OLATZ HERNANDEZ

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the world economy and the Basque economy has not been an exception. After a time of great uncertainty, the advancement of vaccination opens a window of hope that invites us to imagine the future. How will companies adapt to the energy transition? Does the Basque Country have the necessary muscle to attract investment? To discuss these and many other issues, EL CORREO and EY yesterday organized a forum that highlighted Basque strengths and weaknesses. Among the first, the proximity to the Administration; among the latter, the high energy and labor costs.

The meeting at the Iberdrola Tower, under the title 'Post-pandemic economic challenges in the Basque Country', was moderated by the economic correspondent for this newspaper, Manu Alvarez, and featured Carolina Pérez Toledo, the new president of Cebek, as well as those responsible for three large companies: Mariano Ucar, from the pharmaceutical company Faes Farma; Carlos Delclaux, from the Vidrala glass company; and José Antonio Jainaga, from Sidenor. Javier Bontigui, partner of EY Transactions in the North Zone, also participated in the round table.

energy transition

“The key is to stay competitive”

If the institutions have made anything clear during the health crisis, it is that after the coronavirus pandemic, nothing will ever be the same again. The future will be marked by the great transitions that must be undertaken, including energy.

Companies will not be immune to this change and, according to the participants, the main challenge will be to maintain competitiveness during this process. Javier Bontigui, from EY, pointed out that the energy transition opens "a wide range of opportunities", including that of hydrogen production. In fact, the Basque Country plans to generate 1,340 direct jobs and another 6,700 indirect jobs with the Basque Hydrogen Corridor. All in all, the president of Sidenor, José Antonio Jainaga, advocated "acting with restraint" in the face of this new energy. “It is a technology that is not mature. We must invest European funds in recovering what was lost », he pointed out. In this sense, he expressed concern that the priority be acted upon, losing sight of the long term.

For his part, the president of Vidrala, Carlos Delclaux, assured that "progress is being made in the right direction, but it must be remembered that wealth is based on economic activity". Similarly, the president of Cebek, Carolina Pérez Toledo, stressed that the main challenge lies in maintaining competitiveness while the green transition is carried out. "We also must not forget that the whole of Europe only generates 10% of the world's CO2 emissions," she put into perspective. Finally, Mariano Ucar, president of Faes Farma, explained that his company is trying to adapt its production to green energies and that its new plant in Derio will have "maximum energy efficiency."

Is Euskadi attractive?

“Labor costs and absenteeism are high”

Historically, the Basque Country has always been an attractive territory for companies, and after Covid, the autonomous community wants to continue attracting new companies and investments. The components of the round table explained that an attractive territory must have raw materials, labor and infrastructure; elements that, in principle, the Basque Country has. "We have all the pieces, but we must lay the foundations that give entrepreneurs peace of mind and encourage them to start their investment projects here," Javier Bontigui began.

As a company very well established in the Basque community, Vidrala knows the environment perfectly. Its president, Carlos Delclaux, assured that the biggest problem is found in the workforce: "There are a lot of people trained, but at a high cost compared to other regions and with a very high rate of absenteeism," he added. He also affected the high energy cost in the autonomous community, something that has a great weight in the fixed costs of companies, even more so if they are industrial. Of course, the Basque Country has many other benefits such as "fluid communication with the administrations", which are very close.

Faes Farma is carrying out one of the largest investments in its history in the Basque Country, with the construction of its Derio plant. «We valued other locations, but finally we decided that it was here due to its proximity and the facilities that the administrations have given us. But not all are advantages, "acknowledges its president, Mariano Ucar, who highlighted how difficult it is to find people trained in the pharmaceutical sector and in research.

The president of Cebek also pointed out that the Basque Country must improve in terms of taxation. And besides, "the work environment doesn't help either." To resolve these drawbacks, Carolina Pérez Toledo advocates making more daring use of the Economic Agreement and promoting a country pact. “We must stop to think and agree on where we are going. Having long-lasting rules with a general consensus will attract more investment », she summed up.

Sidenor's chairman highlighted the fact that his company has made an investment of 131 million euros in renovating the rolling mill at its Basauri factory, which reaffirms the company's roots in the Basque Country. "We have decided to concentrate production here," said Jainaga. Despite the fact that the autonomous community has many points in its favour, he assured that the underlying problems should not be forgotten and that the Basque Country has to use its fiscal weapons to attract more companies and investments.

'Startups' or traditional firms?

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«Collaboration spaces must be created»

Startups are great allies of traditional companies, as they help them improve their competitiveness and innovate in their processes. The president of Cebek yesterday claimed the importance of these companies in the Basque business fabric. «Traditional companies need new blood and we must be in contact with Basque entrepreneurship to generate a transfer of knowledge. Without the 'startups' we are limited». That is why Pérez Toledo underlines the importance of generating open spaces for collaboration and creation. Javier Bontigui, from EY, also stressed that the small companies of today can be the big companies of tomorrow and that "we must support them, but always having a defined objective and market".

Mariano Ucar, from Faes Farma, also defended collaboration between small and large companies, since it "provides knowledge and innovation", two important aspects to boost competitiveness. Carlos Delclaux from Vidrala, pointed out that we must take care of the 'startups', but in the right measure: «Many of them disappear and those that continue only manage to create two or three jobs. This is not how a developed society can be sustained », he stressed. The president of Sidenor expressed himself in the same vein, emphasizing the importance of the industry in the wealth of the territory. Thus, Jainaga asked for social pedagogy so as not to demonize large industrial companies. “If we give up the industry, there is no future,” she concluded.

The Basque financial power

"We must use our weapons to attract talent"

In recent years, the Basque Country has seen how some of its companies' decision centers migrated to other autonomous communities. To combat this relocation of command centers, Javier Bontigui believes that company executives must be attracted. A point on which Carlos Delclaux, from Vidrala, agrees: "It's not so much retaining as attracting," he pointed out; and on that path "we must ask ourselves what our weapons are." The participants in the round table agreed that the Basque Country is already an attractive territory, but with small adjustments "it can be even more so".

Among the adjustments that were discussed, the president of Faes Farma, Mariano Ucar, stressed that the tax treatment of individuals should be improved. "We find it very difficult to bring professionals from other countries," he said. And he added that they also have difficulty finding people with experience to occupy the middle management of the company, something for which "you have to create a school."

The teachings

“The current supply chain must be changed”

The arrival of the Covid has put on the table the great dependency of the Basque Country on the outside. According to José Antonio Jainaga, the shortage in 2020 “will remain a mere anecdote”, but it brings to light an underlying problem. A clear example of this is the automotive industry, which depends on Southeast Asia to obtain microchips for vehicles. "The production of tens of thousands of cars is being lost because Europe cannot get microchips," he illustrated. For his part, Javier Bontigui pointed out that companies have faced an unknown and highly uncertain environment that will force them to change current supply chains.

The president of Vidrala, Carlos Delclaux, agreed that we are witnessing a continuous process that is part of globalization and that forces companies to be very aware of logistics. "We saw it not long ago with the jam in the Suez Canal," he exemplified. In any case, he highlighted the great work of the Basque Government during the pandemic to protect supply chains and praised the project to bring hydrogen through the Port of Bilbao, since it will generate wealth in the territory.

THE PHRASES