Familia de Lapeira

Familia de Lapeira connects Málaga with the industrial history of its Huelin neighbourhood. Juan Lapeira arrived from Bergerac, France, in 1752 and established a three-storey warehouse. The family later built a factory with a central body, main entrance, and two large wings. Architect Fernando Guerrero Strachan designed the building, inaugurated in 1918.

Nicolás Lapeira turned to growing and exporting raisins, while Adolfo and his sons developed the Huelin works. Metal sheets became lithographed and die-cut containers for oils, chocolates, and preserved foods. The factory also produced wooden boxes and advertising signs, first using national machinery and later importing automatic equipment from Italy. Galicia initially supplied the timber boxes, before production moved inside the factory.

A fire in 1946 led to reconstruction, while manufacturing continued until 1982. Cheaper plastic containers contributed to the closure, ending a long chapter in Málaga’s industrial production. The protected building now houses a commercial centre, retaining the outline of a central entrance and two broad wings.