President of the Community of Madrid
Alstom, Leopoldo Maestu
Alstom defines itself as a sustainable mobility solutions company. It has defined four key sustainability objectives at the core of its strategy: combating climate change and pollution, eliminating the use of energy sources that consume non-renewable resources, reducing the use of scarce materials, and protecting endangered ecosystems.
To achieve these objectives, it is making significant investments in innovation and technology, leading the sector and serving as a driving force for the entire industry. With a short-term impact, it has launched the Alstom Ecodesign initiative for the development of all its products and services. This initiative is comprised of four priorities: energy efficiency, use of natural and recyclable materials, noise and vibration reduction, integration into the circular economy, and emissions reduction.
In parallel, it is pioneering the development of hydrogen storage and propulsion systems, fuel cells, new battery systems, and motor and inverter systems. These initiatives are driving investments in the development of adjacent technologies such as the generation and distribution of green hydrogen.
ISDEFE, Francsico Quereda
Isdefe, Systems Engineering for the Defense of Spain, has, in its more than thirty-five years of history, provided innovative support to the Armed Forces, generating unique synergies throughout our entire environment. Its founders were pioneers in developing systems engineering applied to military program management, which has resulted in efficient requirements definition and adequate management of acquisitions and systems lifecycles. The accumulated experience and talent have also allowed Isdefe to become an efficient and innovative instrument, capable of providing services to other administrations, even in fields far removed from defense, demonstrating the tremendous externalities that exist between the military sector and the civilian economy.
For government suppliers, nothing is more important than having what are known as Smart Customers, who become valid and capable interlocutors to discuss the most intricate issues with industry, while never losing sight of their vocation to serve the defense of Spain and without distorting the supply market.
AIRBUS, Ricardo Rojas
Airbus is the great European example of international collaboration. This is in the spirit of its founding. Following the precedent of the successful cooperation on the Concorde, at a meeting in July 1967, the ministers of France, Germany, and Great Britain agreed to jointly develop an “Airbus,” stating the purpose of “strengthening European cooperation in the field of aeronautical technology and thus promoting Europe’s economic and technological progress.” Two years later, the Airbus A300 program was launched. In the field of defense and space, EADS was created on July 10, 2000, with the merger of the French company Aerospatiale-Matra, the German companies Dornier and DASA, and the Spanish company CASA. Similarly, the helicopter sector would be integrated into the Eurocopter company. These three leading companies would eventually merge to create the Airbus Group we know today.
Throughout this history, international collaboration has remained at the heart of this company. And not just in Europe, as the group has important manufacturing and R&D centers around the world, with notable operations in the USA, Canada, China, and Poland. Airbus has been characterized by its global vision, incorporating partners from all over the world into its programs, both civil and military. Airbus aircraft integrate systems and technologies from almost all European countries, North America, India, Korea, Japan, the Middle East, and more. Airbus is a catalyst for international cooperation worldwide, and its contribution to the progress of all nations is indisputable.
In Spain, it plays a leading role in the export of high-tech products. Many of the group’s product innovations, currently in flight around the world and even beyond, originate from the Airbus Spain team.
Skydweller, Robert H. Miller
Disruptive innovation undoubtedly makes the difference between the present and the future. According to the Royal Academy, disruption is an abrupt interruption of a trend, a custom, or a technological development. We speak of innovation when we refer to improvements in production, design, or the efficiency of a system. If we must refer to disruptive innovations, we must turn to Oberheimer, the Wright brothers, Montgolfier, or Isaac Peral, who revolutionized their fields because they were visionaries.
An aerial platform powered exclusively by solar energy with a high payload is the greatest disruption in the aeronautical world in the last fifty years, an unprecedented transformation in the way we use the atmosphere and space.
Visionaries are ahead of governments and society, and they assume the risk of incomprehension, institutional slowness, and risk aversion. But without these visionaries, we would still be moving around on horseback.
Skydweller is not an idea, it was, it is not a project, it was, it is a reality developed in Spain, and this makes it even more relevant, because the last time Spain produced something disruptive was in 1921 when the autogyro flew in Cuatro Vientos, a hundred years ago.
Ginés Clemente, Executive President of Aciturri
Ginés Clemente Ortiz’s professional career began after graduating as an Industrial Master. Initially, he worked for various companies in Miranda de Ebro and surrounding areas, during which time he established professional contact with the machining industry. In 1977, he started Talleres Ginés, a small machining workshop focused on the agricultural sector, where he was the only employee. Today, that small workshop has become a key player in the global aeronautical sector. Nearly 1,500 employees, 84,000 m2 of facilities, a worldwide customer base, and a leading position in the manufacturing and assembly of high-tech components that today equip the most modern aircraft and engines worldwide.
This history of more than 40 years is one of constant change and innovation. And that change has Ginés Clemente as its protagonist. He is the person who has led it with impressive vocation and capacity for work. Always willing to explore new possibilities, adopt new technologies, venture into new countries, and apply technologies developed in one sector to another. All of this with a humility and professional ethic worthy of admiration.
His example has not only impacted his group’s employees. Without a doubt, he has become a benchmark for the entire aeronautical industry and the business community of our country.
