Eva Pando focuses on digitalization and the circular economy the challenges of Asturian industry in the post-COVID19 era
Eva Pando, General Manager of the Economic Development Agency of the Principality of Asturias (IDEPA), considers that Asturias is in a privileged position to lead the reindustrialization process that will necessarily have to take place once the effects of the COVID-19 give way to economic recovery.
“Asturias is an industrial region, we have a long tradition and a history of industry that we carry in our DNA. And these weeks of crisis have seen the supply of engineering linked to that industrial trajectory,” said Pando in an interview with Conecta Industria in reference to the proposals that are emerging from our region to fight against COVID-19.
According to IDEPA’s director general, in the post-COVID19 future “everything will be different. Digitalization has to be a fundamental pillar. And in the industry it is crucial to do it quickly. This will allow industry and companies to stay in the market”.
“We cannot stop: in the day after, we have to think of new formulas to maintain markets, to diversify, to look for new ways of doing business. And for that you need investment. Investment will allow us to continue maintaining the industrial fabric of Asturias, which is the basis of our economy“, said Pando about a sector that combines the activity of large Asturian companies with leading multinationals that generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
Innovation linked to industry
Another key in the immediate future will be to advance in the application of innovation linked to the industry. According to Pando, “these weeks have shown that we have the capacity to create, design and engineer, and we also have many companies capable of manufacturing what we design”.
“This leads us to think that we must walk towards a reindustrialization based on innovation, based on these capabilities that we have and that will allow us to access new markets and diversify,” she added.
Sustainability and the circular economy
According to Pando, the future of Asturias’ industry must also be more sustainable: “The decarbonisation we are already working on has to be a must for our way of life, our mobility and our industry. The circular economy for Asturias must be a great opportunity: reusing waste, less intensive consumption of basic materials, improving processes…”
The message of moderate optimism of IDEPA’s General Manager despite the difficulties is clear: “If the very powerful Asturian industry adapts quickly to digitalisation and the circular economy, we are going to have a lot to say. Because the West has to recover its industrial capacity in order to avoid depending on other markets that are putting us on the ropes at times”.
“Let’s help Asturian industry in its digital transformation and, based on our privileged position, we will be able to be a leading region in reindustrialization”, she concluded.
