The Burnays and glass: a monopoly that never was

Abstract

At the turn of the twentieth century, Burnay, the largest Portuguese financier of that period, involved himself in another industrial restructuring operation. This time, he focused his attention on the glass industry. Working with his partners, he set himself the objective of transforming it into a monopoly, with the guarantee of making large profits. The methods he used were: the financial power of his business empire; technological advances; and the introduction of new management methods. He bought some factories and firms, and closed others. He used the concept of co-operation in the management of his firm. He introduced new technologies and invested - always a lot, perhaps too much! Nevertheless, he did not succeed in transforming the industry into a monopoly. Furthermore, at the end of twenty years his successors gave up, defeated by the misfortune of war. The article examines how, and why, this happened.