Meinfesa
| Industry | Railway |
|---|---|
| Genre | Heavy engineering, metal, transportation |
| Fate | Absorbed into Alstom, then Vossloh, then Stadler |
| Predecessor | Construcciones Devis and Sociedad Material para Ferrocarriles y Construcciones S.A. |
| Successor |
|
| Founded | 1989 as "Material y Construcciones S.A. (MACOSA)" |
| Defunct | 2005 (acquired by "Vossloh España") |
| Headquarters | Spain |
|
Number of locations
|
Valencia, Barcelona, Alcázar de San Juan |
| Products | Rolling stock including locomotives, bogies |
| Services | Rebuilding |
Material y Construcciones S.A. or MACOSA was a Spanish heavy-engineering company, mainly producing products for the railway industry. From 1989 onwards the organisation was named Meinfesa and became part of the GEC-Alstom group of companies, until 2005 when it became part of the Vossloh group as Vosloh España, later renamed Vossloh Rail Vehicles. The plant was sold to Stadler in 2015.
The Company Material y Construcciones S.A. (or MACOSA) was founded in 1947 by the merger of the Valencian company Construcciones Devis (founded by Talleres Devis in 1879) and the Sociedad Material para Ferrocarriles y Construcciones S.A. of Barcelona; this coincided with the beginning of the industrialisation of Spain.
Initially the organisation was not entirely rail orientated, producing buses, trolleys and other road based transportation systems. In the years following its formation the company expanded, with the Valencia plant gaining a 50,000m2 extension becoming one of the major producers of rolling stock in Spain. By 1952 the new company had produced 48 Type 2400 locomotives as well as two for Portugal.
The only narrow gauge locomotives constructed by MACOSA was the type 130 for the railroad of Ponferrada to Villablino in 1951 and 1956 (PV numbers 13 to 16), which were based on a type made in 1914 by Krauss-Maffeu for the Basque Railroads. (See Engerth locomotive for more information)
In the 1950s the larger Barcelona plant concentrated on casting and forming steel as well as repair of cars, buses, coaches etc. The Valencia plant produced steam boilers, as well as constructing and repairing steam and electric locomotives and other rolling stock. The valencia plant also produced other heavy engineering products such as cranes, metal parts for dams. There was also a smaller factory at Alcázar de San Juan producing and maintaining wagons.
MACOSA made the last steam locomotive for RENFE, a 2-8-2 'Mikado' with locomotive number 141-2328 produced in 1958.
Another expansion coincided with the countries' 'stabilisation plan' of 1959, and thus the company formed part of the rapid economic growth of Spain in the 1960s, triggered by the industrialised economy reaching critical mass. (See Spanish economic miracle)
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Wikipedia