Inoxcrom, the historic Catalan company of ballpoint pens and fountain pens, represents a paradoxical case in cooperative succession. Inoxcrom was born in Barcelona in the 1950s and became one of the leading European brands. It exported to dozens of countries and was one of the big names in Catalan manufacturing. In the early 2000s, it was among the sector's leading international brands until the death of its founder.From then on, the company went bankrupt after changes in ownership (two in just two months) and hundreds of workers lost their jobs. Poor management led to the ruin of a brand that its former workers wanted to rescue by forming a cooperative. After managing to get one of the former owners to cede the brand to them, the story did not have a happy ending because in the litigation the judge granted the production unit to an external investor.Despite losing the machinery and a large part of the assets, the former workers did not give up. They relaunched the brand, designed new collections, and rebuilt the commercial portfolio practically from scratch. Furthermore, they applied the principles of intercooperation by working with other Catalan cooperatives for tasks such as product packaging.After all, the cooperative managed to ensure that a historic name in Catalan industry did not completely disappear.
When workers save the company
The cooperative relief, by definition, maintains jobs and preserves the economic activity of a company faced with the danger of disappearance due to the retirement of the old ownership, closure, financial problems, or the will to adopt a more collective management. In Catalonia, there are success stories where workers have not only managed to save the company but also consolidate it.
During the eighties, cooperative succession was common practice to save companies in times of crisis. The often risky endeavor favored the continuation of the economic fabric. Not all of them survived, of course, but the workers' struggle mobilized the staff to become cooperatives, save jobs, and change the rules of the economy.
One of the great survivors of that era, which is still active today, is the cooperative Mol-Matric, founded in 1982. Specializing in the design and manufacturing of dies, it primarily carries out its activity for the automotive, railway, and other high-tech value industries.
"Mol-Matric is synonymous with overcoming, humility, professionalism, and cooperation – business and social –", can be read on its website. "In short, a successful bet for all the members of this great project: workers, clients, and collaborators." More than four decades after its establishment, the cooperative has consolidated itself as one of the most solid examples of cooperative succession and business continuity in Catalonia.
Success Stories
It should be remembered that most companies recovered by their workers during those years were not initially constituted as cooperatives, but as labor companies, a formula that required workers to control at least 51% of the share capital. The reason was eminently practical: in case of the company's closure, this figure allowed them to maintain the right to receive unemployment benefits.
The path towards the consolidation of worker cooperativism was not easy. A turning point came in 1985, when cooperative members obtained the right to capitalize unemployment benefits, a long-awaited demand. This recognition came two years after the approval of the first Catalan Law on Cooperatives of the democratic era and the establishment of the Federation of Worker Cooperatives of Catalonia (FCTC), an entity that has since been key in the representation, articulation, and defense of worker cooperativism.
A lot has happened since then. Today, Catalonia has more than 3,500 worker cooperatives, representing 74% of all Catalan cooperativism and having a presence in practically all sectors of economic activity. Some continue the path opened by pioneering experiences like Mol-Matric. This is the case of Mec 2010 and Viserveis Coop, two examples of cooperative succession that have consolidated their activity with a strong presence in the industrial fabric.
An advisor, a workshop, and a judge
In Dec 2010, in Sabadell, it was a metalworking workshop that was about to close and to prevent it, its workers formed a cooperative. With 17 years of trajectory, the company is now made up of 14 workers, specializing in mechanical engineering and metal machining. They are the heirs of the old Talleres Socar.
“The idea was given to us by the insolvency administrator. We told him that we were considering buying the company and he told us about setting up a cooperative. The judge awarded it to us and we bought the machinery,” explains Jordi Álvarez, workshop manager and partner.
The road to get here has not been easy. “It was a complicated task, but we have learned a lot and we have achieved it through many hours of work. The numbers speak for themselves and we are lucky to have good clients.” After all, the cooperative succession formula meant that “we kept our jobs,” remarks Álvarez.
Time proved the occasional advisor right and time will also tell now if the company can continue to have a future. “I would recommend anyone in the same situation as us to follow the same path because we are still here. However, I would also like to retire and for the company to continue operating. The lack of professionals and a prepared generation – now everyone wants to be a YouTuber– endangers continuity,” he warns.
Four laid off and a common project
The model that Viserveis precisely champions focuses on this generational handover with agreements with different vocational training schools, favoring the labor insertion of young people and promoting a collaborative and intergenerational work environment. Currently, the cooperative consists of 8 members, and five come from vocational training. Estefania Gutiérrez, head of communication, is one of them, and although she does not come from vocational training, she joined Viserveis after doing her internship there and is now part of the project as a member.
Viserveis was founded in 2013 and is linked to industrial mobility and the maintenance of sustainable industrial vehicles (hybrid, electric, natural gas, or hydrogen buses). Although it does not fit the classic model of cooperative handover, it shares the same spirit. The cooperative was born when four laid-off workers decided to capitalize their unemployment benefits and launch a new business project in the same sector where they had developed their professional careers.
Mònica Gutiérrez, Antonio Agüera, and two other colleagues founded the company. Thirteen years later, Viserveis is a constantly growing cooperative, employing 73 people, and in 2025 it invoiced 7.7 million. TMB, Sagalés, Moventia, Solaris, Avanza, and FGC are some of its clients.
“Mònica arrived from Colombia at 17 and started doing internships at the old company. When it closed and the staff was laid off, she joined the cooperative project along with Antonio, who has always been her mentor,” explains Estefania Gutiérrez. Since then, the cooperative has continued to grow, remaining true to the values that drove its creation. “At the end of last year, we inaugurated a new headquarters in the Zona Franca consortium, where we have 10,000 square meters and one of the most innovative workshops in our country,” points out Gutiérrez.
The success story is, therefore, also a story of overcoming and resilience. The stories of Viserveis and Mec 2010 demonstrate that cooperative handover goes far beyond saving a company: it is a tool for people to regain control of their future, transform a crisis into an opportunity, and build solid business projects capable of growing and enduring without losing their essence.
In Catalonia, there is a whole ecosystem to facilitate these transformations, ranging from the Network of Cooperative Ateneus of Catalonia – a reference service created in 2016 – to institutional support and legal and economic advice. Cooperativism not only creates jobs, but sometimes it also saves them.
