Our Founders
José Longueira Díaz
José Longueira Díaz, a prominent industrialist from La Coruña, whose family firm “José Longueira e Hijos” was engaged in Customs and Consignments activities since 1870. He served as the President of the College of Customs Agents and Brokers of La Coruña from 1924 to 1927. He was the only Galician who chaired the General Council of Customs Colleges in Spain, then called the “Superior Council of Official Colleges of Customs Agents and Brokers of Spain.” Renowned for his competence and recognized integrity. Notably, he served as the accountant in the first Board of Directors of the Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña in 1907, of which he was the President from 1909 to 1914.
Fidel González Rodríguez
Fidel González Rodríguez, a prestigious Customs Agent in La Coruña, passed away after dedicating half a century to this professional field, giving the best of his efforts and enthusiasm. He also distinguished himself as an entrepreneur and dynamic businessperson, both in ship consignment and port-related matters and in various branches of the industry, especially as a shipowner of fishing vessels and their derivatives. In him, the great Galician city had a prominent promoter of its commercial life and a significant civic figure.
He was born on March 21, 1886, in La Coruña. He pursued higher education and studied at the School of Commerce in his hometown until, at the age of 16, driven by vocational impulse and genuine interest, he turned towards the profession he would continue to practice, dignifying and elevating it. He entered as an accounting assistant at a Customs agency and ship consignment office, quickly rising through his will and intelligence to positions of greater responsibility. Always ascending based on his own merits, he successively became an Authorized Representative and Manager of the firm until he decided to become independent.
In 1928, he partnered with José Longueira Díaz to establish the agency Longueira, S.L., a company that had been founded in 1870 under the original name José Longueira e Hijos. In 1946, upon the death of Mr. Longueira, our subject continued the same Customs Agent and Ship Consignee activities, individually and under his own name.
Fidel González Rodríguez gave a new impetus to this ancient and reputable agency, expanding its operations and firmly consolidating its position in the market. A thorough connoisseur of his profession, he earned a numerous and loyal clientele, attracted by his proven reliability and efficiency.
Deeply loved and admired by his colleagues, they elected him to serve as the President of the Official College of Customs Agents and Brokers of La Coruña, a position he held until his death. Simultaneously, he was involved in significant industrial businesses, serving as the Chairman of the Board of “Compañía Frigorífica, S.A.,” President of “José Chas Morlan, S.A.,” Board Member of “Industria Ballenera, S.A.,” and partner-manager of “Pesquerías González, S.L.” Let us also mention his notable role as a board member-controller of the Board of Works of the Port of La Coruña, in which position he demonstrated his love for the city where he was born. Fidel González Rodríguez passed away on August 13, 1953, and his death was deeply mourned in La Coruña, where he enjoyed unanimous sympathy.
His widow succeeded him at the helm of his Customs Agency and Ship Consignment company, under the current name “Viuda de Fidel González Rodríguez.” His son, Mr. Matías González Chas, is the General Authorized Representative of the entity, whose registered office is located at Plaza de Lugo, No. 24, in La Coruña, a role he already held during his father’s lifetime. Thus, in a happy family continuity, the agency’s permanence has been assured, contributing among the most active entities of its kind in the capital of Galicia.
SOURCE: Customs Yearbook of Spain 1956.
Matías González Chas
Matías González Chas was born in La Coruña in 1922. He graduated in law from the University of Santiago de Compostela in 1949. He immediately joined the Customs and Ship Consignment Agency managed by his father, Fidel González Rodríguez. In 1953, Fidel González Rodríguez passed away, and the consignment business continued under the name Viuda de Fidel González Rodríguez, with Matías González Chas taking over the management of the business and assuming roles in the boards and management of industries such as José Chas Morlán, S.A. (Conservas Chas), Compañía Frigorífica, S.A., Industria Ballenera, S.A., and Pesquerías González, S.L.
In 1955, he obtained the title of Mercantile Professor from the Professional School of Commerce in La Coruña. During those years, he collaborated with the law firm of Manuel Iglesias Corral, who served as his mentor. He also represented the interests of the canning sector in the Provincial Fishing Union as a representative of José Chas Morlán, S.A.
In May 1961, he was appointed as a member of the Commerce Section, Group Two, of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Navigation of La Coruña, an institution with which he maintained a close and long relationship in defense of consignment activities and the port.
In November 1966, he was elected as a Councilor for the City Council of La Coruña by the family third, a position he held from 1967 to 1974. He held various council positions and deputy mayorships during the terms of Demetrio Salorio Suarez-Pumariega and José Pérez Ardá. He was the promoter of the League of Shipowners and Consignees of La Coruña, serving as its first president in the early sixties.
In May 1967, he was part of the Executive Committee chaired by Emilio Fernández López for the development and execution of the project of the Wholesale Trade Polygon of La Coruña, better known as Po.co.ma.co. He acted as the secretary during its inauguration in March 1977.
In April 1968, he was elected President of the College of Customs Agents and Brokers of La Coruña, a position he held until 1986.
In July 1968, he became a corresponding member of the Galician Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation.
In 1970, he was elected Vice President of the Board of Works of the Port of La Coruña, representing ship consignees on the board. Due to the advanced age of its President, Don Pedro Barrié de la Maza, he dealt with Mr. Barrié every Friday at Banco Pastor, and when he passed away, he assumed the presidency temporarily, concluding his term in 1976.
In 1972, he accepted the appointment as the Chief Patron of the Brotherhood of Fishermen of La Coruña, with the challenge of constructing the Casa del Mar building.
On July 30, 1971, he was appointed as a Vocal of free designation of the Social Institute of the Navy.
In December 1972, due to the death of his mother Ascensión Chas González, the business name of the Ship Consignment and Customs Agency changed to Matías González Chas.
In July 1976, he was appointed Honorary Consul of Peru in La Coruña.
During the nineties, he chaired the Board of Directors of Compañía Frigorífica, S.A.
In 1993, the Customs and Ship Consignment Agency changed its legal form and has been known since then as Matías González Chas, S.L.
As the promoter of the foundation of the Equestrian Sports Society, founding member of the La Coruña Golf Club, the La Coruña Aeroclub, the La Coruña Tennis Club, and an active member of the Real Club Náutico de La Coruña, in 1970, he collaborated in drafting the statutes of the Club Santa María del Mar, where he acted as Secretary in its first Board. A member of Friends of the Opera from a young age, he found a passion and connection to music that he cultivated with great enthusiasm. He actively participated in social and cultural events in his community.
Matías González Chas exuded enthusiasm and intensity throughout his long and active institutional, professional, and social life. In love with his city, which he served and defended generously, he passed away on January 26, 2006.
