The University of Oviedo, the best ally for investment in Asturias

The institution returns to the world’s academic elite and offers companies a wide range of possibilities for collaboration in the design and development of projects

Asturias has a highly qualified and active population with a deep-rooted industrial tradition. Education, talent and creativity are part of the set of powerful reasons why our region is a very desirable destination for foreign investment.

In this area, the University of Oviedo plays a strategic role, which will be reinforced now that this institution has returned to the world academic elite. The prestigious Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), elaborated by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China) and that analyzes the research excellence of the campuses, has placed our university among the 500 best in the world.

The Asturian academic institution was one of the first nine Spanish universities to obtain the seal of Campus of International Excellence, and it did so with a project in which research of excellence, specialisation and the transfer of knowledge to the productive fabric are its main assets.

The university offers new degrees adapted to the European Higher Education Area with degrees that cover most areas of knowledge. Around 30% of its more than 25,000 registered students study technical degrees or postgraduate courses in areas such as chemistry, geology or mining, deeply rooted in Asturian industrial tradition, and in others such as energy engineering, biotechnology or biomedicine, with a very promising future in Asturias.

The European Higher Education Area opened up new expectations for collaboration between university and business, allowing for the incorporation of lines of research in the university environment promoted by the business sector.

The University of Oviedo has seven campuses with a very complete technical training. Some of the degrees that can be studied are the Degree in Mining Technology Engineering, the Degree in Electrical Engineering or the Degree in Physics. In addition, among its wide range of own postgraduate courses there are some as interesting as the Master in Geomining, the Master in Mining Geotechnics or the Master in Management and Development of the Food Industry (MGYDIA).

In Asturias, the technical qualification of the workers is completed with regulated Professional Training, with 17,000 students enrolled, more than 35% in technical careers. In this field, theoretical training is complemented by practical training in companies.

Biomedicine and Health and ICT industries, strategic sectors in Asturias

Medicine and the bio-sanitary industry are strategic sectors in Asturias. The region is making a strong commitment to the development of biotechnology, bioinformatics and biomedicine, based on the promotion of infrastructures such as the Central University Hospital of Asturias (HUCA), the support for R&D projects of the University of Oviedo or the marked innovative activity generated by the Fernandez-Vega Ophthalmological Institute.

The biomedicine and health training at the University of Oviedo is one of the most prestigious in Spain and hosts multiple research related to biotechnology.

Along these lines, it is great news that the institution is going to incorporate the Master in Biomedical Engineering into its strategic degree plan. Biomedical engineering offers a wide variety of job opportunities.

The Spanish Association of Biotech Companies (ASEBIO) publishes an annual report on the state of the sector in Spain. According to the 2018 report, biotechnology companies have had an impact on the Spanish economy of almost 7.000 million euros (0.7% of GDP) and have generated 92.384 jobs.

Also the sector of Information Technologies and Communications (ICT) has acquired greater prominence due to the profound transformation of the Asturian industrial fabric in recent years. Several Spanish and foreign companies have been located in Asturias in the last decade, and their contribution to employment in the sector is very important.

The technology sector continues to be one of the sectors that will demand the most jobs in the coming years, with a forecast of constant growth of 112.000 ICT jobs until 2020 in the European Union in areas such as cybersecurity, Big Data or digital marketing.

In fact, Data Engineering is one of the priorities of the Polytechnic School of Engineering of Gijón. The university also offers postgraduate studies in Automation Engineering and Industrial Informatics or in Materials Science and Technology, among others.

Research centres of the University of Oviedo

In order to facilitate as much as possible the lines of research of business interest (one of the priorities of the University of Oviedo), the institution has Departments and Research Centres or Institutes, and organizes all research activity around Research Groups.

In some strategic sectors for investment in Asturias, the university has cutting-edge centres that help to develop avant-garde research at European and world level.

For example, in the Food and Beverages sector, it has nearly one hundred research groups and teams related to Biotechnology. The University Institute of Biotechnology (IUBA, Plant Biotechnology, Microorganisms and Bioprocesses), the Biotechnological and Biomedical Trials Unit and the Food Technology Unit stand out.

With regard to advanced materials and nanotechnology, the university has the University Institute of Industrial Technology of Asturias (IUTA), which carries out R&D&i activities in fields such as mechanical design and manufacturing, materials technology and structural calculation or environment and energy.

And in the field of health, another pillar of the future for the economy of the Principality, highlights the Foundation for Biosanitary Research and Innovation in Asturias (FINBA). FINBA is the body in charge of managing excellence in biomedical research in Asturias. Promoted by the Government of the Principality of Asturias in alliance with the University of Oviedo, it has the support of several companies that participate in it as patrons or as benefactor entities.

It was created with the aim of promoting biomedical research by taking advantage of synergies with the Central University Hospital of Asturias, taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge of Asturian health and promoting the joint work of research teams.

Another interesting project is the Biomedicine and Health Cluster of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Oviedo, which includes more than 70 research groups and aims to consolidate the Principality of Asturias as a national and international reference in an area of great potential in the region.

Asturias Mobility Innovation Hub Project #AsMIH

And it is also important the collaboration of the Government of the Principality, through the Institute for Economic Development of the Principality of Asturias (IDEPA), with the University of Oviedo in the field of future mobility.

Within this framework, IDEPA has carried out an inventory of the capacity and potential of the Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation System of Asturias (University of Oviedo, Public Research Bodies, Technology Centres and Institutes) with respect to the “green, connected and autonomous vehicle”.

This collaboration is part of the Asturias Mobility Innovation Hub project, a collaborative innovation ecosystem around mobility.

11 September, 2019 /

Firma del acuerdo IDEPA Randstad junio 2019

Agreement with Randstad to facilitate the arrival of new companies in Asturias

The human resources and employment company will offer talent identification and selection services to potential investors

The Institute of Economic Development of the Principality of Asturias (IDEPA) and the human resources and employment company have recently signed a collaboration agreement to facilitate the arrival of new companies in the region.

Eva Pando, General Manager of IDEPA, and Andrés Menéndez, North Regional Manager of Randstad, have signed this agreement to allow both entities to collaborate in the processes of attracting potential investors to Asturias and to help them in the implementation of their projects.

The objective of the agreement is to offer these potential investors, attracted by IDEPA, Randstad’s services by making workers and personnel selection services available to them.

The IDEPA-RANDSTAD collaboration fits in the work carried out by IDEPA through its office “Invest in Asturias” to implement the policy of the Government of the Principality of Asturias for the attraction of new investments.

Asturias, an ideal place to invest

This task is made by presenting Asturias as the ideal place to invest, identifying potential investors, providing personalized attention according to the type of projects and needs, and accompanying the entire decision-making process of the company.

On the other hand, Randstad is a leader in the temporary employment sector, with extensive knowledge of the labor market both nationally and in the Principality of Asturias. It is the ideal partner to complement IDEPA’s work in the search for investors who modernize and diversify the regional productive fabric.

In 2015, Randstad created Randstad Research, a research and analysis center with objective and reliable information on the labor market and human resources. It is a very useful source to know the context and future of the labor market, trends and future challenges.

Randstad Research also stands out for its analysis of the diversity of talent in companies and the challenges for its management within organizations.

29 July, 2019 /

Vista aérea de la planta de AGRCR en Carreño Asturias

Carreño will host the first sustainable metal recovery plant in Spain

The foreign capital company AGR Catalyst Recovery (AGRCR) reinforces its presence in Asturias and will install in Carreño a plant dedicated to the valorization of metals contained in exhausted catalysts.

The plant, a pioneer facility in Spain, will create eight jobs in two years. This operation is part of the Asturias RIS3 Intelligent Specialization Strategy and fits into the circular economy model promoted by the European Union.

The technological process of valorization of metals contained in exhausted catalysts resulting from chemical processes has been developed by one of AGCR’s partners, the Asturian company Aprochim-Getesarp-Rymoil, S.A. (AGR). AGRCR’s 65% is owned by AGR, which in turn has 27% of French capital (APROCHIM).

The Sociedad Regional de Promoción del Principado (SRP) is financing this AGRCR initiative with 700,000 euros. The support of SRP ensures a global project of 2.5 million euros. The investment will be mainly devoted to the acquisition of ancillary equipment and systems.

Reduction of resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions

The metal concentrate obtained in the process will be reintroduced into the life-cycle of the catalysts, which will lead to a more sustainable management by avoiding landfilling. This will reduce consumption of primary mineral resources as well as energy and greenhouse gas emissions associated with mining.

Catalysts are substances that have the ability to alter the speed of a chemical reaction, increasing or decreasing it, in a process known as catalysis. They are used in a multitude of industrial processes to optimize them, increasing the speed of the reactions they need.

Since 1998, the Asturian company AGR has been treating oils and equipment contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), a toxic chemical compound.

This company was the first of its kind implemented in Spain and currently has the country’s largest capacity and Europe’s second largest. Its facilities are located in the Logrezana Business Park, in Carreño, on a plot of 8,500 square metres and pending an extension of 5,000 square metres.

AGR is an authorized manager for all types of catalysts out of use, both for those which it is not profitable or possible to recover metals from and must be managed environmentally, as well as those whose metals can be recovered and returned to the owner, or valued and paid according to the price of the metal exchange.

Together with AGR, the majority shareholder, AGRCR includes the British company BMJS Investments Limited, made up of two firms with extensive experience in the management and treatment of spent catalysts and the international marketing of metals from these catalysts.

Circular economy project supported by IDEPA

This initiative of sustainable treatment and valorization of metals is a brilliant circular economy project that was born from another Research and Development (R&D) project launched by AGR and financed by the Economic Development Institute of the Principality of Asturias (IDEPA). After studying its viability, the company is now moving to the productive investment stage, accompanied by international partners and with the support of the regional administration, through the SRP.

The project is part of the Asturias RIS3 Intelligent Specialization Strategy, which includes among its priority lines the commitment to sustainable materials. It also fits into the circular economy model promoted by the European Union to improve resource efficiency and reduce dependence on imports of raw materials.

17 July, 2019 /

Delegación IDEPA Asturias visita Tarapacá Chile

Asturias shows in Chile its potential as an investment destination

The presentation of Asturias as a versatile and competitive investment destination was one of the objectives of the visit that a delegation from the Principality of Asturias made the first week of July to Tarapacá, a region located in the far north of Chile.

The delegation was headed by the general directors of the Economic Development Institute of the Principality of Asturias (IDEPA), Eva Pando, and the Sociedad de Promoción Exterior Principado de Asturias, S.A. (Asturex), Teresa Vigón. This initiative is part of the International Urban Cooperation Programme of the European Union (IUC).

The visit led to the signing of a collaboration agreement with the Chilean region of Tarapacá, signed by the regional mayor, Miguel Ángel Quezada. The agenda of this trade mission to Chile sought to generate synergies and find common ground to promote the development and competitiveness of the industrial environment of Asturias, as well as attract new investment to the region.

Circular economy, Industry 4.0 and renewable energies

The meetings maintained with significant entities in the Chilean region served to detect lines of collaboration for Asturian companies in areas such as the circular economy, Industry 4.0 and renewable energies, mainly solar photovoltaic.

Regarding circular economy, our delegation was able to learn about the project for the implementation of a technology center at the national level, developed by the Center for Innovation and Economy Circular (CIEC), along with the Government of Tarapacá and the Corporation for the Promotion of Production (CORFO). Also interesting for Asturian companies could be the Tarapacá Hub, a center of entrepreneurship focused on circular innovation in mining, logistics and solar energy.

In the area of Industry 4.0, the important fishing industry of the country is implementing technologies related to artificial intelligence, opening potential lines of collaboration with Asturian companies included in the catalogue of key enabling technologies (KETs) that are part of the strategy Asturias Industry 4.0, led by the Government.

Another market niche for Asturian companies is that of renewable energies. In 2020, Tarapacá will have an energy mix in which renewable energies will play a leading role, generating more than 80% of electricity.

The region of Tarapacá has two key infrastructures, the Port of Iquique, and a free-trade zone, the Free-Trade Zone of Iquique, S.A. (ZOFRI S.A.), which represents a competitive advantage and makes it very attractive for international trade. The Port of Iquique has a privileged location, considered the natural door of the central cone of South America from and towards international markets. In addition to that, the Free-Trade Zone, is equipped with a platform of services to commercialize and facilitate business in the southern cone of Latin America, where more than two thousand companies develop their activities.

Promotion of sustainable urban development

The European Union’s International Urban Cooperation Programme aims to promote the exchange of good practices and more sustainable territories between different regions of the world. It is part of a long-term EU strategy to promote sustainable urban development in cooperation with the public and private sectors, as well as with community groups and citizens.

This initiative has a budget of more than €5 million and will run for three years. Twenty cities and regions in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru have been selected under the programme for collaboration with their European counterparts.

16 July, 2019 /

Nestlé provee de leche ecológica su planta de Sebares Asturias

Nestlé supplies organic milk to its Sebares plant

The plant owned by the Swiss company Nestlé in Sebares, Asturias, has started to be provided with organic milk for the production of liquid milk products meant for children.

In the first year, around one million liters of milk -from the 26 million that the plant in Sebares receives annually- will come from the organic milk production farms that already work with the factory.

The company understands that this measure adapts to the consumers demands and supports the farmers in their efforts to adapt, for two years, their farms in order to minimise the environmental impact and obtain the pertinent ecological certification.

Two Nestlé plants in Asturias

The Sebares facility employs around 200 workers and in 2018 registered a production volume of 51,000 tons.

The multinational has another plant in Gijón, which is dedicated to the manufacture of tinned and sterilised dishes, including the preparation of the well-known Litoral fabada, with a history dating back some 60 years. Likewise, cured meat are produced in that plant exclusively for pre-cooked dishes Litoral.

Last April, Nestlé announced an investment for the factory in Sebares close to 8 million euros for a new production line that will allow manufacturing in 2020 new baby fruit purees formats. The multinational understands this movement as a commitment for its center in Asturias.

Nestlé also reported in October that the company will focus on food and beverages and healthy nutrition.

12 July, 2019 /

Asturias promotes its advantages and opportunities as an investment destination at Hannover Messe 2019

The Government of Asturias has completed its participation in Hannover Messe this week, the largest Industry Fair in the world. The Government of the Principality of Asturias participated in the event with an institutional stand, where it presented its advanced manufacturing capacities and the advantages of the Asturias Digital Innovation Hub, a tool promoted by the Government to facilitate the digitalisation of companies.

Among the activities undertaken, was the particularly noteworthy visit to the stand by the Ambassador of Spain in Germany, Ricardo Martínez Vázquez, who toured the pavilion accompanied by the Economic and Trade Advisor of the Spanish Embassy in Berlin, Lucinio Muñoz, and who discovered the strengths of Asturian Industry 4.0 via the IDONIAL Design and Manufacturing Centre and the CTIC Technology Centre, and the offer of digital enablers.

The CTIC Business and Operations director, Pablo Coca, showed the diplomat how an industrial plant can be controlled from the CTIC headquarters in Asturias, some 1,950 kilometres away, using the Internet and communication technologies. In turn, IDONIAL, the new technological centre created from the merger between ITMA Materials Technology and Prodintec, demonstrated an aero-transportable factory held in a 3D printing laboratory, designed in collaboration with the European Defence Agency, with which this entity aims to test the impact of this technology in military operations in conflict zones.

The meetings held between the directors of Industry and Telecommunications, Manuel Monterrey; from Idepa, Eva Pando, and from Asturex, Teresa Vigón, had the two-fold objective of presenting the Asturias Digital Innovation Hub and introducing the Principality of Asturias as an attractive region for recruiting and setting up new business projects. In this respect, a particularly interesting meeting took place with the CEO of the Phoenix Contact Group.

The activity of the Asturian clusters linked to the innovation hub – Clúster TIC and MetaIndustry4 – proved essential when participating in an international meeting with similar organisations from Canada and Europe. Furthermore, institutional representatives from the Principality visited the Asturian company exhibitors at Hannover Messe: Oxiplant and JP Industrias Mecánicas.

In parallel to these activities, as a member of the Enterprise Europe Network, Idepa participated in Technology Cooperation Day, an event celebrated within the framework of the fair to look for international partners, and where the six participating entities (companies, clusters and technology centres) established over 60 international contacts.

The relevance of the previous edition of Hannover Messe enabled 5,000 exhibitors to present their proposals to over 200,000 visitors, bringing the real and virtual worlds together with new solutions for smart manufacturing.

30 April, 2019 /

2018 saw ArcelorMittal invest 26 million euros in R&D in Asturias

Oviedo, 5^th April 2019 – Nicolás de Abajo, the global leader of the ArcelorMittal R&D Centres around the world, and José Manuel Arias, president of ArcelorMittal in Spain, met today with Javier Fernández, president of the Principality of Asturias Government, to follow up the collaboration between the Government of the Community and the Company in the field of research, development and innovation.

The meeting follows the recent signing of a new framework agreement of collaboration between the two entities for the 2019-2022 period. The collaboration over these coming years between the Government and the company incorporates new changes to previous alliances, with the signing of an agreement between the Regional Promotion Society of the Principality of Asturias, the European Business and Innovation Centre, and ArcelorMittal, for the creation and development of technology-based companies linked to the activities carried out in the Company’s two Global R&D Centres located in Asturias, framed within a co-investment approach.

Over the past ten years, the Global R&D staff base in Asturias has grown from little more than 20 researchers and technicians to over 300, who now work between the two Centres. Since the signing of the previous agreement with the Regional Government in 2014, ArcelorMittal’s investment in R&D in Asturias has multiplied fivefold, expanding from 7 million euros in 2015 to reach 26 million euros in 2018. To this figure a further 15 million euros have been poured into creating laboratories and pilot plants designed exclusively for R&D. In 2019, the Company plans to continue its evolution in R&D research in Asturias within its global R&D structure. In the Asturian centres this drive is closely linked to improving productive processes, new products, the circular economy and to emerging “mega-trending technologies” such as 3D printing, nano-materials, Digitalisation or Industry 4.0.

Nicolás de Abajo commented: “Our aim with this new agreement is to continue to explore mega-trending technologies, the industrialisation of innovative solutions that are being developed in the Global R&D centres based in Asturias, and the creation of new opportunities for economic activity in the region, contributing to the evolution of the productive fabric: we hope to be able to revise it upwards in terms of prospects, investment and the creation of employment year after year”.

In turn, José Manual Arias thanked the firm support from the Regional Government: “The successive collaboration agreements signed between our company and the Principality of Asturias Government have significantly contributed to the exponential growth of research and innovation activities developed by the two Asturian-based Centres. The talent developed by the team of researchers has transformed our company into a global leader in diverse fields, such as excellence in research linked to the rail industry, Industry 4.0, the efficient use of water and other natural resources, gas recovery, and research into the use of new materials. We would like to thank the Principality of Asturias Government for placing its trust in ArcelorMittal, demonstrated with the successive collaboration agreements signed”.

30 April, 2019 /

Japanese multinational Krosaki Harima acquires the Asturian company Refractaria

The Asturian company Refractaria has been acquired by Krosaki AMR Refractarios S.A.U., belonging to the Japanese group Krosaki Harima Corporation, a leading operator in the sector. With this move, the Japanese company will expand its offer of refractory solutions to its client base.

Just as the Japanese company has announced, this acquisition “fits perfectly into the company’s growth strategy”. Thanks to this operation, the products of Refractaria and its new shareholder will be commercialised in over 60 countries.

Krosaki Harima Corporation has subsidiaries in 5 countries and develops refractory materials for the steel, lime and cement industries, as well as non-ferrous metal and continuous casting industries. It is listed on the Tokyo and Fukuoka stock markets.

Refractaria emerged in 1948 as a supplier of Duro Felguera’s refractory material. In 2008 the company embarked upon an internationalisation strategy by opening sales and delegation offices in 7 countries in different continents. It currently collaborates with the ITMA Foundation, as one of its founding partners, as well as in the Asturian Refractories Cluster.

Sources: La Nueva España, Web Krosaki AMR Refractarios S.A.U.

11 January, 2019 /

Asturias topped Spanish GDP growth in 2017

Figures published by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) position Asturias as the autonomous community with the highest GDP growth in 2017. The year-on-year advance was 3.8%, exceeding the Spanish average (3%) by 0.8 points, and the European average (2.4%) by 1.4 points. The subsequent positions were Cantabria and Aragon with a 3.4% growth rate, followed by Madrid with 3.3%.

The Asturian industrial sector, with an increase of 8.1%, was the greatest driving force behind the region’s GDP growth. Professional and scientific activities (7.1%), and construction (6.1%) were also an influencing factor on the increase in GDP in Asturias, allowing it to secure the top spot in the ranking of autonomous communities. Likewise, sectors such as IT and communications (3.4%), and trade (2.5%) revealed GDP increases throughout 2017.

The Hispalink integrated regional modelling network envisages an increase in GDP in Asturias of 2.6% in 2018.

Source: La Nueva España

9 January, 2019 /

3D Technologies: ArcelorMittal Spain and the Austrian company Frankstahl Technology come together in Asturias to form Thesteelprinters, designing, manufacturing and commercialising replacement steel pieces for industrial equipment based on 3D technologies.

After researching additive manufacturing at its global R&D centre in Avilés, ArcelorMittal Spain has forged a business alliance with the technology division of the Austrian multinational Frankstahl group. This partnership has led to the creation of a new company called Thesteelprinters, specialising in the design, manufacture and commercialisation of 3D printed steel pieces.

This company was constituted to meet the need detected by ArcelorMittal to shift laboratory-based research to the industrial manufacture of pieces based on 3D technologies. To do this, they have relied on Frankstahl Technology, a company present in 10 European countries and outstanding for its high levels of innovation within the industrial sector.

Thesteelprinter’s production centre is located in Avilés, in the Principality of Asturias Business Park (PEPA), where ArcelorMittal Spain has its headquarters. Here, the company has already begun to design and manufacture steel pieces, such as air nozzles and water diffusers, used by the Indian multinational in its machinery and production processes.

Thesteelprinters was founded in September 2018 with a capital of 2 million euros. This company will not just supply ArcelorMittal, as it also aims to market its 3D printed pieces to different industrial companies that carry out their activity in the metallurgy, steel making and mining sectors.

The presence of this new company gives our region a new drive in industrial innovation, setting an example of business confidence from foreign multinationals and adding yet another piece to the Asturian Steel Innovation Cluster.