cluster

This week, the Port of Barcelona has become the world cruise capital, hosting the Seatrade Med 3000, an international conference bringing together 3,000 professionals from the all around the world. It is the leading conference in the field of Mediterranean cruise and is taking place between the 16^th and 18^th of September. This adds to Barcelona’s existing reputation as the European and Mediterranean cruise capital, confirmed with the arrival last Saturday of the world’s largest cruise liner, the Oasis of the Seas, whose first stop after leaving the Caribbean was the Catalan city. Home both to the Oasis of the Seas and the international Seatrade Med 3000 means Barcelona is making nautical headlines worldwide.  

Moto2 World Champion Pol Espargaró is disputing the MotoGP World Championship for the first time this year after winning the Moto2 competition last season. Born in Granollers (Greater Barcelona) in 1991, he climbed on his first motorcycle at just 3 years old and just a year later he started competing. He has been competing at Championship level since 2006 and in his international debut he became the youngest rider to obtain points in a Grand Prix. He competed with different teams and brands such as Derbi, Kalex and Yamaha. His eldest brother Aleix Espargaró has also competed at the highest level –MotoGP- since 2009.

This weekend Lewis Hamilton won the F1 race in Barcelona followed by Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg. The two drivers fought hard for the victory and Hamilton finished only 0.6 seconds ahead of Rosberg. Daniel Ricciardo, from Red Bull, completed the podium. Sebastian Vettel ended in fourth position, after starting the race 15^th. Hamilton is now leader of the championship. More than 200,000 people went to the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit to watch the F1 Grand Prix over the three days, 60% of which came from abroad.  

This weekend the Formula 1 World Championship comes to Catalonia once again thanks to a long tradition which blends the motor industry and competition. Catalonia has several industries related to cars and motorbikes. Aside from SEAT, Nissan, Honda and Rieju are important factories that supply components worldwide. Catalonia plays host to a packed motor sports calendar. The Formula 1 Grand Prix, the GP Motorbike Grand Prix, the World Rally Championship all take place in Catalonia among other endurance series, classic races and indoor or outdoor motorbikes championships. Moreover, Catalan drivers are competing in a lot of international categories. For instance, last year the three Motorcycle World Champions – Marc Márquez, Pol Espargaró and Maverick Viñales - were all Catalans.

Barcelona-based SEAT, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, has chosen the Geneva Motor Show to introduce its new vehicle in the Leon range, the cars whose sales increased the most in 2013, with a total of 102,000 units sold. This latest creation is the new Leon Cupra, by far the most powerful and the fastest vehicle manufactured by the Catalan company, whose main factory is located in Martorell (Greater Barcelona). With its 280 horsepower, this sports model will hit the market in both 5-door and 3-door versions. Coinciding with the opening of the event this Tuesday, SEAT also presented the Mango version of its Mii city car, a special edition resulting from the collaboration between designers at the SEAT Martorell plant and the Catalan fashion multinational which includes, amongst other novelties, exclusive paintings in beige and black.

In the coming weeks, the management of Volkswagen Group should decide where to produce its latest SUV model, designed in the SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell (Greater Barcelona) and featuring two versions, one for the Catalan brand and the other one for Skoda. The President of the SEAT Workers Committee in Martorell, Matias Carnero, argued that the Catalonia-based factory was the most competitive to produce the vehicle. These past weeks, some sources have asserted that Martorell’s main rival, the Skoda plant in the Czech Republic, would ultimately be chosen. Indeed, it is believed that the President of SEAT Jürgen Stackmann hinted at such a fact in several internal meetings. However, Matias Carnero insisted that the Martorell factory had never been completely ruled out.

Barcelona-based SEAT, which is part of the Volkswagen group, sold 355,000 vehicles last year, representing a 10.6% increase on 2012 figures. The Catalan brand has not sold so many cars since 2008. The SEAT Leon car model was the company’s strongest asset, with 102,000 cars purchased in 2013, which is a 44% sales increase on the previous year. SEAT’s President, Jürgen Stackmann, highlighted “the commercial impetus” that the company currently has, “especially in Europe, when in a market context of sales drop, SEAT is growing faster than its competitors”. In Western Europe, which is the brand’s main market, the Catalan company increased sales by 9.4%, selling 273,200, 23,500 more cars than in 2012.

ICTINEU 3, a scientific submersible designed and build in Catalonia, has entered the water for the very first time in a test dive near Barcelona. For over ten years, particular donations have helped construct this submarine that will be dedicated to “underwater exploration, scientific research and underwater intervention”. This first test was used to verify that all of the submarine’s systems could function underwater, and the next step will be a dive in seawater. ICTINEU 3 was named after the very first air independent and combustion engine driven submarine, ICTINEU 1, which was invented by Figueres’ engineer Narcís Monturiol and dived for the first time in the Catalan capital’s harbour.

Samvardhana Motherson Peguform, which produces components and materials to build cars, has announced a €30 million investment in Catalonia, during the business trip of a delegation led by President of the Catalan Government Artur Mas. The Samvardhana Motherson Group, based in Noida, already owns 4 factories in Catalonia, from the former German company Peguform – which was purchased in 2011 by the Indian multinational. €25 million will be invested in rebuilding and enlarging its Polinyà plant, in Greater Barcelona, which produces car paint and was accidentally burned last September. The remaining €5 million will be allocated to upgrading its Ripollet plant, also based near the Catalan capital. In fact, Barcelona is one of the main hubs in Europe in the car industry, with several manufacturing companies building vehicles and components.

35 companies united with public institutions formed a Boating Industry Cluster to make Barcelona an international leader in the sector. The cluster will help achieve higher levels of productivity and competitiveness. It builds on Barcelona’s deep tradition as a maritime city. In fact, Barcelona hosts the most important trade fair in the boating industry in Europe and it is the world’s 4^th largest port for cruise ships. Furthermore, more than 1,000 companies related to this sector are based in Catalonia, as well as prestigious university schools. This initiative follows Barcelona’s strategy to identify specific business sectors and create clusters to strengthen them, as it has previously done with sectors such as biomedicine, automation and mobile technologies.

The President of the Catalan Government announced the initiative which will aim to develop an industry and knowledge cluster of the automation sector. The cluster would profit from the multinational companies based in Catalonia, the country’s industrial sector traditionally linked to cars and bikes, the export infrastructures, Barcelona’s car fair, the Formula-1 racing circuit and the innovation, design and education centres. The new cluster is fully supported by the Catalan Government, since automation is one of the main engines driving Catalonia’s economy. It aims to strengthen the sector’s competitiveness, foster cooperation between companies, facilitate the education and training of professionals, develop innovation and implement strategic agendas such as sustainable mobility and electrical vehicles.