 Brewer/bottler #3079 | | | Name | Cervezas de Santander, SA |
| | | City | Santander/Valladolid |
| | | | | | | Extra info | In 1867 in the the city of Santander a brewery company of Swiss origin was founded by Mattossi, Franconi & Co., the company was the owner of all that had Swiss Cafes in Spain. The company was named La Cruz Blanca.
In 1917, Cervezas de Santander, SA was established by the merger of La Austríaca and La Cruz Blanca. The company built new factories in Madrid in 1956 , in Cadiz in 1961 and in Breda, Girona in 1964. The Valladolid factory was closed in 1966 and the Santander factory in 1979.
Beer production in Santander dates back to 1783. In that year the merchant D. Andrés de Zuloaga sent a person of his confidence to England in order to learn the trade of beer and set up in Santander an industry "not known in Spain with The due perfection. " In 1797 he began brewing at a factory in Becedo that will export part of his production to America.
In 1786 D. Antonio del Campo, owner, also installed a beer factory in Cañadío. Its production was exported in barrels to the new world. For the production were used French and Monzón de Campos barley (Palencia) and hops produced in Cantabria itself. The production of beers was very important in Santander and was often used for export.
In 1878 a Swiss, D. Enrique Meng, created La Cruz Blanca as a partnership with a local partner in Liérganes. In 1912 they will buy from Matossi their factory in Valladolid de Cervezas San Juan. In 1917 La Cruz Blanca merged with the "Austriaca", created in 1897 in Santander. Since 1920 the name of the company will be Cervezas de Santander SA.
In 1922 they bought the "Gaditana" Andalusian company, founded by Carlos Maier. The expansion continues to buy in 1924 a factory in Trobajos del Camino (León) that produced the "Leonesa" brand and built a new factory in Vigo. In 1930 the factory of "El Gallo" of Salamanca was bought. In 1932 they entered Madrid with the purchase of Santa Bárbara, manufacturer of "El Ciervo". In 1936 they buy "Gambrinus" in Valladolid, transforming their facilities into a malt which will replace the one they had in the Castilian city, destroyed by a fire.
The Santander group had a presence throughout Spain and in the post-war consolidated their position. In 1962 they acquired the "Santiponce" factory in Seville. In 1964, after a pact with an English company, a factory is built in Breda (Girona) to manufacture the brand "Skol". Brand that was also manufactured in Madrid. In 1966 they introduced in Spain can of barrel and beer can. In 1967 they created the brand "Breda". The company produced the new brands Breda and Miss Black in its factory in Girona and Skol in its factories in Girona and Madrid.
In 1976 the company bought the Cervecera del Norte, manufacturer of the brand "Oro" in Bilbao and "Trinkal" in Valencia. They will bought the factory of Franquelo in Malaga, manufacturer of "Beer Victory". The company was renamed Unión Cervecera SA.
The purchase of 60% of the shares of the Union Brewery by Carlsbert in 1985 was the beginning of its end. The factories closed. In 1991 the party goes to Cruzcampo. By then only the factories of Bilbao, Valencia and Malaga remain active. In 1996 the company happened to be controlled by Guinness, disappearing Union Cervecera.
Since 1964 the Skol brand has been strengthened on the brand Cruz Blanca, which was relegated to its local markets (Santander, Cadiz, Valladolid ...) Finally the brand Cruz Blanca disappears in 1982 and the Skol brand will be reduced to a small Production in Barcelona for export. The brand belongs to the multinational Carlsbert.
Dates of purchase or creation of factories and date of Closing.
San Juan (Valladolid) founded in 1905, closed in 1979. It was promoted by the Matossi, Francoci and Cia and in 1912 was bought by La Cruz Blanca. These entrepreneurs, of Swiss origin, were also shareholders of the company santanderina.
Gambrinus (Valladolid), founded in 1881, transformed into maltery in 1940 and closed in 1982.
La Gaditana (Cádiz), founded in 1815, closed in 1989.
La Leonesa (Trobajos del Camino), founded in 1890, closed in 1949.
La Salmantina (Salamanca), founded in 1900, closed in 1961.
Vigo, inaugurated in 1924, closed in 1989.
Santa Bárbara (Madrid), founded in 1815, closed in 1990.
Santiponce (Seville), founded in 1940, closed in 1980.
Breda (Girona), founded in 1964, classified in 1982.
Franquelo (Málaga) founded in 1930, is currently produced by Estrella Levante (Murcia).
Santander, founded in 1878 and closed in 1979. |
| | | | | | | Other names used for this Brewer/bottler | | Name 1 | Unión Cervecera, SA. |
| | Extra info | Madrid. Use for all post-1976 Skol crowns. |
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