Spain. Basque Country. Spain. Basque Country. Sestao is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay. It is in the left bank of the Estuary of Bilbao and part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. Sestao was the place of the most important steel industry of Biscay, Altos Hornos de Vizcaya. Chimney silhouettes with industrial smoke. Altos Hornos de Vizcaya, S.A. was a Spanish metallurgy manufacturing company. It was the largest company in Spain for much of the 20th century, employing 40,000 workers at its height. The business began in 1902 in Bilbao with the merger of three iron and steel businesses: Altos Hornos de Bilbao, La Vizcaya, and La Iberia. In the 1990s, following a series of mergers, it joined with Arcelor. The location was chosen for the iron mineral resources around Bilbao, the proximity to a sea port, and the metallurgical tradition of the area. In December 1994 the CSI Group (Corporación Siderúrgica Integral) was formed, and it in turn was reorganized in 1997 forming the Aceralia Iron and Steel Corporation. The Basque Country (Euskadi, País Vasco, Pays Basque), officially the Basque Autonomous Community (Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, Comunidad Autónoma Vasca, CAV) is an autonomous community in northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay, and Gipuzkoa. The Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the status of nationality within Spain, attributed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The autonomous community is based on the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, a foundational legal document providing the framework for the development of the Basque people on Spanish soil. 20.03.92 © 1992 Didier Ruef