/ INTERVIEW internationalisation, more innovation. It’s no surprise but it is worth highlighting that the Associa- The Spanish machine tool industry is one of the few in Spain with its own products, its own technology. How has this industry been successful? I think it’s because of its structure in the form of a Cluster, which in the case of machine tools in the Basque Country is one of the few natural cases in Europe. We have a unique concentration of firms directly dedicated to the sector (manufacturers of machines, accessories, component parts and tools), together with a whole ecosystem of foundries, machine shops, boilermakers, assembly services, automa- tion, etc., which is truly exceptional. JOSÉ IGNACIO TORRECILLA: “IN SPAIN, WE HAVE A UNIQUE CONCENTRATION OF FIRMS DIRECTLY DEDICATED TO THE SECTOR OF METALWORKING” On the other hand, the technical knowledge that has existed for centuries and our ancestral relationship with metalwor- king have been arranged and organised to develop very inte- resting knowledge of our own. We have companies, technology centres and universities to fuel this. How long have you been AFM Chairman? You are exporting 92% of your production, with China as your main customer. How do Spanish companies operate in China? Do they have their own sales structure? Are they producing in China? I was appointed Chairman of the Association in December 2011. At the Meeting which approved the merger of the AFM (machine tools) and the AMT (component parts, tools and accessories) to create the new AFM which now represents manufacturers of machine tools, accessories, component parts and tools. So I’ve been in the post for a year and a half, and I can say that I’m very happy to represent our sector. The Association’s companies operate in China in very diffe- rent ways in each case. There’s a small but growing number of companies that have their own production facilities in China, to complement their main production here. A larger group which have their own commercial distribution network in China, although given the enormous size of the market, normally covering specific geographical areas (those considered of most interest based on the products they specialise in). And finally we can say that most of our companies have signed collaboration agreements with Chinese dealers or agents to market their products there. As someone involved in the production and distribution of machine-tools you were already familiar with the Association. Once you gained more in-depth knowledge about the AFM, was it like you thought it would be? Did anything surprise you? How does the Spanish industry achieve this level of exports? What’s the secret? The sector has a long export tradition, with export levels in excess of 80% of production (reaching 91.5% for machines in 2012), to more than 120 countries worldwide. The top 5 destinations are China, Germany, Spain, France and India, with both Russia and USA also on the increase. This level of internationalisation is the prime example of our competiti- veness and has enabled us to develop our capacity and defend ourselves better when faced with adverse circums- tances in certain geographical areas. The secret is to always go where your customers are and adapt our products to their specific requirements. tion works hard and is very effective. 14 / As a member of the board, I was very familiar with how the AFM operates and the way it works. The change that has fallen to me to lead has been to combine the needs of the two organisations which were dealt with separately before. But there were many similarities and elements uniting them, and I really think that we’ve achieved a lot more. More members, more services, more professionalism, more