The legacy carried by the BSE of Peloponnese and Western Greece is heavy. It is offered as a case study of the route followed by industrialists in Achaia about a century ago. There may not have been capital controls in those years, but it was very difficult for those who decided to go over to the employer side.
Restless spirits, the first Achaean industrialists moved early on to organize themselves into trade unions and claim an interventionist role in the decisions that were taken at a central level for the economic life of the place.
The globalized market
Through the pages of the insert “Choices” we find that the industrialists of Achaia always had their eyes turned towards the West. Long before we discovered the concept of the globalized market, electronic transactions, social networking media, etc., the pioneer industrialists of our region had diagnosed the benefits that would arise for their companies from collaborations with businessmen abroad. . They say history teaches. Maybe he
to be a way to fill the void caused by the crisis and consequently the reduction in the purchasing power of the domestic consumer…
The BSE of Peloponnese and Western Greece today represents the industry and with a pilot from the past wants to build a better future for its members. Looking at the regional and national level to be one of the main poles of the productive reconstruction of the country in the future, with the creation of high quality products.
In order for our country to move into the future, national consensus is required and we must move forward without ideologies. We want an internationally competitive economy that develops based on production, investments and exports, not consumption and imports. An economy that does not demonize profit, but rewards healthy entrepreneurship, extrovert and able to attract investment. Greece can become the land of opportunities for entrepreneurship. Its creative people can have a good future and our young people can have the opportunities they deserve by supporting young entrepreneurship and start-ups.
The State must pay its debt. It must, with rapid pace and substantial interventions, implement all those reforms that will open the markets to competition and creative business activity and, even more, those reforms that will limit the state and its mechanisms, which continue to create deficits, drive away investments, absorb liquidity and funds, stifle growth and suffocate the Market, maintaining unemployment.
The position of the Association and all Industrial Associations is crystal clear: the Greek economy must regain its competitiveness within Europe and within the EURO. We cannot and will not succeed in becoming a truly competitive, extroverted and innovative economy if we exclude ourselves from the single European economic area.
The establishment of the BSE
The beginning for the establishment of the Association of Industrialists of Patras took place on March 15, 1918. Fourteen native industrialists gathered in the hall of the “Hermis” Trade Association and decided to form a committee to create an “Association of Industrialists in Patras to protect not only their own interests, but also those of those working alongside them, in favor of which those gathered during the discussion very commendably showed the greatest interest”.
The industrialists who participated in the meeting were: Charalambos Triantis, Demosth. Alexopoulos, Asst. Anastasopoulos, Con. Prapopoulos, Panag. Samaras, Sp. Karamalis, Vas. Iliopoulos, Vas. Tassopoulos, Athan. Spiliotopoulos, Petros Kambotsaris, Antonios Karabelas, Polych. Spiliotis, Const. Gyftopoulos and Th. Anagnostopoulos.
The first president
Har. was elected the first president of the Association. Triantis, at the general assembly of June 10, 1918. He received 26 votes (out of a total of 30 voters). For the election of councillors, they received: K. Prapopoulos 27 votes, D. Alexopoulos 25 votes, P. Mamos 20 votes, I. Mikroutsikos 19, K. Alexopoulos 18 and A. Anastasopoulos 15.
An important milestone for the Association of Industrialists in Patras (later Association of Industries of Peloponnese and Western Greece) is the statutory assembly of June 26, 1931 and the creation of a more complete register.
Industry in Patras
The Industry of Patras, like the rest of Greece, was light. It mainly concerned the processing of agricultural products of the primary sector. Thus, until 1875-1880, the main branches of industry were winemaking, textile industry, and flour industry.
The relationship of these industrial branches to the most developed sectors of our rural economy is obvious. Especially for Patras, the wine industry had a great development. It is typical in 1882 at the exhibition of Abelo’s products in Bordeaux, France, the Asimakopoulos Industrial House was awarded the Silver Prize. But raisin production also had
resulting in the operation of eight raisin refineries. For the same period, and specifically for 1883, the establishment and operation of the metallurgical factory of the Moudakis brothers is mentioned, as well as the steam-powered weaving mill of Antonis Giannakopoulos. In 1893 the brothers George and Konstantinos Prapopoulos founded the first in Patras,
metal products factory. It mainly produces sprinklers, galvanized containers, cookware, nail needles,
barbed wire etc. Yes, yes. the sprinklers were awarded at the Paris World’s Fair in 1900, with the silver prize. It should also be emphasized that the mechanical installation of the company consisted of a machine shop, a galvanizing shop, a foundry, a blacksmith shop and was comparable to the corresponding European ones.
The first steps
In 1890, Anastasios Anastasopoulos founded a textile shop and two years later put the first knitting machine into operation. The house of Anastasopoulos was honored with the gold medal at the Industrial Exhibition of Patras in 1898, the silver medal at the International Exhibition of Athens in 1903 and a diploma of honor at the International Exhibition of Bordeaux in 1904.
As it was said before, the operation of the industry in Patras since 1893 and due to the general economic, but also the specific raisin crisis, fell to very low levels. According to V. Lazaris, the only exception to the rudimentary operation of the factories of Patras were the flour mills, the carpentry and the two textile mills of the city. This of course happened until the crisis was overcome. From 1904 onwards, the situation slowly returns to pre-crisis levels.
In July 1908, Petros Mamos, with the help of Hamburger House, founded the “Patraiki Brewery and Ice Cream Factory”. Its facilities, of brewhouses, aerators, fermentation and graining warehouses, are among the most modern.
The factory
According to Nikos Sarafopoulos, the milestones in the development of industry in Patras are 1910 and 1925. Thus we find in 1920, the industry in the wider area of the city was quite developed, numbering 113 factories. An important place in the industrial development is occupied by the textile industry, reinforced in raw materials by the new cotton crops and the industry of woolen knitwear and fabrics. However, a central place in the industry in 1920 was occupied by the branch of wine-distillery. Specifically, the Prefecture of Achaia and Ilia is home to 30% of the value of the industry’s facilities in the country and 40% of all products are produced.
In 1920 there were five machine shops in Patras with a total power of 85 HP, two kernel oil mills producing a total of 1,065,000 kg of olive oil and 12 woodworks with a total power of 560 HP.
In the wider area of Patras, there are 42 large industrial units (over 25 workers) which employ 8,054 workers. Finally, 37% of factories are powered by steam and 44% by gaslight.
According to Alekos Maraslis, in 1928 the number of factories in Patras reached 80, while they employed 1,200 men and 1,600 women workers at the same time. These numbers do not include the raisin factories and the electric lighting factory. Two tobacco factories also operate at the same time. One is Laina and Skurta’s “SPECIAL” with a production of 400,000 boxes per month and the other is the tobacco factory of Michalopoulos with about half the production of the first.
- From “P”‘s “Choices” on October 10, 2015
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How did the establishment of the Business Association of Peloponnese and Western Greece (BSE) in 1918 influence industrial development in the region?
The Legacy of the BSE of Peloponnese and Western Greece: A Century of Industrial Development
The Peloponnese region in Greece is not only renowned for its natural beauty, rich history, and cultural heritage [1[1[1[1], but also for its significant industrial past [2[2[2[2]. The Business Association of Peloponnese and Western Greece (BSE) has been a cornerstone of the region’s industrial development for over a century, playing a vital role in shaping the local economy and promoting entrepreneurship.
The Early Years of Industrialization
In the early 20th century, a group of visionary industrialists from Achaia recognized the importance of organizing themselves to protect their interests and promote the region’s economic growth. On March 15, 1918, they established the Association of Industrialists of Patras, which would later
