Convened by the Government of Navarra, more than 120 industrial companies from the region participated in a meeting to share the initiatives that have led it to be recognised this year as a European Industrial Region at the ninth edition of Advanced Factories, the leading event in Southern Europe in industrial automation and robotics. Specifically, this fair, which will be held from 8 to 10 April in Barcelona, has chosen to highlight Navarra for its role as a benchmark in industrial innovation and for the boost it has given to Industry 4.0.
In this context, the meeting of the Navarrese industrial sector was closed by Mikel Irujo Amezaga, Minister of Industry, Ecological Transition and Business Digitalisation of the Government of Navarra. During his speech, Irujo highlighted that the designation of Navarra as a European Industrial Region responds to the strength of its industrial ecosystem:
“We have a strong support network, made up of six specialised clusters in the priority sectors of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S4), technology centres, the digital innovation hub, and three universities, among other socio-economic players that endorse it.”
Additionally, he emphasised that the region has followed an industrial trajectory contrary to the European trend:
“While many countries are only now beginning to reindustrialise, Navarra has experienced a decade of sustained growth, with an average annual increase of 3.75% in industrial GDP. In 2024, we surpassed 88,700 jobs in the sector, and we continue to be the most export-oriented region in Spain.”
The minister also confirmed advancements in the roadmap for the digitalisation of Navarra’s business landscape and announced that the second draft of the Regional Industry Law of Navarra will be presented this Monday.
For his part, Albert Planas, General Director of Advanced Factories, praised Navarra’s role as a reference in the industrial sector:
“It is an honour to have Navarra as a European Industrial Region. This distinction confirms its strategic position and its innovative capacity. We are convinced that Advanced Factories will be a key platform to boost its projects and to position Navarra internationally as an attractive territory for investment and for strengthening the competitiveness of new companies and production plants.”
DIGITALISATION, ICT, AND TALENT
The event included three panel discussions, in which large corporations and SMEs shared experiences on how digitalisation and automation are transforming manufacturing, improving productivity, and increasing efficiency at all levels. Companies such as Laboratorios Cinfa, Harivenasa, Vors Control, Zucami, Siemens, Accenture, and ABB, among others, highlighted the advances achieved thanks to technologies such as automation, robotics, and integrated production systems.
Looking ahead to the challenges of the next decade, experts pointed out the importance of automating processes, fostering specialisation, incorporating disruptive solutions with artificial intelligence, and promoting new forms of collaboration within teams. They also emphasised the need to attract talent, a key condition for ensuring competitiveness, and to prepare companies for internationalisation, an essential step for scaling projects.
Technology was another central theme of the meeting. The speakers agreed on the importance of data analysis and security as key tools for improving decision-making and optimising processes. Likewise, they advocated for customising systems and redefining processes to achieve more efficient and flexible production. In this regard, they recommended that companies and SMEs seeking to evolve their legacy systems carry out a smooth and strategic transition, allowing coexistence between old and new technologies to generate a real business impact.
Another major topic of the day was talent. Experts pointed out that automation and robotics not only drive competitiveness but also help fill gaps caused by labour absenteeism and ensure production continuity. However, they stressed that beyond technology, people remain the real driving force behind change in the industry. For this reason, training and talent development are considered essential to facing present and future challenges.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ICT SECTOR IN NAVARRA
As reflected in our “Strategic Sectors” section, Navarra’s ICT sector comprises nearly 200 companies, employing 3,500 people and generating around €280 million in revenue, thanks to a constant search for innovation. Among its activities, the automation of production processes stands out, followed by cybersecurity and the management of infrastructures and systems.
Despite being a relatively young sector, since most of the companies within it were established in the last 20 years, it has seen significant growth due to the sophisticated demand from local and multinational companies in the renewable energy, healthcare, food, automotive, and public sectors of our region. The ICT sector has played a vital role in the development of Smart Grids for renewable energy and sensor networks for AgroTech and E-health applications. More information at the following link.
Source: navarra.es