Son of former IPA President, Santiago Salvat Espasa, Manuel Salvat Dalmau joined the family business, Editorial Salvat, in the late 1940s, becoming manager. The company specialised in dictionaries and medical works and later encyclopedias. The Editorial Salvat was also a pioneer in incorporating CDs and cassettes. In the late 1980s the Salvat Group was purchased by the French multinational Hachette.