/ EXPORTS T BEATING RECORDS FOR EXPORTS ESTHER GÜELL Last May AFM, Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, the oldest industrial association in Spain, presented the sector’s main figures for the current machine-tool situation. Among others, these highlighted figures for exports, beating the manufacturer’s historic record. Effectively, the producers grouped in AFM have a marked exporting vocation which has been consolidated for years. In fact, Spanish machine-tool manufacturers are in third place in the European ranking for producers within this sector and are ninth in the world. In 2012, their exports, along with the tools, accessories, components and equipments, represented more than 80% of their global production figures. o analyse the situation using specific examples, we have included the collaboration of five of the main Spanish export companies, who have answered the following questions: 1. Your company is among the manufacturers with the highest which were the main difficulties you were forced to overcome? 2. Which are the current difficulties for exporting? 3. At present, what percentage do exports represent on your income statement? 4. What countries are your main clients? Which ones are potentially interesting and why? 5. Asian countries, are they an interesting expanding market? 18 / exports. When did you start exporting significant amounts and