Aspromec: the Association of the machining

There are basically two reasons why Aspromec is created:

1. The activity of Spain machining lost competitiveness owing to the effect tractor of our large companies or institutions.
2. A set of auxiliary sectors to the machining react to the lack of innovation in the form of interact with their customers and decide to do so taking an activist attitude in defense of machining in the environment sector.

The realization of the two previous points takes shape in the meeting of the machining. Described as: ' call inclusive of institutions, enterprises tractors and SMEs of the machining with a common goal: to increase the competitiveness of the machining subcontracting network '.

Thus six companies of the auxiliary sector to machining - Castrol, Interempresas, Intermaher, Tecnocim, SSAB-Toolox and WNT - create a forum to encourage the SMEs of the machining to improve its competitiveness based on four basic pillars: innovation, cooperation, contacts and new markets.

The four meetings of machining in 2010 have been mobilized to 397 companies giving rise to a total of 608 attendees. The summary of the statistics is:

Many companies have attended more than one meeting because although the format is similar, each has different incentives.

In the Organization of these meetings have contributed 30 different institutions include Indra, ITP, Sener, Town Hall of Vitoria - Gasteiz, City Council of Torrejón de Ardoz, Generalitat de Catalunya, community of Madrid, Fedeme, CDTI, Superior Council of Chambers, among others.

Assistance data confirm that the sector has responded positively, that it is receptive to such initiatives.

As to the results to the dynamism of the sector through the promotion of specific projects of cooperation, innovation or internationalization between SMEs of the machining soon a little more to be reported. Although some emerging initiatives are known to the date of issue of this article, it is still early to talk about them.

Aspromec has also provided that positive experiences generated by the meetings of the machining must be disclosed in order to encourage other SMEs to follow the same path. This section of the magazine Interempresas Metal-mecánica, sponsor of Aspromec has been created here. A complementary activity that closes the circle around the goal of the Association.

The next step of the Association is to generate a series of collaborations with companies and institutions that strengthen the fundamental objective. These collaborations will lead to a few exclusive services for members of Aspromec.

Services that offer Aspromec to their partners always have focus to improve their competitiveness and develop with companies and institutions that can clearly help machining SMEs in this regard.

A real example is the signing of a cooperation agreement with the consultancy specialised in SMEs of metal Aleacción Coaching and consulting, S.L., who will offer to members of Aspromec the first session of free consulting. After this meeting, the company will perform a free diagnosis to the SMEs of the machining.

This service and similar will be established for members of Aspromec from January 2011.

Some of the strategic lines that the association intends to develop in this regard are:

• Collaboration with the Superior Council of Chambers to give SMEs in the tooling associated with Aspromec assistance and information to gain access to the meetings with international buyers.
• Collaboration with the CDTI partners to give advice on how to access aid for innovation.
• Assistance in cooperation projects for partners through collaboration agreements with specialized consultancies.
• International meetings of partners with other European machining through cooperation with multinational companies.
• It helps to optimize the commercial activities of our partners through collaboration with consultants specialized in the sector.
• Collaboration with engineering so that our partners have access to works of more value for their customers.

And of course Aspromec will continue organizing other four matches of the machining in 2011. They will be in different cities of our country and keep alive the meeting Forum of SMEs in the machining initiated in 2010. Access to these meetings shall be free not only for the partners of Aspromec, but for all SMEs in the tooling, this initiative is a partnership contribution to the development of the sector.

The idea of Aspromec was born of cooperation between six companies in auxiliary sectors to the machining with a rationale: "industrial subcontracting by machining in Spain market is in a phase of maturity, if we do nothing by him will quickly go to a phase of decline that can last years"", but that auxiliary companies living off selling for chip startup processes, will leave them a very small and unprofitable market".

This is the case in all; There is who decides to do something to change things and lead when others hope that things are resolved if alone. They are also the subcontractors for the SMEs of the machining operating in international markets; These are better, not put high expectations on the national market and problem solved. But companies dependent on the activity of the industrial sector of machining on Spain, have no option, or are rowing in the same sense that your clients or current drag all together. That is the more direct explanation of the meaning of Aspromec.

The six companies tractor units of Aspromec are: Castrol, Interempresas, Intermaher, Tecnocim, ssab-toolox and WNT.

They are which have put the effort and financial resources to take this weight. But they are also aware that as time passes, and the Association grows, they will have to go through to the background and leave the limelight to their customers, who are the true stakeholders. They will remain there, supporting, but focusing its activity, as it is logical in further development of competitive products and services SMEs in the tooling of our environment to compete with good weapons in the global market.