The origins of the company are linked to its first client, the German steelmaker Fried Krupp GmbH, one of the largest companies of the time.
Faced with the need to supply its foundries with high-quality iron ore, Krupp acquired ownership of several iron mines in Spain and, for long periods, reserved the purchase of quotas from several other mines. To manage its mining interests, Krupp used subsidiary companies or appointed trusted individuals as Agents.
It was in this context that, in 1882, the young Eugenio Erhardt Kausler arrived in Bilbao to manage, through his newly established company and in the capacity of Krupp’s Agent, the quality and consistency of iron ore supplies from the mines of Vizcaya and Cantabria to the German foundries.