The president of the Deputation of Jaén (Spain), Francisco Reyes, said that plastic is a "strategic" sector for the economy of the province. He said during the opening of the business meeting "Clusters and their advantages for companies in the plastic sector", an event organized by the Andaltec Foundation.

"It is a strategic sector and key to the proactivity of the provincial economy, as are ceramics, metalworking or wood and furniture," Reyes said.

With outbreaks in Martos and Alcalá la Real, about 34 percent of the direct employment generated by this sector is located in the province of Jaén. In this sense, the President of the Provincial Council highlighted the capacity to generate wealth and employment and listed different lines of collaboration undertaken by the provincial administration with the technological centers of the province "to bring innovation and development to our industrial sector."

He pointed out that "R + D + i should be a constant and an added value, and in the strengthening of sectors such as plastic it is essential the role of these centers, such as Andaltec, capable of contributing research and innovation to strengthen the Competitiveness and take steps in the internationalization of our companies ".

Andaltec serves more than 300 companies and in view of the current exercise has set itself the objective of enhancing its research and development in packaging sectors, especially in food packaging; Lighting, interior, exterior, for urban roads and for the railway sector; And the aeronautical sector.

"Innovation must be a extremely important element in the production process," said the president of the County Council, which has recognized the need for clusters promoted by the Andalusian board linked to seven productive sectors related to Andalusian technological centers. He added that these are initiatives that go through the promotion of innovation in companies, through the incorporation of solutions, models and developments linked to the Information Society that require the receptivity of companies to respond to needs Common in the sector.

The Minister of Employment, Enterprise and Commerce, José Sánchez Maldonado also attended the event. He encouraged plastic entrepreneurs in the province to join and encourage the formation of a cluster that aspire to bring together companies in the sector in Andalusia, taking advantage of the leadership of the technological center Andaltec and the concentration of firms dedicated to this activity that exists in the territory jiennense.

As advantages that could lead to the formation of a cluster, the adviser cited the generation of more employment and wealth around the plastic industry, as well as an improvement in the competitiveness of companies and greater support for internationalization and increase sales abroad. The cluster would also mean new business opportunities among the companies in the sector through business alliances and greater ease of access to undertake improvements and R & D projects that could not be viable for SMEs alone. The plastic sector in Andalusia is made up of more than 400 companies and about 15,000 workers.

Source: Europa Press
Lima, Peru
19th Edition