The AFM (Spanish Association of Machine Tool Manufacturers) through its technological unit, INVEMA, and FATRONIK, in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Innovation, presented at the Club Financiero Génova in Madrid the conclusions of the CENIT project, eEe, “Advanced technologies for manufacturing equipment and processes in 2015” which recently concluded.

The aim was to get Spanish machine tools in a position of strategic leadership in the world market by 2015. This project counted on the participation of 20 companies from the sector, representing more than 60% of production and 17 research bodies. Lasting four years, the project started back in March 2006 with a budget of close to €30m.

In addition to the knowledge generated and having kept busy a big team of researchers, scientists and engineers from the sector who have opened up new lines of research establishing the bases for future innovation in the sector, the practical results achieved include 87 demonstrators, test benches and applications, 9 patents, 46 publications and 66 jobs created in the R&D&I departments of the companies taking part in the project.

Machine tools are a strategic sector in our economy, which produces more than 2,000 different models of machines for manufacturing products for our day-to-day lives: from a plane or a car to a wristwatch, computer, wind turbine, or a mobile phone, it is practically impossible to find an object from our daily lives that has not been produced with the help of a machine tool.

The General Secretary for Innovation and President of the CDTI, Mr Juan Tomás Hernani, was accompanied by the Deputy Minister for Planning and Strategy from the Basque Government’s Department of Industry, Innovation, Commerce and Tourism, Mr Pedro Gómez Damborenea, Mr José Ignacio Nicolás Correa, President of Nicolás Correa and Mr Koldo Arandia, President of the AFM.