José María Quijano Fernández-Hontoria

José María Quijano Fernández-Hontoria (1843 to 1911) was a Spanish lawyer and businessman from Los Corrales de Buelna in Cantabria, best remembered as the founder of Forjas de Buelna, an ironworks that grew into one of northern Spain's notable metal manufacturers. He studied law at the University of Valladolid, graduating in 1866, and practised in Torrelavega before turning to industry. After seeing nail-making machinery at the 1873 Universal Exposition in Paris with the mining engineer Benigno Arce, he installed four machines in a family mill, and the works began operating on 14 October 1874, at first supplying hardware shops in Santander. In 1883 he added a wire-rolling train and a wire-drawing shop, reducing reliance on imported raw material, and in 1899 he founded Altos Hornos de Nueva Montaña in Santander and served as its first president. He also created a workers' cooperative with a pension fund in 1892 and promoted cheap housing for employees. After his death in 1911 his heirs formed Sociedad Anónima José María Quijano, which merged with Nueva Montaña in 1948.