Area 6. From autarchy to the expansion of the industry

The first few decades after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the policy of autarchy and the consequences of the war led the country to the brink of economic collapse. There were enormous difficulties importing raw materials, machinery and spare parts. This fostered the growth of business initiatives to make up for the shortages. The Guild of Machine Builders for Knit Fabrics was founded in 1945, along with a generation of entrepreneurial engineers, turners, millers, draughtsmen and solderers, who met the country’s needs during the autarchy. The rise of textile machinery manufacturing workshops dovetailed with a heavy demand in the sector to modernise the manufacturing equipment. The quality of the machines built in Mataró is recognised worldwide, and they were exported to the United States, Great Britain, France and Japan.