“SMALL COMPANIES ARE THE DRIVING FORCE AND THE HEART OF THE INDUSTRY”

The Minister for Economic Development and Competitiveness of the Basque Government, Arantxa Tapia, has presided over the inauguration of the industrial fairs Ferroforma, Subcontratación, Addit3D, Pumps & Valves, Maintenance, Fitmaq, WORKinn and Polveri & EcoCoating, which will be held at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre from 6 to 8 June.

Arantxa Tapia pointed out that “at this Trade Show, the true stars are the small Basque companies. They deserve more visibility, since they are the heart and the driving force of the Basque industry”. The head for Economic Development of the Basque Country has demanded a higher industrial vocation because the Basque Country needs the new generations to be involved in the industrial sector, thus guaranteeing its modernity and continuity.

The minister has praised the efforts and results of the companies that consolidated the recovery of the production in 2016, according to the data published by Eustat, which showed an accumulated IPI growth of 2.4%.

She was accompanied by the Provincial Councillor for Economic and Territorial Development, Imanol Pradales; the Deputy Minister for Tourism and Commerce, Isabel Muela; Danel Sola, Member of Barakaldo Town Council for Treasury, Heritage and Hiring; the presidents of several associations who are represented at the different events such as Alfonso Urzainki, president of ADDIMAT; Antxon López Usoz, president of AFM; and Xabier Basañez, CEO of BEC, among others.