Mondragón Cooperative Corporation

"The present, however splendid it may be, bears the seeds of its own ruin if it becomes separated from the future".

José María Arizmendiarrieta (Ideologist and driving force behind the Mondragón Co-operative Experience)

MCC, is a business group made of 264 companies and entities organised in three sectorial areas: Financial, Industrial and Distribution, together with the Research and Training sectors.

Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa is the fruit of the sound vision of a young priest, Don José María Arizmendiarrieta, as well as the solidarity and efforts of all our worker-members. Together we have been able to transform a humble factory, which in 1956 manufactured oil stoves and paraffin heaters, into the leading Industrial Area in the Basque Country and 7th in the ranking in Spain, with sales of 13,266 million euros in its Industrial and Distribution activities, 12,332 million euros of administered assets in its Financial activity and a total workforce of 81,880 at the end of 2006.

Mission Statement

• MCC’s mission combines the basic objectives of a business organisation competing in international markets with the use of democratic methods in its organisation and with special emphasis on job creation, the promotion of its workers in human and professional terms and a commitment to the development of its social environment.

MCC Basic Structure

From a business point of view, the MCC’s activities are divided into three areas -Financial, Industrial and Distribution- which function independently within a global strategy co-ordinated by the Corporate Centre.

The Financial Area includes activities such as banking, social welfare and insurance. The Industrial Area comprises 12 Divisions dedicated to the production of goods and services. The Distribution Area is made up of various commercial distribution and agricultural-food enterprises. There are also a number of Research, Vocational Training and Teaching centres, including a University which has 4,000 students.

The individual co-operatives constitute the basic level of the MCC’s organisational structure, with the General Assembly acting as the supreme body for the expression of the will of the members and the sovereignty of the co-operative and the Governing Council acting as the ultimate body for management and representation, being responsible for appointing the Managing Director.

The eight Vice Presidents, along with the three Heads of Department at the Corporate Centre, together constitute the General Council, which is chaired by a President. The General Council is responsible for drawing up, co-ordinating and applying corporate strategies and objectives.

The Standing Committee of the Co-operative Congress is the governing body responsible for giving impetus to and controlling the carrying out of the policies and agreements adopted by the Congress, continually monitoring the MCC’s business performance and the management of the Presidency of the General Council. The Committee consists of 20 elected members representing the 14 Divisions of the Corporation.

The Co-operative Congress is the supreme body of the Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa, in terms of sovereignty and representation, equivalent to its main General Assembly. It is comprised by 650 delegates who represent all member co-operatives, and its decisions are binding on all of them.

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