The story
The origins of the company began in 1812, the year in which Gregorio Mirat installed a starch factory in Salamanca (Spain). Afterwards, different lines of the business were developed. In 1841, his son Juan Casimiro was born, he would be very important in the development of Mirat. In 1853, Gregorio introduced his son into the business, and later the factory was called "Mirat e Hijo" (Mirat and Son).
Juan Casimiro applied knowledge acquired on his trip to France and in 1876, the company started to export abroad. The same year, in 1876, the factory was moved near to the river Tormes to the Convent of Saint Jerome. In 1881, rice starch, which was important for ironing clothes started to be produced. During this time it turned into one of the first factories of Salamanca that began to use steam as a motive power. Also at their disposal was one storehouse near to the old main square that in 1902, Casimiro decided to use for reconstruction and build some small hotels. That is why even now that place is known as "Avenida de Mirat" (Avenue of Mirat).
In 1933, the company began to work as a cooperative association and in 1963, they begin to produce compound manures. The building of the factory of Mirat is the only well-conserved industrial architecture of the 19th century in Salamanca.
From Wikipedia’s article on Mirat, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4