After having fallen 6.3% in 2020, the number of exporters has grown 29% in the first half of this year, to exceed the figure of 196,000 companies. Among all of them, 53,634 regular exporters (those who have sold abroad in the last four years) are counted, representing 34.7% of the total and 9% more than in the same period of the previous year.

The profile of an exporting company in Spain is that of a small company with an operating amount of less than 500,000 euros whose market is mainly Europe and which mainly supplies industrial products and technology, according to data from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. These pages present a sample of SMEs and activity sectors from different parts of the Spanish geography that have found the reason for their business in exporting. Innovation and the good value for money of its products and services is key in all cases.

Aiditec Systems: lightning rod for half the world

Jorge Cuenca. Valencia

As there is no harm that is not good, climate change is being a blessing from heaven -pun intended- for the Valencian company Aiditec Systems. And it is that this small company of eight workers and a turnover of 2.3 million euros manufactures lightning rods that it sells on five continents, from Mexico and Peru to Serbia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Egypt, Malaysia or India. Daniel Blanco, founder of this firm together with his father Ángel just a decade ago, assures that the increasing worsening of the weather “produces increasingly stronger storms, with a lot of electrical equipment, and people try to protect their homes, communities of owners and companies. . When the impact of lightning on a building comes out in the media, the visits to our website skyrocket and the demand increases considerably».

To be somewhat didactic, we are talking about a device the size of half an arm that weighs between three and four kilos and whose price, depending on its size, ranges between 500 and 1,200 euros. This small company has focused since its birth in 2011 on creating lightning protection systems, which also include preventing "overvoltage" and, therefore, avoiding the effects on household appliances. Aiditec carries out the complete manufacture of lightning rods at its facilities in Valencia, where it has a workshop. It produces around 2,000 units a year and, as its co-owner explains, 80% of its turnover comes from abroad. Why are only 20% of sales domestic? Daniel Blanco replies that the reason must be found in the payment terms in Spain, which can take up to 200 days. “We are manufacturers, we are not dedicated to financing products, nor do we believe that we should act like a bank. That is why we decided to focus on the international market », he points out, before confessing that they also produce lightning rods for other manufacturers.

The company has a collaboration agreement with another Valencian firm, MD Equipos Tecnológicos, which specializes in electrical protection. Through this company, Aiditec Systems places its products on the Spanish market, while MD channels its sales abroad through Aiditec.

BCN3D: Printers for new manufacturing

Eduardo Lopez Alonso. Barcelona.

BCN3D is one of those young companies that base its growth on the international nature of its activity and prospects beyond the foreseeable. Born as a 'spin-off' of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), it is specialized in the development of additive production. Manufactures 3D printers for the business environment. With a turnover of around 4.1 million euros, the Catalan company based in Gavà (Baix Llobregat), already has almost a hundred workers and is on the verge of tackling new growth challenges. Thanks to the fundraising through investment rounds, it has been polishing its developments with machines characterized by high versatility and the ability to use multiple raw materials to make 3D models. BCN3D machines are already sold in 65 countries and 90% of revenues come from abroad. It is present in countries with as much competition as the US, China, Russia or India, for example.

Every day BCN3D opens up new business expectations, its own and those of others. It has achieved 5.5 million euros in financing rounds, with investors such as the JME VC funds, Accurafy4, Victoria, the CDTI, Danobatgroup and the Mondragón group.

The BCN3D printers are devices distanced from domestic printers, with prices between 3,500 and 10,000 euros. In the latest models, double extrusion heads are incorporated. The closed design and its humidity controlled chamber are remarkable.

It can be printed with plastics, but also with ABS, polyamides or carbon fiber. BCN3D clients make prototypes of parts to be reproduced in series later. Xavier Martínez Faneca, CEO of BCN3D, explains that "the sectors that use 3D printers the most are the automotive industry, engineering, hospitals, product designers and the educational sector." They also serve to manufacture basic tools in a short time in processes whose replacement cannot depend on third parties. The 3D printer opens up new heights of productive independence for businesses.

Bornay: Small wind power for Antarctica and the Congo

Miguel Vilaplana. Alicante

Bornay is a small company located in the Alicante municipality of Castalla which, according to the company, has become the only Spanish representative in the small wind power sector. It was an electrician, Juan Bornay, who started the firm, when he decided to take advantage of his ingenuity to build small windmills with which to bring electricity to the most remote areas of his population. Half a century later, the company's wind turbines can be found in more than 80 countries around the world, bringing electricity to absolutely remote places where power lines do not reach.

It all started in the 70s, when Juan noticed the small windmills that were then used to extract water from wells. What he did was adapt them to produce electricity, which was the origin of the company. The objective was to bring light to the farmhouses scattered around Castalla. The growth from then on was unstoppable, to the point that, since those beginnings, Bornay has gone from being a workshop where people worked manually to having their own production plant and an R&D&I department that It has allowed it to improve its products, and to have three offices, two in Spain and a third in Miami.

Since its inception, the firm has had an international focus, and an example of this is the Juan Carlos I Spanish Antarctic Base. In that distant part of the planet, a facility manufactured by Bornay can be found, as well as in three other bases in the same area who have also resorted to the Castalla firm to supply themselves with electricity. Likewise, next to the Nazca lines, located in the south of Peru, a Bornay equipment feeds a telecommunications tower. In the meteorological stations of Iceland they also have wind turbines manufactured by this SME from Alicante.

But there is much more. The firm also has an aspect of solidarity and corporate responsibility, which has led it to undertake different social projects. Through its Light Up Smiles initiative, it has improved the well-being of communities in Venezuela, the Congo and Tanzania. In the latter country, what used to be a small valley inhabited by barely 150 people is today a town of almost 20,000 inhabitants, with schools and other services, thanks to the wind turbines that have been started up.

Juan de Dios Bornay has taken over from his father at the head of the company. He explains that the secret of his success is to provide a comprehensive service to customers, supplying everything necessary for the operation of their equipment. From the wind turbine itself to the batteries, passing through the distribution systems and even solar panels. The strong impulse experienced in recent times by renewable energies is also giving rise to Bornay, which bills 8 million euros per year. "Right now we manufacture about 150 wind turbines a year, but our facilities have the capacity to produce up to 500, so there is plenty of growth potential," he concludes.

Ariño Duglass: The glass that builds the world

Jorge Heras Pastor. Saragossa

He who stumbles and does not fall, advances on his way. The saying defines the perception of the recent trajectory of the Aragonese company Ariño Duglass, specialized in the manufacture of high value glass for construction, railways and luxury boats, among other sectors. The 2008 crisis put them in a bind and compromised their future, but they managed to come out of the well stronger and currently have dazzling forecasts in terms of growth, employment and foreign trade. All this with exports that reach more than 60 countries and account for 80% of production.

The resurgence of the company has not been by chance, but rather the result of a strategy based on investment in R&D, production quality and, above all, the promotion of sales outside of Spain. «The great merit is that we have shown that internationalization is possible without relocation. We sell in the five continents and we continue to be competitive producing from Zaragoza", says the general manager, Raimundo García-Figueras. His specialization in the premium segment of the glass industry, together with the privileged logistical situation in Aragón, are other ingredients in his recipe for success.

This industrial SME, owned 50% by the Tarragó family and Mariano Ariño, is immersed in the development of an ambitious investment plan to double the glass manufacturing capacity of its factory in La Puebla de Alfindén, 18 kilometers from the city of Saragossa. The company has allocated 4.5 million euros this year to a project to modernize the plant and equip it with the latest machinery, but the amount will rise to 14.5 million in the coming years to delve into the circular economy, digitization and the environmental objectives of the 2030 Agenda.

The transformation plan will choose to be financed with European reconstruction funds. Obtaining this aid would accelerate investments, some of them already started, and would ensure the creation of 100 jobs, which would be added to the current 150. The company's order book is brimming with projects, allowing it to cover production for the whole of 2022. Orders include glass for trains in Germany, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and the University of Oxford.

The economic results are also brilliant: in 2020 it doubled its profits, with an EBITDA of 1.6 million. The turnover of 2021 will be around 18 million.

Elittoral: Environmental resilience with a Canarian stamp

Elizabeth Duran. Gran Canaria

The Canary Islands export the blue economy and knowledge about the marine environment to three continents. The Elittoral consultancy develops environmental projects to ensure the protection, conservation and sustainable management of marine systems. The tricontinental position of the Archipelago has facilitated and promoted the internationalization of this company which, with twenty employees, has its headquarters in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, but also has a base in Vigo, Palma de Mallorca or Murcia and in countries such as Ecuador or Guatemala.

Its scope of work covers the management of the coastal zone and all the activities that take place in it, both leisure and industrial. And its objective is to draw up strategies for society and infrastructures to adapt to the consequences of climate change. In short, promote resilience, because "there are aspects that we can no longer mitigate, but we can reduce their effects to improve the quality of life of people who live on the coasts and ensure the economic activity that takes place in the marine environment," he says. the commercial director of Elittoral, Gloria Álvarez.

The company, which started its activity in 2007, was born "almost internationalized". The proximity to Morocco or Cape Verde meant that in its first years of operation they deployed their teams in these countries and shortly afterwards they moved to Mozambique, Mauritania or Algeria, thanks to the good relations they maintain with different research groups. Their first contract outside of Africa came in 2012, the year in which they made the leap to Latin America with a project in Guatemala. "That's when we lost the complexes and we already saw ourselves as an international company," says the commercial director of Elittoral, who adds that, after 14 years in the field, they have amassed experience and knowledge to be able to face any new market.

"We detected an opportunity in which there were developing countries that received support from international organizations to carry out recovery and development programs in the coastal strips," says Gloria Álvarez. Although she, she acknowledges, the management of the company has always defended a strong conviction that it was necessary to leave the Islands because the market is global and knowledge about the marine environment is international.

Facet: Giant jeweler in Córdoba

Noel Santos. Cordova

The history of the most recent Córdoba is intimately linked with jewelry. The city is one of the central poles of a sector that has had to reinvent itself to adapt to the new times and the Parque Joyero has been a fundamental part of that evolution. Precisely, the position of Córdoba within the jewelry industry was one of the keys for Facet, a historical company in the sector, to settle part of its production in the city.

He did it, as Facet CEO José Miguel Serret says, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. It was at the end of September last year when this Catalan company opened a headquarters in Córdoba, in the Parque Joyero, seeking to protect a production that had so far been highly concentrated in India, a country seriously affected by the coronavirus. In this case, Facet's foreign adventure is back and forth. On the way, to produce abroad;_and back, recovering part of its production abroad.

Córdoba, says Serret, had always been in Facet's sights, "but we were leaving it for tomorrow." The covid accelerated an arrival that had always been in the company's mind and Córdoba thus became the headquarters of one of the company's factories.

The company occupies 1,500 meters in the Parque Joyero, divided into two spaces, one dedicated to manufacturing and the other focused on the administrative part. "A large part of the production has been transferred here," explains Serret, who advances that they have already opened a new period for hiring fifteen people, who will join the more than 70 workers that the company has in Cordova.

It may be thought that, within an economic crisis such as that derived from the coronavirus, jewelry is relegated to the background on the shopping list. Facet, however, expects to close this 2021 surpassing the business data of 2019. Serret details that, within the sector, or at least from Facet's experience, there are two divisions: on the one hand, retail, and on the other, big accounts. The average price of these large chains has indeed fallen, but the same has not happened at the other pole. "Those who have purchasing power had no spending options during the pandemic, but buying jewelry has always been there," says the CEO of Facet, who adds that the jewelry market that deals in pieces that can be worn every day " yes it is suffering the crisis».

In Facet, in addition, they play with the trump card of traceability. From all the pieces it is possible to know where the material is extracted from and by the hands it has passed or to know that all the rights of the workers have been fulfilled during its production. This is key for a company the size of Facet and its long-term investment.

Praxia: Fleeing the sun tax

Jose Luis Salinas. Oviedo

Pablo Cuesta, CEO of the Asturian company Praxia Energía dedicated to the manufacture of structures for solar panels, begins to list the countries to which it exports its products and during this mental exercise has to stop several times to try not to leave any behind. path. The list is long. very long And there are some of the most exotic places. “We have always had the vocation to export, I think it is our DNA”, he points out. His products have touched the ground in 32 different countries. In fact, more than 80% of the structures for solar panels that they make in a factory that they have in the Asturian town of Langreo go to foreign markets. But everything in business, and in life, has a beginning. A start. A first bite. Praxia's was in Italy, in 2009.

The company looked for the coat in the international markets that Spain denied it. Those were the times of what was known as the “sun tax” and the sales of solar panels were not going through their best moment in the country at that time. So Praxia went looking for the business outside. "Our product is specialized and looking for new markets allows you to learn and reduce local dependency," says Cuesta.

Over the years, the list of clients abroad grew. They were receiving demand from the Nordic countries, for example, with fewer hours of sunshine than Spain, but with a great demand for these products.

Little by little, Praxia, says Cuesta, was demonstrating outside of Spain that "we are a reliable and competitive company, with experience and technical and industrial capacity." And so he opened a gap and diversified his business abroad. The facilities they gave customers to finance the products also had an influence, which in economic jargon is known as bankability.

Now, in the domestic market the situation has changed. radically. The solar energy market (and, by extension, that of renewables) is buoyant. It's going downwind. The demand is growing exponentially year after year, more in the south of the country than in the north, but that has not been an excuse for the company to withdraw wings abroad. Rather the opposite. It continues trying to expand its presence abroad. Cuesta is convinced that this is the guarantee of success. The diversification.

With so much street in the international markets, there have also been some bad experiences. But nothing that has not prevented them from recovering. "There have been some others," acknowledges Pablo Cuesta, "but we soon forget them," he resolves. You learn from everything, in fact, he assures that "in this sense, the support of financial entities for analysis." It was the cane on which to base its international projection.

The businessman only has a thorn stuck. One that is on the other side of the globe, that of Australia. He would like his next international pica to be on the Australian continent. "At the moment, it is the continent that is resisting us," he acknowledges.

Ibercisa : Innovation in the port and on board

Lara Grana. Vigo

Ibercisa Deck Machinery is an auxiliary company of the Galician shipbuilding industry. Based in Vigo, it watches from its facilities the activity of the automotive factories of Stellantis or GKN Driveline. But his thing is the sea and the boats. It supplies all types of deck machinery (winches, cranes or gantries with their control systems) for all types of vessels. Like trawlers, for example, so that they can bring the catches on board; or the oceanographic ones, which need to operate at great depths to assess the state of fisheries or study unknown ecosystems. "We export on average between 80 and 90% of the production," summarizes its general manager, Roberto Rodríguez Orro. The 2020 financial year was, also in this sense, unusual, with 62% of sales abroad. The company closed the year with 23.5 million turnover, slightly below pre-pandemic values. “We have shielded ourselves financially with the COVID ICOs, although fortunately we have not needed them and, although with a lower result, everything has been black numbers.”

Until the end of the year, the company will deliver the machinery for second trawler units being built in Vietnam or in Yalova (Turkey), where Russian shipowners are ordering megaships of more than 100 meters in length. Orro points out that "it is a year of strong innovation, in which we are launching new innovative projects in terms of management and energy savings in ships, equipping the main oceanographic projects at an international level with the entire package of deck machinery". Vigo, with the Freire Shipyard and Armón shipyards, stands as the global capital of this type of contract, one of those with the greatest technical complexity and innovation on board.

One of his biggest projects materialized in Brazil, where he developed a port mooring system for a cargo terminal for the multinational Vale do Río Doçe. The order included the design, manufacture and commissioning of 26 mooring winches and 50 fairleds (leaders or fairleads), essential to allow the maneuvers of the largest freighters in the world, capable of transporting up to 360,000 tons of iron ore and with a wingspan of 400 meters in length. If it weren't for this equipment, which accompanies the natural movement of the tides, the force of these ships would uproot the entire port terminal.

With some 115 workers on the workforce -it increased in the year of the covid-, Ibercisa also faces the difficulties of escalating inflation, with a sharp increase in the prices of the raw materials it needs. "It's been a good year of contracting, it seems that the bottleneck is being resolved, but meeting delivery deadlines is proving extremely difficult," says Rodríguez Orro.

Escumar Moda: Straight to Kensington Palace

Begona Galache. Zamora.

If the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge order a coat for one of their youngest, the garment can be made in two hours, "and if I can sooner, sooner", for a price of around 150 euros. And from Zamora to London. What may seem like a fable has a name: Escumar Moda, a textile company located in the small town of Coreses. Its owners, who have inherited the family tradition, are clear: "We stay here."

For the brothers Manoli and Raúl Escudero, Zamora is the inspiration that has allowed them to make wool garments as their ancestors have been doing for four decades. Instead of "jumping" to neighboring Portugal, for example, and lowering costs, they have their own roadmap: "It will be a small-town mentality in the good sense of the word," reflects Raúl, "but we are never going to relocate the product and we love being in Zamora. The garment is designed and made entirely here with the highest quality and care. Now they are at full capacity, with a workforce that this summer has increased to 16 workers, including the owners, two more on the job, hand in hand.

The first 'Marae' coat worn by Princess Charlotte, Elizabeth II's great-granddaughter, was a huge accolade. And the British royals remain faithful to Escumar Moda every year. The showcase for princes Kate and Guillermo to notice the Zamorano designs was Amaia Arrieta's exclusive children's fashion store in London, one of the favorites of the married couple destined to occupy the country's crown. But for this to happen, you have to be there, "on good platforms and on social networks," says Escudero. "It's not enough to do things well if you don't know how to sell it afterwards." From then on, television channels and magazines were in charge of converting Carlota de Cambridge into the best ambassador of fashion in Zamora.

And selling, and a lot, is what they have done in recent years with an increase of 25% since the pandemic began. Now, in summer, they do not stop making the Austrian thread garments that will go on the market between January and March. Exports have multiplied by three, and this year they will already account for 80% of the business. China has now joined the United States, England, Italy and Japan, "with great potential for luxury clothing," according to Raúl Escudero. The firm is also immersed in a collection of women's clothing, a bet very much aimed at the North American public. The prices, yes, will be high, "because we are talking about luxury, although in Spain it may seem expensive." In return, Escumar guarantees perfection: "We have hardly ever had returns because the control is maximum and two people are in charge of checking the garment centimeter by centimeter at the end of the process." The stitches they are most proud of are the last ones, the ones that affix the inside label where the place of manufacture is specified: Coreses (Zamora). Made in Spain in its purest form.

Casar cheeses: Casar cake crosses the pond

Juan Jose Ventura. Caceres

The Casar cake with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) has crossed the pond. This mysterious and unique cheese from Extremadura, which in its origins was believed by shepherds to be a production error - it had a crushed appearance and became spreadable - can be tasted normally in the United States. This miracle is possible thanks to Quesos del Casar, a family business based in the heart of Casar de Cáceres (Cáceres), which has focused its efforts after the pandemic on conquering markets outside Spanish borders. It has not been the first to bring the Casar cake there, but it has definitely consolidated its consumption. In addition to the United States, France, Holland, Belgium, Sweden and the north of Germany know the excellence of this unique and scarce cheese that Quesos del Casar makes all year round and not only during the weaning of the Merino sheep. Japan and the United Arab Emirates are attractive markets and are in the sights of its export department. Difficult, but not impossible for an SME accustomed to facing great challenges since it began its activity in 1985 -of course- in a garage.

The milestone is not the result of chance or improvisation. The company has conscientiously prepared its Torta Gran Casar for more than five years. First, by ensuring that the certification of the Torta del Casar Denomination of Origin is joined by other 'keys' to foreign markets. One of them is the International Featured Standards FOOD certificate, an international food safety standard. To do so, it had to be automated in 2015. Not easy, since more than 5 million liters of milk are processed each year in its 3,200 square meters. With them, 1 million kilos of cheese of 11 varieties are produced, of which Gran Casar corresponds to approximately 150,000. It should be remembered that the torta del Casar is not a typical cheese, but rather a perishable gourmet product for consumers with a certain purchasing power.

The recent obtaining of the European Vegetarian Union V-Label.eu also helps, which certifies the cheese as suitable for vegetarian diets throughout the European Union. Added to this are the rigorous controls carried out by the Regulatory Council of the Torta del Casar Denomination of Origin. In addition, Mario Blasco Rey, director of the company, explains that this 2021 they have radically changed the image of their PDO Gran Casar Cake as part of the internationalization strategy. It is now presented in a case with two formats adapted to new consumer needs and with the qualities of the product outlined in Spanish, English or French, depending on the destination.

Currently, the cheese factory exports 6% of its production. The goal is to reach 15%. For this, it has an export department with professionals forged in hundreds of fairs of gourmet products. .Before the end of the year, Quesos del Casar plans to participate in the International Gourmet Club Show in Madrid and in the World Cheese Awards to be held in Oviedo.