/ INTERVIEW Thus, if the Spanish industry can hold its held up high, what is preventing many companies from expanding internationally? In my own personal opinion, historically there has been no For this year’s edition, Meco show in EMO Hannover a larger model, which synchronises the 3 shafts but also incorporating the possibility of making helical slots, both on the inside and outside of the piece”. which has not yet been fully resolved, a fact which also fore- sees an interesting growth potential. awareness in Spain regarding exports. I would like to state that I’m referring to a general level, including all sectors, given that in the machine-tool sector this has not been the case and it has been exporting for many years. With all this experience, how do you feel Spanish technology is valued throughout the world? In general, the Spanish machine-tool sector is well known and well valued. This has entailed an advantage for us, 'new' to this sector, that we were able to make the most of the doors which were opened years ago by leading companies within the international market. These companies made sure the Spanish industry is respected. Therefore, despite presenting an unknown system under an unknown brand, the fact of being Spanish machine-tool provides us with a privileged position thanks to Spanish technology being highly respected. Even in countries such as India or Canada, in which the Spanish machine-tool sector is highly valued, but without comparing ourselves to German machinery, which sells itself simply by being presented as machinery made in Germany. So, in my opinion, at the moment the best opportunities are to be found outside of Europe, like in India, where we have sold our first machine. In general, these countries value our technology as well as our interest for presenting ourselves and participating in national trade fairs. I understand that large European companies can find good machinery manufacturers in Spain... Yes, but there is another factor which slows sales in Europe, the market is highly saturated. We ourselves are a perfect example, we are a company which is more or less working 32 / However, our commitment to the European market remains strong, as we detect that our machine covers a market niche we had up until now which already allowed for this, but with certain limitations on the outer part in so far as dimensions, diameters, etc. With the new model, we obtain superb preci- sion, enabling us to work in demanding sectors such as the automotive industry. The aim is to reach a type of client which produces gears in medium/short series, companies which are not only dedicated to this production and that, therefore, don’t invest in specific machines for this, which are much more costly. On the other hand, for years domestic consumption and the national market in full development were sufficient to main- tain the companies and the industrial sector in general. Neither have languages been granted their true importance and now we are paying the price, as it is evident that in order to sell the first thing we need to do is communicate with the other party. Unfortunately in Spain, there has been no serious commitment to making languages a top priority. In addition to this, in the 1990s we hosted the Olympic Games, a Universal Exhibition, the construction 'boom'... giving way to years of economic growth during which many companies had sufficient and saw no need for internationalisation. Thus, in my opinion, during this period companies had no need to venture outside, get their act together, and it could be said that selling was ‘easy’. Exporting entails a significant sacrifice, knowing English at least and making an economic investment. It also involves a change in quality control, which must now become much stricter, simply because a claim made in Spain can be resolved much faster and easier than one made thousands of kilometres away. This is why we now find many Spanish companies which do not make the deci- sion because they know they need to improve these aspects. Also, many of these are small, family-run companies, with great professionals and highly capable staff but who are not mentally prepared for facing the challenge of exporting. Exporting requires many things, promoting R&D, being more competitive, analysing the foreign market, etc... but for me the most important thing is to introduce a team work mentality in the people working within the company and understanding that the company is not the 'boss', the company is not a building or a brand or a series of machines, we must understand that the company belongs to everyone and, that everyone is a group of people in perfect synchro- nism while performing a task or job, aiming for excellence while performing it... Anything which does not follow this line is deemed to failure. But there is also a less positive side, and that is the current economic situation which Spain is enduring. There is a certain degree of mistrust, especially among European countries which are in better situations in so far as economic matters. Due to which, in my point of view, in many cases being able to export or not is a matter of changing our mentality, not just a matter of capability. On the other hand, in Europe we come across countries with an exporting tradition, such as Italy or Germany.