from other experiences in southern Europe, including Italy, which is driven by very local names 11 . In addition to this differentiating aspect, there are two further: the relationship with machinery supply chains and diversification.
In sum, specialised metallurgy had clearly contributed to the diversification of the productive fabric, a process which in the first post-war period placed Barcelona's iron and steel industry as a whole in second place (15.52%) among the city's industries, at a distance from textiles (31.23%) and ahead of chemicals (12.23%). The years  correspond to the period of consolidation of a real industrial structure (the Hoffman index -light industry workers/heavy industry workers-went from 4.4 to 0.9 12 . 9 Calvo (1986); Fernández (2005), pp. 165-191;(2005a) Undoubtedly, one of the most prominent undertakings was Francisco Rivière, on which we will focus below.

The drive of innovative firms: the formation of the company Rivière
Unlike what one might think, the beginning of Francisco Rivière Bonneton's activities in Spain has nothing to do with the metal processing industry but to his employment on the Paris-Lyon-Méditerrannée railway. His entry into the industry occurred in 1860, when he teamed up with his compatriot Pierre Mage, who had a background as a wire cloth producer, to open a wire cloth factory in Madrid under the name Sociedad Mage, Rivière y Cía. 13 . By the first half of the 1860s, his marriage to Matilde Chavany, owner of an establishment of haute couture and millinery, very possibly provided Rivière with liquidity and he took over the entire business, after redeeming the share of the partner's heirs. In 1875, the business upturn of the Madrid workshop, with fifteen looms installed, encouraged Francisco Rivière to attempt alone an initial expansion in a new location in Bilbao. He quickly expanded the capacity of the business in part using machinery and labour from Madrid and kept it under his constant personal supervision from Madrid and occasionally in situ. After the failure of the initiative, because of the external causesnegative impact of the Carlist War on the industry-, Rivière focused on reorganising the business in Madrid, first, and then on changing the location of his expansion projects 14 .
An important spur to progress were arrangements, such as the one signed in 1876 with Mourot Aîné, technician from Montrouge (Seine) for the first best-selling sheets and perforated sheets. He also opened up a long-lasting business flow with the company of the engineer Alfred Delrée (Liège) that continued for many years just as he placed orders with foreign firms 15 .
Benefiting from its location required a favourable placement for import trade, a requirement that the high costs of transport in Madrid did not guarantee. Respectable size, cost-saving organisation and technology as well as meeting diversified demand were the cornerstones of Rivière's capacity. The figures speak for themselves: a new factory with an area of 6,000 m2, nine handlooms in 1887, powered by a locally manufactured 50 hp central unit steam engine, one hundred workers on the payroll, production worth 700,000 pesetas and sales of 22,500. Committed to upgrading with modern manufacturing processes, Francisco Rivière sought to consolidate its market share through product innovation (triple-twist mesh). Then he tested in London the possibilities a continuous machine of the manufacturer Gouchdard-Massey (Nottingham). The company's products included extra-strong cloths for large mining operations, endless cloths for the manufacture of continuous paper -reinforcing the metal/paper connexion-, springless bedsteads and double-twisted galvanised gratings. This underlines the diversification of its technological links and dependence on foreign countries 19 .
A very important matter, the management was of family style -Francisco Rivière and his son Ferdinand-, according to the owner-managed business model, aiming to save on the agency costs of ownership.
The momentous stage of the creation of the domestic market in the early 1870s required "years of hard personal work" and fierce fight by the young founder to "consolidate his business", diversifying production and complementing it with commercial import activities, particularly in the specialty of milling machinery 20 . In other words: Francisco Rivière e Hijos did not cease in its diversification strategy. Under the protection of an 1888 law, it applied for the temporary admission of wires of various metals for the manufacture of wire mesh, cables, springs and artificial hawthorn, among a variety of goods for export. The reasons for this were the uncompetitive price of the national product and the lack of certain products, despite having sufficient means of production. The price of domestic iron and steel wire exceeded by a wide margin that of foreign goods, a difference more severe in the annealed than in galvanised. Thicker wires (below number 13) produced domestically were cheaper. Dependence on imports of brass, copper and bronze wires added 41-64 % to the price for various reasons -exchange costs, customs duties, etc. -and made export impossible. If we look closely, the data show a smaller difference in galvanised wires with a fineness of up to fifteen tenths of one mm 21 .
The capacity-building phase was then over. By the time of the Universal Exhibition in Barcelona (1888), Rivière was at the forefront of a market whose consumption potential for wire cloth had increased a hundredfold since 1854, displacing firms doing business abroad. Before long, he was in contact with agents in Buenos Aires who were keen to penetrate the Latin American markets, undeterred by the end of the system of protection 22 .
The years 1887-1902 are considered by the family history as the second founding period, as they laid the foundations for further development from 1902 onwards, under the name of Francisco Rivière e Hijos. Reorganisation according to a completely different concept, a change of location, the construction of a new factory, diversification of production, consolidation of the domestic market and rapid technical transformation constituted the main ingredients of the new phase.
Diversification, integration and, very importantly, again contacts as an intermediary in the network of foreign houses aspiring to gain a foothold in the Spanish market. By curiosity, the five known cases of mediation from 1903 to 1914 were established in branches quite outside Rivière's speciality in return for commissions and discounts. From very early on, Rivière strove to set itself up as the exclusive manufacturer of certain products using both its own and third-party technology. In 1896, he bought six mechanical looms from Irmischer of Saalfeld (Germany) and, four years later, obtained a five-year patent for a wire crimping process 24 .
Technology was joined by human capital as well as corporate influence and social relations. The recruitment of qualified personnel, including foreign workers for wire mesh, enabled the project to be completed. Francisco Rivière strengthened his presence in the sector by joining the Fomento del Trabajo Nacional (FTN), the protectionist organisation par excellence, of which he was a member of the board of directors 25 .
At the end of the 1890s, successive marriages brought the Rivière family closer to dynasties representing two sectors of the country's industry, one of them -paper -vital because of its high demand for Rivière's speciality goods 26 .
The list of drivers was rounded out by product and market knowledge and personal relationships with customers, a little highlighted fact that encouraged the transfer of knowledge and skills for manufacturing improvement, an essential component of capacity building in a company 27 .
There was no lack of difficulties. The independence of the colonies meant a serious setback for exports to the West Indies and the Philippines, markets that Rivière then sought to recover and even expand.
The growth policy took a major leap forward when Rivière acquired the small wire factory that Trefilería Franco Española had in the Marina de Sants, one of the favourite areas for the indianas' meadows in the first Catalan industrialisation and a strategic point in the expansion of Barcelona 28 . Rivière transformed it into a modern establishment through a gradual renovation and expansion spanning the six years before the war: pickling and furnace buildings (1907)(1908), a dispatch warehouse (1911) Rivière gained a foothold in the wire and iron nails market and in the market for wire cloth, gratings and other traditional articles produced at the Sants and Sant Martí factories, respectively. In comparative terms, Francisco Rivière e Hijos paid in 1906 a total tax equivalent to 24.68% of that paid by MTM, while the percentages for Detouche and Olivella were 15.13 and 12.25%. Data show the superiority of Rivière's fixed assets compared with Metalúrgica Rosés, Rivière's rival and associate, which was less than 2.4 million pesetas. In the 1930s, the value of Rivière y Cía.'s land was 5.95 times that of Cía. Metalúrgica Rosés, buildings 3.43 times and machinery and plant 3.71 times. Finally, if we consider the installed power, we see the greater production capacity of Metalurgia Española (Table 1) 30 .
During the WWI and in the immediate post-war period, further extensions and technical improvements were carried out, including the construction of a room for multiple wire drawing machines in 1916, a building to install the new aiming and barbed wire machines the following year, and a new room on the first floor in 1919 31 .
The critical situation of the 1920s did not seem to interrupt the investments in the Sants factory 32 . In 1921, this plant, which occupied 8,773 m2 of ground, housed up to six buildings: a single-storey warehouse on the eastern side, two single-storey and two ground-floor buildings on the northern side, and the marksman's workshop. From 1921 to 1925, a pickling dryer, a first wire resistance testing machine, an electric testing furnace and two barbed wire machines increased the production capabilities and tools. Finally and very important, the capacity for innovation was reinforced with an R&D unit, the laboratory.
Archaeological sources, particularly plans, abound on the growth process. First of all, it is worth highlighting the search for rationality in the location close to water resources and communication routes -the Infanta canal, the MZA railway and the Can Tunis road. Thirteen years of transformations could be summarised as an enlargement of the land and buildings; a reorganisation of the old central body and a densification of built space 33 .
As for the equipment, Rivière offered an increase in technical resources, in production capacity according the energy indicator.

Invention and innovation at Rivière
The time has come to analyse the key point of the innovative industrial production system in its various steps and components.
As obvious as it may seem, a close link between the above-mentioned product innovation and the use of new types of machinery, own or imported, should be noted. From 1867 to 1919, Rivière registered 2 privileges (one for introduction and one for invention), 28 patents (22 for invention, 4 for introduction and 2 certificates of addition) and 10 trade marks (6 manufacturing and one trade name, 3 without a name). It began with a privilege of introduction for the mechanical manufacture of wire gratings, which was followed by a second one several years later for a continuous mechanical sawing system called "American". In 1884-1887, at the end of the construction capacities phase, invention patents followed for the already mentioned process for the manufacture of double and triple twisted wire mesh, for product invention -various versions of wire cloth -and for mechanisms -rollers for application to continuous paper machines. The protectionist tariff of 1891 encouraged the innovation as the company registered two processes for the manufacture of artificial hawthorn and woven wire clothes .
In the early years of the 20th century, invention patents involved innovation in equipment -manufacture of metal fabrics by means of special shuttles (1902), a system for joining fabrics (1903) and special loom for weaving with crimped wires (1904) -and in product -metal cables or cords (1903) and multi-twisted wire mesh (1915) . 34 Calvo ( We know that Rivière turned product differentiation and quality into a tool for conquering the market. He manufactured two main types of products -wire and nails -in separate factories within Barcelona, to which were added a wide range of goods. The Sants factory produced 876,554 kg composed by a third of pickling, 30 % wire, 22.47 % furnaces and 14.23 % galvanised goods . The unit cost structure varied within the same type of fabrics, depending on the quality. We are dealing with a capital-intensive industry with a very low labour share in costs between 2.8 and 5.9 % of the total. The comparison with other companies ratifies this characteristic as a feature of the sector, which, on the other hand, did not prevent attempts to achieve competitiveness through the reduction of workforce costs .
From the beginning of the 20th century, Rivière achieved something that the textile manufacturers, after many years of trying, were still far from achieving: to produce at prices competitive with those abroad. This is acknowledged in a 1901 document, which establishes a difference of 125.93 ptas./t on the prices set by Felton at any port in Spain.
In general, Rivière reached competitiveness with foreign products in a context of inadequate protection for this industry, as for all industrial manufacturing activities using iron and brass as raw materials .
The records in the family archive allow us to compare two relatively close moments of the two factories. Graph 1 shows the evolution of the production of galvanised wire at Sants in 1905 compared to the situation in 1900-1901. The absolute numbers show a decrease in the main items (zinc, fuel and wages), bringing the product to 69.18 pesetas, 35% less than in 1900-1901. The figures show a change in the composition of the cost price of the aforementioned product: slight increases in zinc, acid-salt and wages and a fall in fuel.
To evaluate Rivière's innovative performance and place it in front of the moreover conservative behaviour of the sector, a good indicator could be the speed at which electricity was adopted, a commodity which, due to its abundance and cheapness, would make a powerful contribution to the development of heavy and energy-intensive industries 39 .    Consider now the driving power costs in the struggle for competitiveness. Cost-cutting trials -substitutions of anthracite for a cheaper fuel (peas), and the latter for carboniteand mixtures of peas and anthracite at Sants-achieved important reductions, more pronounced in the anthracite-carbonite modality). In the end, anthracite, came to account for 34.12 % and peas for 65.88 % of the total fuel costs (Graph 2).
However, the fuel savings had not led to an overall reduction in the section, because of four hours of compulsory shutdown on the night shift. The company also sought to reduce labour costs through partial mobility in the workplace. It replaced the skilled&unskilled pattern (full-time driver assisted by a part-time auxiliary worker) with a combination of skilled&unskilled (driver and a helper) or by a change in the mode of work (daily driver and overtime plus sporadic reinforcement by labourers from other sections). causes a significant deviation from the weekly average indicated, with the two extremes ranging from 104.73 to 201.33 % of the basis. On the other hand, wages had no direct relationship with the hours of operation of the engine or the amount of energy consumed, an obvious feature of a fixed remuneration.  The share of wages in the cost of production has been described above. A careful reading of the data reveals a complex and varied wage system, depending on the qualification of the worker, the specific task or the job.
The small pickling section -between two and three men -displays weekly rates neither constant nor directly related to the production of the intermediate product -wire rod or "fermachine" -i.e. the rolled wire to be passed through the die to produce the tip (round steel). In weeks with a difference of 10,000 kg of production, the same amount is paid, which would eliminate a form of premium wages. The inequality seems to be the result of the amount of skilled labour employed on a scale where the journeyman's weekly wage (21 pesetas) almost double that of the assistant's (10,80 pesetas).
The wire section offers a more complex scheme in terms of working methods, gender, hierarchy and, of course, skills. Very importantly, here we see an organisational form of work team made up of seven employees (foreman, officer and five workers), a gender composition (three male and two female workers), a group remuneration system (101 pesetas a week) and a hierarchy (foreman -50 pesetas -, officer -45% of this figure -and the workers -57%). This scheme coexisted with piecework for a much higher amount than the previous ones. The figures showed an increase in the number of employees and a change in the composition, with the addition of a male and a female worker. A new feature is a clear gender discrimination, which is added to those by function and specialisation. Men received about a third of the manager's weekly wage and 66-80% of the journeyman's weekly wage, while women earned 60/66.6% of men's weekly wage 42 .
In the furnace section, two employees combined paid work with a weekly wage ranging from 22 to 16.80 pesetas and overtime. Wage stratification is also evident in carpentry and forging, where apprentices earned between a half and 41.4 % of journeymen. Finally, as a task that required less physical strength and greater dexterity packaging was carried out by women.
The company's predilection for some of the wage systems appears clearly in the wire section, where the manufacturing rate is based on piece work. Each worker is paid a fixed amount per ton produced according to the type and thickness of the wire. The measure stimulates productive capacity and establishes wage inequality. On the other hand, primitive price rates are reduced 43 .
The various tests resulted in an overall increase in productivity: the output/wage ratio in February-June in the wire section more than tripled.
An important component of the cost structure is the individual and group behaviour of employees in the workplace. In daily practice, the degree of compliance with factory discipline, which is governed by the rules and regulations, plays a significant role 44 . This discipline suffers particularly at times of conflict, as was the case during the three-month strike at the two factories 45 . At Sants, the direct presence of the boss could have generated paternalistic mediations combined with pressure measures and a dynamic that broke the strict discipline imposed by the regulations. This can be seen in three cases. In the first, a worker who complained against the management for non-payment of wages was accused of indiscipline and anarchist sympathies 46 . Another worker, of proven conduct, was accused of breach of trust. The work sheets of two other workers demonstrate the progress of discipline among the working class: neither was the practice of 'St. Monday' systematic, nor did the first day of work after the weekly rest always reduce production. Sometimes the opposite was even true. A wage slip from 1905 for a worker of unknown 42 At the Sant Martí factory, the proportion of women ranged from 21% (Rivière Manén, 1959, p. 50) to 40-50% (Fernández, 2004, p. 224). Women excelled as wire workers , pp. 182-183. In a very rare document (AAAB, Gobernación, Serie A, 1.115), not a single woman appeared on the list of 150 workers in the Esparó's pioneer workshop in 1834. In the first third of the 20th century, the number of women increased significantly in the metal industry of Barcelona, became a feminised city because of the destination of a massive female migratory flow from the last quarter of the 19th century: Borderías (2007) 44 Through factory discipline, employers wrested from workers control over the pace, hours and manner of work: Clark 1994, pp. 128-163. Work rules codify discipline regimes and contribute to a standardisation and improvement of product quality, quality control and in-plant worker training: Kapás (2012), p.7. 45 The strike was joined by Hispano-Suiza and other major centres. Some factories continued to work, protected by the public forces, as well as some small workshops whose bosses accepted the nine-hour working day: La Correspondencia de España, 16/10/1910. Work regulations also existed in other factories in the sector, among them the Sociedad Fábricas de Moreda y Gijón (1901). 46 He was charged with choosing his own shift, of being close friends with a "militant anarchist" and of being "talkative" and "a friend of partying". skill, occupation and destination and without any seniority in the factory shows that in 1912 the hourly wage of worker B fell by 28.36% compared to that of worker A and his weekly wage by 31.21%. It is important to underline that in the second case the predominant mode of work was piecework.
Evidence exists of a mixed wage system with a clear predominance of piecework over daily wages (8.08% of total wages for 10% of hours worked on a daily basis; 91.92% of wages for 69.97% of hours worked on a piecework basis). Despite the overall preponderance of piecework, piece-rate hours prevailed for five weeks. The average hourly wage per piece-rate hour was 78.9 % of the piece-rate hourly wage 47 .
Another individual dispute -an accident at work claim -exposes the rigid control exercised by management, which had ready access to the complainant's file. In addition to revealing tensions, it provides information on the type of contract, the daily production -2,000 kg -, the type of work -piecework -, the annual wage and discipline. The allusion to the form of entry into the factory by recommendation is linked to a tendency to recruit from among the factory's own employees, undoubtedly in search of discipline 48 .
This leads us to explore central aspects of company organisation from a historical perspective. Control, discipline and wage systems lead to the study of the systems of work organisation, an issue about which the sector as a whole displayed serious shortcomings 49 . One of the most significant systems, that preconceived by Fred W. Taylor, sought to increase productivity through analysis to eliminate unnecessary motions and the stopwatch. This system was applied or adapted at least at the Sants factory. In 1905-1906, the production process at this factory was subjected to a series of studies. By means of control mechanisms -production sheets, engine records, individual records for a selected operator, individual production records for several workshops, estimates on orders from outside the factory -the factory's general estimates were drawn up, which made it possible to establish sales prices. The second element on which our presumption is based concerns the existence of factory regulations. The first of its sections laid down the rules relating to the entire workforce: the obligation to work, determination of the exact time of entry to the factory and penalties for lateness, prohibition of physical mobility at the workstation, care of the working tools and the installations in general, behaviour in the event of an accident, allocation of a place for lunch (the courtyard in summer and the premises where the ovens are installed in winter or on bad days), provision for the supply of drinking water and punishment for the spread of discouragement among the staff by dismissal. In addition to general rules, the regulations governing the work of the wire- drawers contained precise indications on the manufacturing process: the task was set by the foreman or by a set of boards; the worker was obliged to complete the entire job within the specified time, which presupposed a wage proportional to the amount of work and the possibility of witnessing the weighing of the pieces carried out by the foreman. Moreover, the completion of the work was not dependent on the professional experience of the worker, but on a manufacturing procedure (number of passes, number of numbers per pass, number of bindings) and, ultimately, to the type of product 50 .
It seems most probable the existence of a hierarchy and a precise distribution of functions and that agencies or individuals were entrusted with specific tasks 51 . One more consideration could be added: the setting of the task presupposes prior time-keeping and careful control of the task by the foreman. In short, one of the foundations of Taylorism lies in the establishment of the way production is carried out, which has appropriated the professional knowledge of the worker, reducing him to a mere performer, and transferred control of the work process to the company. Taylorist practices made it possible to go deeper into the wage system. Trials carried out in 1905 with six workers reduced wages by an average of 30.65 %, 17.81 % and 13.14 % for three different types of wire.

Corporate innovation, human capital and competitiveness
The analysis of internal organisation leads us to consider briefly the facet of the market and the forms that shape it, in particular cartels, constructions of trust in the expression of Jeffrey Fear. Such insights confirm the close link between the rise of cartels and tariff protection 52 . As it happens in general, one of their essential aspects is the scope of operation: they confine themselves to the market and not to production. Specifically, they stand out in terms of their extreme specialisation: they do not usually cover an entire sector, but focus on one or more products. A significant example can be found in the wiredrawing and nails sector, where F. Rivière e Hijos was a leading player.
We must anticipate that, in the period between the end of the 19th century and the WWI, production costs in the wire drawing sub-sector were rising and competition was intensifying 53 . A twofold trend then ensued. On the one hand, under protection the manufacturers with the best resources and management capacity followed a dual strategy of agreements first regional and then national and growth by mergers and acquisition of 50 AHR, Documents, Wire Drawing and iron nails, 1897-1908. 51 The documents indicate the contribution of a foreign technician or a member of the Rivière family. 52 Freedeman (1988), p. 462. Schröter (2013) defines cartels as "arrangements between independent organisations of the same industry that, by directing competition, aim to influence the conditions of their own business and/or market environments to their advantage". Theory cannot tell, a priori, which effect will dominate; cartels success is thus an empirical question: Levenstein and Suslow (2006) companies unable to withstand the widespread crisis, albeit with unequal effects 54 . This was the case of the undertakings with the largest size and negotiating capacity in the north and east of the Peninsula, respectively, with the Cantabrian company Quijano and Rivière at the forefront, determined to forge survival agreements on quantities, products and regional market reserves.
Quijano achieved bilateral interregional agreements with the Catalan Rosés some years after the 1891 tariff. Rivière, related to the Torras paper family, and the Navarrese M. J. Perot sealed another similar agreement for 1898-1902 to share the market for wire cloth used in the paper industry 55 . In 1896, Alambres de Cadagua conceived a dual shareholding and market operation to integrate Rivière as a partner and to cede to it territories in the east of the domestic market, namely Catalonia and the Mediterranean coast. In addition, it systematically used exhibitions to launch his products 56 .
Private agreements of this sort and the persistence of difficulties on both the demand and supply sides encouraged corporate collusion in the sector.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Rivière, although well established, maintained a subordinate position on the national market. It was therefore interested in joining forces with manufacturers of a similar category, at least selectively for certain articles, to compete with larger competitors and to gain a foothold.
Known the agreement on prices of triple twisted gratings between Rivière and Marull, one of the minor firms, we address the making of and contents 57 . The first contacts date back to the creation of the internal market and did not leave good memories. Both industrialists traded with foreign metal gratings. Later, around 1896, when Marull became a producer of triple-twisted gratings, Rivière proposed him a partnership to exploit more intensively a recently obtained patent. In view of the counterpart's refusal, Rivière proposed to his contender the subcontracting of multiple-twist wire mesh, which Rivière would sell on the same terms as the manufacturer 58 .
Marull soon took the initiative and asked Rivière for authorisation to use the patent for crimping wires under the threat of manufacturing the product without permission, as he had already started to do on the pretext of his greater experience in the field. The incident postponed until 1905 an understanding between the two companies, whose reasons and basis we know. In substance, it aimed at putting an end to the persisting fall in prices, 54 Moreda Gijón, for instance, stopped a section because of repairs and problems in importing some products. which was the result of rivalry and the organisation of the trading system. It also responded to the need to ensure profits in a context of "major capital" investment in machinery and the risk of premature obsolescence of equipment. Finally, the elimination of unfair competition and the acceptance of the services of personnel -buyers and sales agents -previously linked to the opposing company added strong reasons for the pact. The agreements included the unification of price rates, rebates and discounts on galvanised twist-lock gratings, as well as a minimum price for the other common items. The establishment of a three-year term followed, with the possibility of renewal or termination and the establishment of operating rules and mechanisms in the event of conflict (warning, recourse to mediators, appeal to a third party in disagreement and penalties for minor and serious infringements) 59 .
The preliminary agreement opened the door to broader understandings between the two partners and to possible modifications. Special discounts for resale traders soon followed, and subsequently a discriminatory practice was adopted that favoured demanding customers (raising discounts by 0.5%) and penalised resale traders. In an attempt to mitigate the different categories of customers in the same market, it was intended to classify the market places into three categories and to assign each category a fixed discount in descending order, with the single exception of an additional 4 % premium for a partner -P. Turró 60 .
From the end of 1908, discord interrupted the smooth running. Marull reproached Rivière for breaking the agreement on two counts -rebates and former staff. Thus, the denunciation of the imminent termination of the first extension of the agreement meant complete freedom to sell gratings. For their part, Rivière strove to continue the agreement, not without being wary of possible infringements by their partner in order to prepare the ground. The renewal of the pact in 1910 led to disagreements over the non-respect of the agreed discounts, although Marull openly recognised Rivière's competence and gave him a vote of confidence. In the end, Marull's growing subordination to Rivière and the emergence of a new organisation in the sector put a damper on the agreement 61 .
At regional level, manufacturers from the north of Spain -Cantabrians, Asturians and Basques-went ahead with the Sindicato de Puntas y Alambres, It is common knowledge that, in Catalonia, bilateral drawing and aiming agreements preceded broader understandings and allowed the survival and maintenance of independence in times of rapidly changing market conditions. In UnionFAyPP) 62 . This was a real cartel, the axis of a concerted effort at local level "to put forward a common front to the northern Sindicato de Puntas y Alambres 63 . The six-year body gave itself powers over prices, arrangements and other conditions. It could set binding price rates and conditions of sale, negotiate agreements with other groups or related entities and set market shares. The agreement gave the members the freedom to determine the volume of production without exceeding the allocated share of sales, with the exclusion of special and standard wires used as intermediate products. Rivière branded the terms of the contract as unfair because he got a share below his possibilities while Rosés reserved an excessive amount of wire. As a sign of understanding, Rivière agreed to cede 25 tonnes of its production to Rosés so that it could cover its quota. Marull, for its part, objected to the market share allocated to it. The disagreements may have been more wide-ranging. When the time came to renew the UnionFAyPP agreement in 1912, the advanced stage of the negotiations to form a national cartel generated a contradictory dynamic of new reasons for friction and encouragement for continuity vis-à-vis potential competitors.
In fact, the creation of the UnionFAyPP paved the way for broader agreements. In October 1908, it concluded a five-year agreement with the Central de Fabricantes de Alambres y Puntashereinafter Central-the successor to the Sindicato on agreed price rates, discounts and common conditions. An executive committee with the presence of all the members was to look after common matters concerning sales, settlements and agreements with manufacturers in other regions. The two societies committed themselves to limit their total sales to the quota allocated for each product: 40 % to the UnionFAyPP for wire, and 60 % to the Central. The two bodies had to report their sales and their Ángel Calvo https://doi.org/10.1344/rhiihr.38531 members undertook, subject to a fine of 50,000 pesetas, not to compete in any way outside the company.
Contacts with manufacturers outside Catalonia certainly existed before 1905, when agreements on fixing discounts were in force with Quijano, who moreover favoured adopting Rivière's prices 64 . The forging of durable understandings met with resistance, which some disliked 65 . Shortly afterwards, another manufacturer advocated agreeing a common price for wire cloth and screens. Averly from Zaragoza, a manufacturer of wire cloth and sieves, proposed Rivière's arbitration in the formation of a basis for agreement, mainly on three articles (screens, ordinary cloth and light brass cloth).
Faced with such requests, Rivière possibly consulted with local manufacturers, especially his associate Marull, who was willing to try out a new hawthorn price for six months, applicable to provinces with less penetration of goods from northern Spain. As the negotiations progressed, Rivière tried to measure its real strength, calculated at 51 % in wire cloth, compared with 21 % for Marull, 9,5 % for Averly and 4,25 % for Cebolla 66 .
A nationwide organisation did not take shape until 1913. The recrudescence of competition and specific difficulties encouraged a climate of understanding beyond bilateral agreements. Faced with the announcement of the repeal of the law protecting national industry, the Catalan metalworkers mobilised under the leadership of the FTN. As a result, the First National Congress of Metallurgical Industries (1913) laid the foundations for an industrial organisation of employers in Spain as a whole. It was called the Sindicato Nacional Metalúrgico (SNM) and brought together the two large existing organisations. The Catalan Unión was given the majority share in nails (59 %), a position which was reserved for the Central del Norte de España in wires with a smaller quota (54 %). Once again, the association certified that it was free to fix the volume of production and subject to the quotas agreed for the national market 67 . 64 AHR, Correspondence Quijano-Rivière, 12/12/1905. 65 Quijano reacted with indignation against the unserious intelligences and without all kinds of guarantees "generally detrimental to those who in good faith respect their commitments". 66 Fernández and Sancho (2007) The action proved to be conflictual once again for several reasons. The first concerned the orientations given in two branches -wires and nails -and involved relations between a company -Rivière -and an association -the Syndicate. The second stemmed from Rosés' entry into the manufacture of gratings and was resolved in 1914 when the latter ceded to Rivière 6.2 and 2 % of its shareholdings in wire and wire rod respectively. They also agreed on common price rates, rebates and discounts, but only for a very short time.
A major external event, the WWI, undoubtedly had an impact on the trajectory of the organisations. The aforementioned pact between Rivière and Rosés was first partially annulled in November 1914 and then completely a few months later. Marull withdrew from the UnionFAyPP, complaining about the unfavourable treatment he had received. The remaining members were ready to compete with the dissident house in their speciality products, i.e. gratings.
The new distribution of the market reveals significant changes in the correlation of forces, including an increase in Rivière's share in wire and a decline in iron nails, while Rosés strengthened its share in nails and TyPC in wire (Table 2). There is no news of the functioning of the aforementioned organisations, a probable symptom of the disruption of WWI.
After the conflict, with the aforementioned intensification of international competition, the need for cartels and associations regained momentum in the international arena. In 1920, the Union Professionnelle des Fabricants de Toiles Métalliques sans Fin, committed to competitiveness through cost price reduction, invited Rivière to join this Anglo-French association aimed at fixing prices for stationery wire cloth 68 . The attitude taken by the manufacturer remains unknown.
In October 1925, seven companies from the northern and Catalan blocks, represented by Quijano and Rivière, formed the national cartel Sociedad Anónima de Trefilería y Derivados in San Sebastián. This agreement influenced the long-lasting process of substitution of imports of wire and derivatives and together with the major cartels in Spain meant that the companies involved firmly established their position in the Spanish market. This partly explains leading role they played in the major development of wire drawing and derivatives during the Francoist dictatorship 69 .
In an overall assessment, it could be stated that, despite the strength of the cases studied, there was no strong development of cartels in Catalonia. Reasons such as those adduced by D. S. Landes for the countries with low expansion of cartels, among which he included Villars (1893) France 70 , would be valid here: the predominance of light industry over heavy industry and the great weight of family businesses, which would imply a tendency towards entrepreneurial independence. On the other hand, insofar as the ententes constituted an effective antidote to organised workers' resistance, the political apparatus of the political regime of the Restoration was able to make recourse to such entities unnecessary.

Conclusions
This research aims to contribute to business history in general by exploring the success factors of a medium-sized firm and the mechanisms of oligopoly formation in non-core capital intensive sub-sector within the leading metallurgy industry in Spain -specialised metallurgy-previously addressed by historiography, first in the 1980s 71 and later since the end of the 20th century 72 . From the methodological point of view, the study has been based on unique primary sources with an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective, together with a comprehensive study plan, covering technological -both in equipment and energy-and organisational innovation.
From a new perspective and with renewed arguments it the research assumes the role of institutional frame and technological change together with the advantages of Barcelona's location and its dual status as an industrial and seaport city. As a whole, the sub-sector benefited from common institutions in the form of protective measures, although not all shared the same bodies (Junta de Comercio) and not all companies managed to survive.
Specialised metallurgy clearly contributed to the diversification of the productive fabric, a process, which in the post-war period of the WWI placed Barcelona's iron and steel industry as a whole in second place among the city's industries, at a distance from textiles and ahead of chemicals. The years 1900-1930 correspond to the period of consolidation of a real industrial structure.
The study has described and analysed a case of success: the formation and trajectory of an import-substitution industry, albeit heavily dependent on the outside world in the context of Barcelona's urban and industrial expansion. However, the research shows that the sub-sector of wire drawing and nails constitutes a niche industry for French entrepreneurs/technicians, a differentiating feature with respect to the experience of other southern European countries.
New personal (manufacturers and even workers) or institutional players have emerged, as well as unknown business situations and relationships. In the non-physical transfer of technology, the modality of forward transfer of knowledge from the headquarters to the 70 More recent research reveals a degree of cartelisation in the French economy since the end of the 19th century very high, although lower than in Germany and Austria: Fear (2008);Freedeman (1988), pp. 462-78;Fridenson (1997). Freedeman (1988, p. 462) attributes the growth of cartels to tariff protection. 71 Author (1985). 72 Sancho (1997) and (2000) subsidiary stands out in the sub-sector as a whole. The struggle for competitiveness is centred on lowering costs by various means. Alongside the use of foreign technology, indigenous inventions appear in the innovation process.
The reduction of wage costs appears as a primary concern, using control practices of domestication of the workforce (labour rules and regulations), systems to increase productivity (Taylorism, of great interest because of its relatively early character and its application in a medium-sized company), relevant working methods, such as team, piecework and discriminatory practices based on gender and age. Finally, cost reduction is also embodied in a number of bilateral, regional or national business collusion realisations.
New technologies from diverse origins and forms of organisation were available to all firms but not all took equal advantage of them. The instruments of oligopoly formation were also available to most but not all took advantage of them and some succumbed and were absorbed by the most capable, which at the beginning were not necessarily the largest. The extensive use of invention + innovation and the assumption and exercise of leadership brought the keys to success. In the end, no doubt what makes Rivière an exceptional case is the conjunction of all these elements.