The end of the Transit and the crossing of the desert
A couple of weeks ago the Ford plant in Almussafes said goodbye to its Transit model. It was foreseen. All the companies that work in its environment had that date marked on our calendar. What worried us months ago and still worries us today is the lack of that model or models at the Ford Almussafes plant that would maintain production levels and ensure profitability levels for companies that are highly dependent on Ford.
Ignorance of the American brand's transition to hybrid and electric vehicles only fuels uncertainty, and this is a major constraint to making the best strategic decisions. And our future depends on it.
At Ford itself, an ERTE is being negotiated. And at Industrias Alegre, as in other companies in the sector, we are forced to face an ERE. “We know it will be difficult for those who have to leave and very demanding for those who continue, but it is a question of survival,” says Enrique Careaga, our CEO. “We have to face a desert crossing, which seems to be getting longer as we go through it. It is a very tough decision, but the workload has dropped a lot and we cannot compromise the viability of the company.”
And yet, at the end of the journey there are good prospects; all we need is the fuel to reach our destination, and this refueling, given its structural nature, needs the help of both the public administration and financial institutions.
Innovation as a territory of the future
At Industrias Alegre we make a very strong commitment to innovation, which has been going on for several years. “We have allocated many resources to research, innovation and diversification in materials and sectors,” says Amparo Vázquez, our R&D&I director. And she sums it up this way: “In just a few years we have become a reference in additive manufacturing with polypropylene, we have become integrators of plastronics and we even have proposals that are already viable for replacing aluminum parts with new thermoplastic composites. As if that were not enough, we are already in a position to manufacture battery modules, which are one of the most demanding parts in electric vehicles. We are even incorporating AI into our manufacturing to be more efficient.”
Indeed, we are in a privileged position to address the challenges of the future and its recognition is reflected in the participation in several projects, awaiting their resolution, of PERTE VEC-2.
But this future with exciting prospects lies behind a desert that needs to be crossed. “The whole company is confident that we will soon reach a space that is friendlier for everyone. We want to arrive with strength and demonstrate that we continue to be a leading company in our sector and reliable for the most demanding industry", concludes our Commercial Director, Monica Alegre.