Fidamc and Andalucía TRADE have presented today Thursday at the Paris Air Show-Le Bourget, the world epicenter of the aerospace industry, the Advanced Manufacturing Center (CFA), located in Puerto Real (Cadiz). The CFA is an infrastructure that aspires to become a pole of reference for industrial innovation in Spain and Europe.
Antonio Castro, general director of Andalucía TRADE, was in charge of announcing, together with the director of the CFA, Isaac Pérez, the imminent start-up of this new industrial headquarters of national and international reference. The Advanced Manufacturing Center has been financed with more than 18 million euros from ERDF funds and is managed by Fidamc. In its facilities, companies will be able to develop R&D&I projects.
Collaboration with companies such as Navantia and Airbus
This initiative has counted on the collaboration of companies such as Navantia and Airbus, one of the main promoters of the project together with the Junta de Andalucía, as well as institutions such as the University of Cadiz (UCA) and Fidamc, responsible for the integral management of the center.
The presentation was made after the visit of the general director of Andalucía TRADE to the stand of the public agency at the fair. In this event, a total of 14 companies participate with an extensive agenda of B2B meetings and networking activities, whose objective is to promote strategic, technological and commercial alliances, as well as to identify potential partners to collaborate in R&D&I projects at European and international level.
After this visit, Antonio Castro made an extensive tour of the exhibition spaces of other Andalusian companies, as well as delegations of large multinationals with a presence in the community, all located in the Spanish Pavilion organized by the Spanish Association of Defense, Security, Aeronautics and Space Technology Companies (TEDAE), within the framework of the Sector Plan established with ICEX Spain Export and Investment.
Improving the competitiveness of companies through innovation
CFA is a project promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Finance and European Funds and conceived with the aim of “making available to companies a real tool to accelerate innovation and strengthen the competitiveness of the industrial sector in Andalusia”, as highlighted during his speech the head of the public agency, Antonio Castro.
In his speech, the director of the CFA, Isaac Pérez-Fafian explained that "the objective of the CFA is to improve and support the competitiveness of Andalusian and national companies through innovation. A center of this type, designed and equipped to host industrial projects, allows companies to improve their manufacturing technologies and transfer them to their production processes quickly, which will make them more competitive, win better contracts and access new markets".
To achieve this objective, “the CFA has been designed on the basis of a strategic model based on four technological areas (additive manufacturing, robotics, metrology and digitalization, and drones) and has specific equipment based on technological trends in advanced manufacturing,” explained Pérez-Fafian.
Likewise, the general director of Andalucía TRADE indicated that “this center is called to be the key to industrial innovation in Andalusia”, he said, also highlighting its capacity to adapt to different sectors, from advanced transport to Ubrique leather or bio-health. “We want the CFA to become the place to be for Andalusian industry,” he said.
"The reaction of the sector is the best thermometer of the value of this Center. When Fidamc presented in May the bases for the presentation of projects to the Advanced Manufacturing Center, more than 200 companies showed their interest in knowing the conditions and procedures to be followed," Antonio Castro emphasized.
“Our objective as a public agency has been to bet on an economic model that combines the growth of traditional sectors with the diversification and reinforcement of the industrial fabric, that is why we have activated three lines of incentives with 244 million euros to support industrial and R&D&I projects. and it is worth noting that 91% of the amount resolved has been allocated to initiatives of an industrial nature.” The event concluded with a direct message from Antonio Castro to the companies: "The CFA is already a reality. Very soon we will officially inaugurate it, but you can already present your projects. We are waiting for you.
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