Thanks for the contributions to the thread, John and Pete.
On now to another mid-twentieth-century Spanish diving equipment company: Beltrán. Here is a translation of an article about the company founder:
THE UNDERWATER ADVENTURE IN MALLORCA: JOSÉ BELTRÁN ADELL
José Beltrán Adell, “Pep”, was one of the pioneers of underwater exploration in Spain and although he did not become as well-known as other characters in the guild, he undoubtedly made enough merits to occupy a decent place among them. This article aims to claim and disseminate its contribution to the history of diving and underwater fishing in our country. Most of the information in this article comes from José Beltrán himself, who still transmitted it to me in person many years ago. Memory sometimes plays bad passes and that is why perhaps a detailed analysis of this article reveals temporary inaccuracies or even facts and anecdotes that will never happen as they are told here, but that all of us who hear them from Pep’s mouth, We believed them and wished they were true. Maybe even José Beltrán himself wanted it too.
I met Pep Beltrán when he was already old (about 76 years old) but his mind, his attitude and his energy were those of a twenties. A complex and fascinating personality also with some chiaroscuro but that harboured a great generosity. He spoke in an accelerated way, moving from Majorcan to Spanish and vice versa. His mind was often faster than his tongue and then naturally suppressed the prepositions and articles of his talk, as if he was in a hurry to transmit to his interlocutor everything he treasured in his privileged mind. He was a bohemian, restless and vital person who carried his grimy body without stopping from side to side (limping ostensibly due to the aftermath of a decompression accident) who travelled through numerous countries in search of more or less legendary treasures.
In the 80s he was in dealings with the Cuban government to try to collaborate in the location and recovery of wrecks in its waters. As a result of those visits to the island, he established strong ties of friendship with many Cubans and because of this, the last years of his life he devoted almost entirely to the task of collecting sanitary and school supplies, clothing, toys, etc. which he then sent to schools and hospitals in Cuba (many times paying the cost of his pocket) to help alleviate the difficult situation that was experienced in the Caribbean island.
The "BELTRAN" brand.
Pep Beltrán spent most of his life in Mallorca where he became a well-known character. We do not know much about his childhood and youth apart from the fact that his family was from the Mallorcan town of Bunyola, but from an early age, he felt a great attraction for that sea that was so close. It is not hard to imagine a young Pep in the 40s equipped with primitive diving lenses and a metal rod chasing fish along the Mallorcan coast.
Beltrán with a spectacular fishing catch in Majorcan waters
He soon stood out in this activity, becoming one of the great Majorcan submarine fishermen of his time (Vane Ivanovic met him in person and quotes him in his book "Modern Spearfishing"). Those who treated him at that time, highlight his speed underwater, great physical vigour, high apnea capacity and extreme efficiency with the spearfishing rifle.
Trying to unite his hobbies and his already overflowing creativity that led him to design and patent a huge amount of artefacts of all kinds (from anchor models to a desalination plant), in the early 50s he created a company called “Casa Beltrán” that during three decades was dedicated to manufacturing underwater fishing gear, diving equipment and various nautical accessories. Beltran is also the first worldwide patent registered for a pneumatic speargun.
Some patents of José Beltrán (1955/1974)
He started using goggle and fin moulds from another Spanish company (Parra), but it did not take long to create his own designs. Located in the neighbourhood of El Molinar de Palma, in front of the beach of s'Areneta, in just over a year, the company grew considerably, employing a good number of workers in its workshops and becoming one of the most important businesses prosperous and known in the neighbourhood. In the factory, all the components and parts of the items that were subsequently put up for sale were manufactured: aluminium, lead, rubber, plastic ... everything was designed, melted and processed right there.
One of his most illustrious workers was our great underwater fishing champion José Amengual, also a neighbour of El Molinar, who was hired as an apprentice at age 14, when he was already beginning to excel in the activity that would give him worldwide fame. José Amengual has a great memory of the 3 years he spent working there and comments that Pep Beltrán was a very good boss for his employees, always willing to work as one in the factory.
Amengual account the following: At the end of the 50s, Beltrán had located the submerged remains of a plane that had fallen years ago to the sea at a point between Cabrera and Colonia Sant Jordi. For quite some time, Beltrán and the divers who worked with him, gradually scrapped the plane to take advantage of the aluminium parts of its fuselage. This material was cast in the El Molinar factory and later used to manufacture spearfishing rifles mainly. Another anecdote that Amengual remembers happened during the great storm of 1958 that hit the first line of houses in El Molinar. The sea arrived at that time a few meters from the houses of which they were separated by a block of stone blocks of Marés. The huge waves of the storm tore the blocks and threw them against the homes causing great damage. Amengual remembers how they were reinforcing the factory doors from the inside with everything they could find while they heard the huge pieces of Marés thrown by the force of the waves.
Also the great diver and cartoonist Arturo Pomar (another Majorcan pioneer in the world of diving), collaborated with José Beltrán in the design of many of his products, logos and advertising posters.
Advertising poster illustrated by Arturo Pomar
