The Catalan Minister of Business and Knowledge, Ramon Tremosa, visited the Eurecat technology centre’s facilities in Cerdanyola del Vallès this Wednesday to learn about the technologies and projects it is working on to drive industrial and technological recovery against the backdrop of today’s healthcare crisis.
Eurecat technology centre staff gave onsite demonstrations of a number of technologies they have been honing over recent months. Eurecat is also a NextGenerationEU fund project partner, promoter and adviser for several businesses.
The minister was shown the tech centre’s technologies and projects designed to address the challenges posed to businesses today, including solutions anchored in digitalisation, new materials and robotics, along with facilities such as the battery, materials and injection laboratories and Eurecat’s plastronics pilot plant, a European leader in its field. The Eurecat technology centre has a 650-strong workforce and delivers services to over 1,600 businesses.
The technologies showcased during the tour included the Flagship Ronous cognitive robotics project designed to enable more natural and intuitive interaction between robots and humans. Also on display were the cranial and spinal neurosurgery devices developed by Neos Surgery together with proprietary ultrasound microinjection from Ultrasion, two of the technology centre’s spin-offs. Laboratory examples were also discussed such as research into new materials with virus-killing properties and disinfection processes.
Matilde Villarroya, Director General for Industry, and Joan Romero, Catalonia Trade & Investment CEO, accompanied Ramon Tremosa on the site tour. The welcoming party included Xavier Torra, Eurecat’s chair; Daniel Altimiras, second deputy chair; Francesc Santasusana, Eurecat Executive Committee member; Xavier López, Eurecat’s Chief Operating and Corporate Officer, and Miquel Rey, Eurecat’s Corporate Director of Business Development.
The Catalan Minister of Business and Knowledge additionally called in at the Catalan firm DICOMOL which specialises in designing and manufacturing moulds for injection die casting. Its new facilities are in DICOMOL’s 4,000 m2 premises in La Llagosta business park. The family-run business was established in 1979 and manufactures and repairs injection moulds for the automotive and other industries. It currently has 35 employees and around €2 million in turnover.
Minister Tremosa stressed the value of industry in the current situation. “The countries which have weathered crises are the industrial ones,” he said. “Now we have a tourism and health emergency which is hitting several sectors yet industry is holding its own.” The Minister also championed “the key role entrepreneurs play in economic and social life” since “social leaders are the entrepreneurs who put their resources on the line in an uncertain future, who create jobs and wealth for society.”
During the tour, Estela Sánchez, the CEO of DICOMOL, Francisco Sánchez, its founder, and Daniel Altimiras, the firm’s sales director and deputy chair of Eurecat, showed the minister examples of parts manufactured in the Catalan SME’s plant together with facilities including its production area, product showroom and training venue where young people can learn more about the industry and do vocational training. DICOMOL also outlined several projects it is running in partnership with Eurecat to tackle the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Òscar Sierra, Mayor of La Llagosta; Joan Romero, CEO of Catalonia Trade & Investment; Jordi Carbonell, Deputy Director General for Industrial Investment, and Alícia Bosch, chair of the metalworking employers’ association (CENTREM), also took part in the visit.
PHOTO CAPTION: Minister Tremosa during his visit to Eurecat. (Photo credit: Laura Gómez)
