La Compañía General de Fósforos y los orígenes de la industria hilandera de algodón en Argentina, 1920-1935

Abstract

This article studies the origins of the cotton spinning industry as illustrated by the case of the Companía General de Fosforos. This company, founded in 1889, underwent in the 1920’s a new process of diversification and vertical integration by installing a cotton spinning mill in Bernal, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Although it was initially planned that the Bernal mill would only replace imported cotton fabric used in the production of matches, it was soon producing also for the internal market. This redefinition of production targets became possible when managers and technicians of the company succeeded in solving important problems related to the supply and regular quality of raw materials and training of labour. In addition, this paper analyzes the company’s strategies and their results in the context of the economic situation prevailing during the years of the first post-war period, especially the low customs protection. Also, this article sets out to contribute new empirical evidence on the problems faced by industrial implantation.