Shop Talk With the Publisher |
The awakening of Spain
Just returned from several days in Spain —Valencia and the Catalonia regions (which includes Barcelona, the foreign trade capital of the country) — where, as a guest of AFEMMA, the Spanish woodworking machinery manufacturers association, we got a close-up look at several fast emerging and advancing machinery and supply manufacturing facilities, as well as a preview of plans for an expanding super trade show and Spanish technical testing and research laboratories, which need take a back seat to no one. Watch out America. The Spanish are coming on strong!
No longer can the Spanish machinery producers be called the “copiers” that I remember their being referred to back in the 1980s, when, as one machinery manufacturer told us, “We weren’t taken seriously then and some distributors wanted us to put ‘Made in Italy’ on our products. We refused.”
Now, this still relatively young industry is moving into economic prosperity right along with Spain itself, which is now part of the EC and enjoying a GDP of nearly $600 billion. With the death of Franco in the mid 1970s and his long reign of dictatorship, Spain received its wake-up call. Then, some 15-20 years ago, Spain decentralized its government, put control into the hands of local governments elected by the people and pushed industrial policies to become more akin to their European neighbors. The results of those efforts are now coming to fruition and nowhere is it more evident than in the woodworking machinery and supply manufacturing sector.
At Barberan (profile wrappers, finishing equipment, laminators), Intorex (lathes) and Cehisa (edgebanders) — all long-time exporters to the U.S. — as well as at Bermaq (routers, and nine years in the U.S.), Sugimat (boilers), and Laboratorios Rayt (adhesives), management is pulling top talent from within its own ranks and from other European countries to design, technically evaluate, produce, manage and market quality products for a world market. Modern Woodworking will be reporting on these products and profiling these companies in upcoming issues. Watch for them.
Over the past 15 years or so, this quiet segment of the industry in a quiet (until now) country was doing its homework. Rather than producing machinery only engineers can figure out, the Spanish have gone to the factory floor, developing “understandable machinery produced for the production worker — manageable machines,” as Juan Cuenca Arasa, managing director of Cehisa puts it — all while keeping pricing competitive.
Already, companies are expanding. Barberan ($20 million in annual turnover) has a new facility as does Bermaq ($6 million in turnover exporting 65% of its production). Sugimat does $10 million in sales, exporting 20% of its production and expecting it could be 80% by next year. Cehisa is boasting of great success in eastern countries such as Russia, Poland and they have a “good market in Iceland!” Starting this year, they’re beginning export to Canada. Intorex ($8 million in turnover) is exporting 30% of its product to the U.S.
On top of this, and because of their efforts at improving their technology, aggressive Spanish companies are drawing more foreign visitors to its main woodworking trade show, FIMMA, a biennial show, which will take place next on November 7-10, 2001. Last year, the show drew 1,575 exhibiting companies, “making it larger than IWF,” says Jose Menoya, who heads up AFEMMA, in referring to number of exhibiting companies and coming in close in attendance to IWF at 42,718 participants. However, because the show is growing so quickly (27%-37% increase in exhibiting companies and floor space over the ’97 show), walls were already being knocked down and expansion was starting at the fair site we visited in Valencia.
Keep an eye on Spain.
Carol Carman, Publisher & Editorial Director
P.O. Box 88383
Atlanta, GA 30356
Phone: 770-667-1282
e-mail: ccarman@randallpub.com
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