Nuria Dasí: “...when it comes to sustainability, we are essentially proactive”
Nuria Dasí leads the product development team at Industrias Alegre and she has one very clear goal for her team: to anticipate clients’ needs and offer them innovative, imaginative solutions which turn the circular economy into a reality.
Question: Are all your clients demanding sustainable products?
Answer: We are progressing towards sustainability whether or not they ask it of us. When a client comes to us to manufacture a part, we could simply quote a price and manufacture it if the price is right. But we don’t work that way. We are experts in manufacturing and that means we must move ahead, researching new developments and proposing solutions. Therefore, when looking at a part, even if the client already has the design, we have to be capable of optimising it from the point of view of sustainability. We do not wait for the demand, when it comes to sustainability we are essentially proactive.
Q: Does that proactive approach work?
A: The clients welcome it, because we are all experiencing the same pressure and because they recognise our expertise. In general, our ideas are well received. For example, we suggested working with chemical foamants on the plastic parts, at a time when that was not mainstream, achieving reductions of up to 18% in some cases. Nobody had asked for it. In our client’s initial proposal, there was no request in that regard. but when we showed them the idea they accepted and it is now part of their usual requests. In the end, it is a form of joint work between their team and ours.
Q: Do clients ask for the impossible?
A: Right now, I don’t think it is necessary to make extraordinary requests, because we have all taken on board the fact that this is an extraordinary time which requires a lot from us. Electric cars, for example, mean that the entire ecosystem must provide ideas for improvement and do so every day, in all spheres. Because the challenge is truly important.
Q: Is there a magic formula to come up with those good ideas?
A: My team is full of engineers, who, essentially, are extremely creative people. If we than add attractive challenges, that group of people grows and starts to ask questions at each step: How can I eliminate the adhesive from this part?, Can I crush and reuse this waste material?, How could I utilise the textiles that people are depositing in recycling bins?
Q: Has the circular economy changed the way you work very much?
A: Totally. In fact, today, everything is about the circular economy.