This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Elesa+Ganter entrega el premio de su I Concurso de Diseño Industrial

Ignacio Echeveste rediseña a brida more ergonomic

Elesa+Ganter Delivers the prize of his I Contest of Industrial Design

Editorial Interempresas07/06/2012

The Biennial of the Machine-Tool was the stage chosen by the company Elesa+Ganter Iberian, S.L. to make public the failure of the 'I Contest of Industrial Design of Mechanical Components' and deliver the prize to the winner, Ignacio Echeveste. The aim of this contest has been to promote the creativity between students and industrial designers and show the importance of the design in the process of innovation and his considerable contribution to the industrial success.

After studying the different projects presented, the jury selected like winner the project presented by Ignacio Echeveste. The jury stood out of the project the ergonomic and modern lines of the element presented. The galardón was delivered in the stand of Elesa+Ganter Iberian during the 27 edition of the fair BIEMH.

Jesús M. White, general director of Elesa+Ganter, delivers the prize to Ignacio Echeveste.

Gema Navarrete, responsible of Marketing of the company, explained to Interempresas the reasons that carried to the company to undertake this initiative to promote the design. “Fundamentally, what have wanted to promocionar is the R&D in Spain and also have looked for that the students and professionals give account of the important that is the design in a company that devotes to manufacture components as ours”.

Pedro Luis Beard, Commercial director, by his part, put of self-evident the importance to be precisely the Spanish subsidiary of the group Elesa+Ganter, the one who has takeed the initiative, perfectly exportable to other countries and to the head office of the group. “In fact —it affirmed— already we present this idea to corporate level in one of our conventions, with the end that the prize can do to international level, taking into account that we have subsidiaries by all the world”.

Sure enough, in this occasion Spain has takeed the initiative. The idea split of Elesa+Ganter Iberian but with the vocation to establish it by all the countries in which it is present, and even to summon a final between the winners of each one of the countries. The contest celebrated his first announcement during the BIEMH and has served like pilot project to extend it.

(Of izda. To dcha.) Jesús M. White, Ignacio Echeveste, Pedro Luis Beard and Gema Navarrete, in a moment distended during the act of delivery.

The contest promocionó in faculties of engineering, schools of industrial design, institutes and centres of design, schools of engineers, social networks, page web of the company, etc. “To be the first time have had a good participation —affirms Gema Navarrete—. It has been a very interesting experience like taking of contact and of temperature of how initiate this. We have had to resolve a lot of doubts to the participants on what expected of them. But we are very satisfied of the final result. In the concrete case of the winner, award him to an usual element, as it is a brida, this importance and this dedication to improve his potential is very interesting”.

Elesa+Ganter, manufacturer of accessories of machinery furniture and industrial equipment with headquarters in the place of Soraluce, Gipuzkoa, offers a range of elements standardised and components of machinery with more than 40.000 references

The winning project is a brida designed by the industrial engineer Ignacio Echeveste, Gipuzkoan established in Madrid to the research of labour opportunities, after finalising the career in 2011. The piece, functionally, already existed in the current catalogue, but the ergonomics has been evolved notably.

Ignacio knew of the contest through a group of Linkedin and understood it like an opportunity to keep active, practise the learnt and, who knew, even can attend to the interviews of work with a prize of design. “I have time, likes me and handle well the program ProEngineer, that is the one who have used to design the project that presented to contest. Besides, I think that many times the engineer and the designer act separately and always has liked me joint the two disciplines”.

Ignacio Echeveste, in the stand of Elesa+Ganter.

Explains also how faced the idea to present to the contest. “Once registered like participant, the company Elesa+Ganter sent me the catalogue so much in paper as in 3D and looked for elements that, in my opinion, could improve regarding the design. It seemed me that the bridas had some profiles mejorables, with a line of design that had to have a more robust appearance and, on the other hand, be more ergonomic since it is a piece with which probably somebody have to do a very repetitive movement. I began with the project thinking in playing with the aesthetic part and the functionality. I wanted to give him to the brida a feeling of more robustness, more durability and at the same time do it more comfortable, with some lines of design more current. Lines more modern, with more curvatures, avoiding the singings… Think that now gives more feeling of robustness”.

More than a simple prize

Initially the contest has the vocation to cause initiatives between the professionals of the design. However, asked after this, the managers of Elesa+Ganter no descartan go a bit more far. Jesús M. White, his general director in Spain, signals that the project will analyse . “We will look it well and always it fits the possibility to study the standardisation of this product. In fact it is a form to work very in the line of which are used to to practise. 50% of our volume of business comes from of the standard components and the another 50% of special applications that, when the market shows interest, become standard. Any new solution that go contributing is studied by us and by our head office… no descartamos at all”.

Of what are convinced in Elesa+Ganter, after this first experience, is that the contest will have continuity. “We will follow with the prize, will do it with annual character and expect that the idea cale to international level” affirms the general director.

On the other hand, who knows, this type of contests can approach to the youngsters to the labour market. As it explains it Pedro Luis Beard “do not confuse, the prize is not a process of selection of personnel. But the true is that Elesa+Ganter is growing and there is always vacant in the different subsidiaries, by what to the winner opens him a possibility to integrate in any of the staff of the company. Logically this is not guaranteeed, but does not fit doubt that it is a possibility”.

Gema Navarrete insists in this slope of the prize: “we Think that it is interesting for the designer win a prize like this because it will open him doors in the labour market. In this case, Ignacio Echeveste, the winner, has finished the career does little, by what would be a satisfaction if this prize could open him doors in the companies”.

In any case, the aims of the company when summoning this prize of design included also a responsible point of view with the industrial surroundings in which we find us. With the punished that is the image of Spain, has wanted to boost the development of the person and of new ideas and contribute value to the industry. “It is the granite of sand that can contribute from our structure. It has been a very beautiful experience”.