At times he was assigned to ships such as the armoured frigate Numancia, the battleship Pelayo, and the armored cruisers Emperador Carlos V and Reina Regente.

A profound patriot, he became increasingly disturbed at the British ownership position in the SECN, which he felt was trying to prevent it from evolving into an independent Spanish operation.

He created a small company named Estudios, Proyectos y Reparaciones (EPYR), then obtained the position of Director General of Boetticher y Navarro, S.A.

He left there in March 1937 and traveled via Valencia, Marseille and San Sebastián to Salamanca, where he placed himself at the disposal of General Francisco Franco.

His request was refused at first, but Benito Mussolini intervened and Suanzes was able to get a series of ships overhauled and rearmed by the Italians.

[9] The ministry was based in Bilbao, and the main task was recovery of industries in the areas that were coming under the control of the Nationalist forces.

His goal was to end existing contracts with the navy and start a new organization responsible for naval military construction.

[10] He held office as Minister until 19 July 1951, when he was replaced in a cabinet shuffle by Joaquín Planell Riera (Industry) and Manuel Arburúa de la Miyar (Commerce).

He became a member of the board of Juan de la Cierva, and was named president of this company in 1942, holding that position for over twenty years.

In 1956 he was appointed first president of the Spanish National Committee of the World Energy Conference, a position he held for the remainder of his life.