Axalta chooses Asturias to expand its business as a Global Centre of Excellence

Throughout the month of September, the company will move its service centre from Valle de Tamón in Asturias to the Llanera Technology Park. This move is promoted by the regional government and managed by the Economic Development Agency of the Principality of Asturias (IDEPA). The infrastructure and services provided by the Technological Park, as well as the existing options for future expansion, have been some of the fundamental reasons for choosing this site. The centre will provide financial, technological, human resources, purchasing, logistical and marketing services on a global level.

The move resulted from the company’s decision to make Asturias its “global centre of excellence”. This change will allow the company to increase its staff by 197 employees from 12 countries; from a minimum of 400 up to 2020. New hires will be made in Asturias and others will be transferred from within the company.

The multinational American company Axalta Coating Systems began operations as an independent company in 2013, after the de-merger from DuPont as an automobile industry painting company. The company is present in America, Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific, has over 13,300 employees and serves 100,000 clients, creating annual sales of 3.761 million euros.

Source: La Nueva España

30 August, 2018 /  

Smart Energy: driving the energy transition

 

Let´s give place to the end of August reminding one of the top conferences that have taken place in Asturias this year: “Smart Energy: driving the energy transition”

Scientific and technological capacities of the companies settled in the region were highligthed throughout the conference.

The event, organized by IDEPA and elEconomista.es, involved the collaboration of the German company located in Asturias, thyssenkrupp.

 

Link to the interview by Dr. Reinhold Achatz, vice president of Technology, Innovation and Sustainability thyssenkrupp AG

Video of the day

28 August, 2018 /  

Asturias wins European Entrepreneurial Region Award 2019

Only the regions with the most credible and promising entrepreneurial vision are awarded the European Entrepreneurial Region (EER) each year, an initiative organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR). This year the jury selected the principality of Asturias, province of Gelderland, and region of Thessaly as worthy winners for their outstanding strategies and commitment to boosting entrepreneurship within their territories.

“The 2019 winners are testament that Europe’s regions are the main engine for growth and making a difference in creating jobs.”, said Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions announcing the Award winners.

The Principality of Asturias in north-west Spain has been undergoing profound economic restructuring, shifting from an economy based on traditional industries to one based on skills. Past intense industrial development is a challenge for the region, whose EER strategy is firmly based on innovation, diversification and human capital. The region was selected based on its impressive set of specific actions that address business creation and growth, increasing SME access to finance and promoting entrepreneurship education, underpinned by measures to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship are two concepts that are linked for the Government of the Principality of Asturias. In this regard, we promote programmes on different educational stages that stimulate our young people’s talent to generate a system of knowledge-intensive SME´s and start-ups that boost innovation in corporates”, said Isaac Pola Alonso, Minister of Employment, Industry and Tourism in Regional Government of Principality of Asturias.

 

Source: Comité Europeo de las Regiones
More information: http://www.rtpa.es/asturias:Asturias-se-une-al-selecto-club-de-las-regiones-europeas-emprendedoras_111530731102.html

6 July, 2018 /  

IDEPA Asturias, Best European Regional Development Agency of 2017

EURADA, the European Association of Development Agencies, has recognised the Economic Development Agency of the Principality of Asturias (IDEPA) as “Best Regional Development Agency of 2017”.

The award ceremony was held today in Charleroi, Belgium. In attendance at the ceremony were the Regional Minister of Employment, Industry and Tourism and the General Manager of  IDEPA

In an interview granted to the newspaper El Comercio, Eva Pando, the General Manager of the regional agency that was awarded the prize, stressed that this distinction was a source of great satisfaction. -It constitutes a recognition by your peers at the European Association of Development Agencies.

The prize was granted due to the program ‘Open Innovation 4.0’ which is managed by IDEPA in Asturias. “It is a satisfaction for all parties involved” asserted the General Manager of IDEPA. Collaborators in this project include companies such as Thyssenkrupp Elevator Innovation Center, ArcelorMittal I+D or EdP. It enables the development of entrepreneurial businesses by promoting their interaction with attractor companies located in Asturias.

 

Source: El Comercio

21 June, 2018 /  

KPS Euman wants to become a world benchmark in the sale of electrical appliances

The Asturian company KPS has celebrated its alliance with the Mastech group in an act attended by the Regional Minister for Employment, Industry and Tourism.

The company’s staff base comprises around fifty people, a production division covering 3,500 square metres, and a five-year production forecast of 250,000 devices each year.

The newspaper La Nueva España has published an interview with Jackie Ip, CEO of the Mastech group, in which the Asian businessman claims to be proud of the new project that will be taken on by his group and KPS.

“I am truly excited about this new project because I think we are doing something that no one has done before, especially in Asia”.

KPS Euman’s creation opens its doors to Mastech and allows it to enter the European and American market. “It will be a key point for introducing our company into the Spanish and European market, and we think that we could lay foundations in developed American countries”.

Jackie Ip’s expectations for the new company are very positive. In a time frame of five years, he hopes the company will turnover around 15 million euros – this figure is currently at 7 million – selling products on a world level. Aware that the Asian and European cultures are different, he proposes a global business strategy in which the specific way of working in each local group is respected. The GdP Legal office, with headquarters in Asturias, has commercially coordinated the business operation, right from its origins through to achieving a successful end to the operation.

Finally, he expresses his best wishes for the KPS factory: “We hope that by the end of this year, production will be taking place with the same speed and efficiency as in our Asian factories”.

 

Source: La Nueva España

7 June, 2018 /  

Nestlé set to produce 25% of its new ‘bio’ product range in Asturias

According to information released by the newspaper El Comercio, “Nestlé has joined the trend for organic products and has launched a new range that has repercussions on Asturias, as 25% of the production will take place in the plant owned by the Swiss company in Sevares, where jars of baby food and liquid milks are made, employing around two hundred people. The new range includes purees, pouches, baby cereal, dairy desserts and biscuits, but the Piloña factory will specifically manufacture the six varieties of baby food in jars that are being launched: three of fruit, three of meat.”

On the other hand, the company published a press release on 23rd May giving information about the launch and growth forecasts:

– The Company envisages that in five years, the new organic range will contribute between 10% and 15% of its turnover. In terms of production, 65% of these new products will be manufactured in Nestlé España’s Spanish factories.

– The main organic products that the company has just released into the market are: the complete range of Naturnes Bio baby food, Solís fried tomato sauce, Organic Bonka ground coffee, Nescafé Gold Organic instant coffee, and three varieties of Nescafé Dolce Gusto capsules.

– Other new launches such as the Litoral pulse salads (appearing on shelves this May), the new Garden Gourmet varieties based on vegetable protein, and Nestlé Sin Azúcares Añadidos (No Added Sugar) chocolates, complete a portfolio of products that respond to new trends.

The CEO of Nestlé España, Laurent Dereux, revealed in a press meeting that: “consumer demand is increasingly for healthier and more sustainable products. In this respect, we believe that these organic products will contribute between 10% and 15% of Nestlé España’s turnover within five years. Furthermore, in terms of production, I am particularly proud to state that 65% of our organic products will be produced in our Spanish factories in Miajadas (Caceres), Sebares (Asturias) and Reus (Tarragona)”.

Sources:  El Comercio, Nestlé-press release 

24 May, 2018 /  

Today, foreign investor interest in Asturias is still high

Jaime Montalvo, Project Manager at ICEX – Invest in Spain: “When considering the quality of life factor it is very difficult to find an offer that can top that of this region”

The Project Manager at the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute – ICEX-Invest in Spain, has dubbed the current climate for attracting projects to the region of Asturias as “excellent”. In particular, he mentions that the Principality has “a favourable and welcoming environment, good availability of trained human resources, a top-level client and supplier base, and the strong support of regional authorities”. And when quality of life comes into play, “it is very difficult to find an offer that can top that of this region”, he ensures.

– After the financial crisis, are there also green shoots in investment?

– Foreign investment figures in Spain over the past three years have been very favourable and reveal that investors have strengthened their trust in our country. Following the strong investment growth in 2014 and 2015, flow rates were consolidated in 2016, and in the first half of 2017, a growth rate was observed of almost 10% compared to the same period the previous year.

-The investment climate for Spain is therefore positive.

-The investment climate in Spain is very positive, as revealed over recent years, in which our country has positioned itself as the second greatest host country for direct foreign investment in the EU. Investors value the growth and stability of our economy, legal certainty and the commitment of Public Administrations with the promotion of productive investments. All of this within a physically secure setting, with quality of life for expatriates.

– And in Asturias?

– In terms of Asturias it is worth highlighting the same factors that are true for the country as a whole. The best testimony that the investment climate in Asturias is excellent can be seen in the foreign and Spanish companies that operate in the Principality. Asturias offers a favourable and welcoming setting, available trained human resources, a top-level client and supplier base, and the strong support of regional authorities. Obviously, in terms of quality of life it is difficult to find an offer that can top that of this region.

– What would you say to foreign companies when it comes to ‘selling’ its virtues?

– I would first explain that Asturias has been a success story in terms of the capacity of a region to transform its economic model from one based on basic industries to one that is centred on high-added value industries and services. Today, Asturias is a very different reality to the one they might imagine, and is a veritable land of opportunities. As such, I would invite them to visit Asturias and to talk to the companies that are settled in the Principality to prove it.

Extract from the interview by Susana Baquedano for the El Comercio newspaper, published on 22nd October 2017.

10 November, 2017 /  

Foreign investment grew by 8.6% in Asturias, positioning the region in 3rd place within Spain.

  • The productive foreign investment position in Spain grew by 1.9% in 2015
  • 18 million employment positions depend on this investment in Spain, some 1.5% more than in 2014

The total position of foreign investment (stock) in Spain was positioned at 387,315 million euros upon closing 2015, with an increase of 0.5% over 2014 figures. If the Entities Holding Foreign Securities (ETVE in Spanish) that do not have direct economic effects are deducted, the productive investment reached 347,745 million euros, some 1.9% more than in the previous tax year, according to data from the 12,346 companies that feature in the Foreign Investments Registry (RIE in Spanish).

1.18 million employment positions depend on these productive investments, some 1.5% more than in 2014. The turnover generated by foreign stock, rose to 389,450 million euros, around a third of the Spanish GDP, with an increase of 2% over the previous year.

The profits of the companies with foreign investor shares – for these purposes only those with percentages above 10% are taken into account – increased by 6.6%, to 21,310 million euros.

Foreign investment stock is the result of adding the value of the shares in net worth (book value) of the company in which the direct investment is made, and the outstanding balance of the net loans of non-resident investors to these companies.

With regards to the source of the investment, the United States tops the list, with 14.4%; followed by the United Kingdom (12.8%), Italy (11.8%) and France (11.5%). The top ten countries represent 80.7% of the stock.

The stock by investment receiving sectors has remained stable over recent years, and centres on the supply of electrical energy and gas (15.8%); the manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (8.7%); telecommunications (6.7%); wholesale trade and commercial intermediation (6.5%); and real estate activities (4.9%), among others.

By autonomous communities, 87% of the stock distribution is concentrated in just four of them: Madrid (64.5%); Catalonia (13.7%); Asturias (5.1%); and the Basque Country (3.7%), though it should be noted that the so-called “headquarters effect” tends to overestimate the locations in the major economic hubs.

The stock statistics are published with so much delay because, for the purposes of the RIE, the accountable closure of the 2015 tax year of foreign companies that invest in Spain is performed until 30th June 2016 and the companies have a further 9 months to declare their investments (until March 2017).

Source: Ministry for the Economy, Industry and Competitiveness

8 June, 2017 /  

Corporate forum: “Bilateral relationship between Mexico-Asturias: Success stories and investment opportunities”

Within the framework of the institutional visit that the Government of the Principality of Asturias made to Mexico and Colombia between 23rd and 28th April 2017, a packed schedule of meetings and promotional activities was organised to share the opportunities that Asturias has to offer companies in both countries. The most notable act took place in Mexico D.F. on Thursday, 27th April, in Hotel Presidente Intercontinental Polanco; a corporate forum entitled “Bilateral relationship between Mexico-Asturias: Success stories and investment opportunities”.

12 May, 2017 /  

The “material of the future” already here in Asturias

Never has the world of science expected a material so eagerly as it has graphene, which is generating a huge amount interest. The potential that has been associated with it is so great that it is starting to be known as “the material of the future”, but what is graphene?

31 March, 2017 /