COUNTRY PROFILES
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SPAIN — Castilla y Leon
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Spain |
Print articleCastilla y León, an open region
An ambitious infrastructure project, a fast growing economy and a great location attract a lot of international investors
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Castilla y León is one of the largest European regions; its 94,224 sq km account for 20% of Spain’s land area. It borders with nine other regions, and is located on the routes between Portugal and the rest of the European continent. Castilla y León is the birthplace of the Spanish language. Over 400 million people in 22 countries speak Spanish, and 200 million more have adopted it as their second language.
Infrastructure
There is an ambitious Infrastructure Project which will increase the existing 1,200 km of modern high-capacity roads to 3,000 km by the year 2006. The regional railway network will be completed with the future high-speed train that will join Madrid to Segovia in 20 minutes and Valladolid to Madrid in 55 minutes. Valladolid, Salamanca, León and Burgos airports have commercial and cargo, national and international flights. The region benefits from its proximity to the international Madrid-Barajas airport, the major airport in Spain. Castilla y León has easy access to the major ports in the Iberian Peninsula.
Industrial land sites
Industrial land in Castilla y León benefits from:
- Strategic geographical location;
- Over 200 industrial states around the region;
- A highly specialised industrial network;
- Modern transport infrastructure and networks suitable for industry;
- Competitive prices.
E conomy
Industrial activity has been growing since the 1980s, which has led to a regional economic growth rate higher than the national and European average.
Industry
Automotive Industry
The industry’s yearly sales and the large number of vehicles
manufactured make Castilla y León one of the leading European
automotive regions.
Several major multinational manufacturers have located
alongside a growing and very dynamic local ancillary industry
in the region, such as Renault, Nissan and Fiat-Iveco-Pegaso.
Foremost among these firms there are over 150 component
manufacturing companies — such as Michelin, Bridgestone,
Ficosa and Grupo Antolín — already located in the region. The
automotive cluster of Castilla y León employs nearly 45,000
direct jobs.
This sector is keen, besides, to incorporate technological
innovations and developments in its productive processes. The
sector has the benefit of an Automation Research & Development
Center (CIDAUT).
Food and Agriculture
The region has a total of 3,500 companies operating in this
industry, such as: Nestlé, Campofrío, Leche Pascual and Helios.
Telecommunications
This is a growing sector with an increasing annual turnover,
investment and an employment rate higher than the national
average (Microsoft, Microser, GMV, Telefónica I+D, Transcom
Worldwide, etc.).
Technology — Pharmaceutical and
Chemical
The region, which occupies fifth place in the Autonomous
Regions production ranking, has a wide representation of
Chemical industry sub-sectors.
There are approximately 200 companies in the sector,
employing over 5,000 workers in Castilla y León.
Consolidated international presence
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Automobile: Renault, Michelin, Fiat-Iveco-Pegaso, Nissan, Bridgestone/Firestone, Benteler, Ficosa International, Johnson Controls, Plastic Omnium, Nachi Industrial, Solvay, Thyssenkrupp Group, Visteon Group, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Huf España, Corporación Gestamp, Grupo Antolin, Grupo Faurecia, Grupo Treves, and Lear Corporation. Agrobusiness: Cadbury-Schweppes, Kraft Jacobs, Campofrío, Danone, Grupo Mars, Helios, Suchard, Nabisco, Nestlé, Pascual, Pepsico, Sara Lee and World Trade Tobacco. Chemical Industries: Akzo Nobel, GlaxoSmithKline, L’Oreal, Ppg Iberica and Sir Fidia. Telecommunications: Microsoft, Ono, and Telefónica. Renewable Energy: Gamesa and Vestas.
Foreign Direct Investment
Automobile: Renault, Michelin, Fiat-Iveco, Nissan, Bridgestone- Firestone, Benteler, Johnson Control, Delphi, Plastic Omnium and Lear Corporation.
Agribusiness: Nabisco, Cadbury-Schweppes, Danone, Nestlé, Aveness, Kraft Jacobs Suchard, World Wide Tobacco, Unilever and Pepsico.
Chemicals: L’Oreal, Glaxo Smith Kline, Montedison and Azko Nobel.
Telecommunications: Telefonica, Vodafone, ONO and Transcom Worldwide.
Qualifications
There are a total of 5,500 people dedicated to R&D&I, which represents 5% of the active population and places Castilla y León among the leading Spanish regions in this sector. About 80 professional training courses taught in over 370 centres supply the labour market with the highest-qualified labour force.
Innovation
Regional Strategy for Innovation
Based on the Regional Technological Plan (RTP), a pilot project
in the European Union. Its goal is to contribute to improving the
competitiveness of Castilla y León by leading the development
of an innovation system.
Technological offer is co-ordinated through the Technological
Centers Network.
Institutional Support for Companies
Castilla y León Regional Government is committed to
supporting the business community through EXCAL.
EXCAL includes a Foreign Investment Service Department
with personnel devoted to the needs of the companies
established in this region:
- Information and support for potential investors already established in Castilla y León;
- Help and advice on investment projects;
- Search for suitable locations for each project;
- Advice on obtaining finance;
- Post-investment support.
Environment
The varied landscapes — cultural and artistic — and gastronomic variety offer great possibilities for practicing sports, making Castilla y León a region with an extraordinary quality of life.
Contact details:
EXCAL — ADE Internacionalización Tel: +34 (0) 983 214192 - Fax: +34 (0) 983 308237