We spoke to Pablo Rodríguez, manager of the Carballo Industrial Estate, to find out all the details of this business park located in the metropolitan area of A Coruña, with a surface area of 1,218,000 square metres. He tells us that it is one of the largest in the Galician Autonomous Community and that an extension of 554,000 square metres is currently being processed.
237 companies from 36 activity sectors operate in the industrial estate, with the most important ones in terms of turnover and employment generation being companies linked to the metal, construction and transport sectors. The aggregate turnover of the industrial estate exceeds 440 million euros and the number of direct jobs exceeds 2,800 workers.
The Carballo Industrial Estate enjoys a good geographical location, which allows it to establish easy communications with the main Galician cities and regions.
Why did you decide to go for Mindtech in its fourth edition in 2025?
From the management of the Community of Owners of the Industrial Estate we have proposed to position our business park as an attractive space for the location of new industrial establishments: we are a modern and quality urban infrastructure, with a mature business fabric and a menu of services that allows a friendly landing for any new business project that is looking for the optimal location. Participation in events such as Mindtech is fundamental to this.
We also want our stand at the fair to serve as a platform for companies in the industrial estate (especially our SMEs and micro-SMEs) to move around the site and thus take advantage of all the business, networking and knowledge opportunities offered by the event.
Pablo Rodríguez, Manager, Carballo Industrial Estate
¿Qué valor añadido supone para su empresa participar en esta feria?
In the three editions of Mindtech that have been held, it has already become a reference for the metal sector and its associated industries at national and international level. This dimension that the fair has acquired is a great opportunity to strengthen the Polígono de Carballo brand, linking it to attributes such as dynamism, commitment to industry, quality infrastructure, development and innovation.
Moreover, by encouraging our SMEs and micro-SMEs to participate in Mindtech, we make it easier for them to keep abreast of the latest trends, innovations and technological advances in the industry. This can help companies in the cluster to adapt and compete better in the market. This facilitating role is another of the characteristics of the Industrial Estate Owners’ Association as the managing entity of the business park.
What will you present at Mindtech 2025?
As we mentioned, the extension of the industrial estate by a further 554,000 square metres is being processed. The forecast is that during 2025 the process for the allocation of plots will be opened, so participation in Mindtech will allow us to present our new industrial land offer to the sector.
In this new extension, 242,000 square metres will be reserved for development-plotting on demand, making it possible to speed up the implementation of companies that need a large area of industrial land. Likewise, this extension will benefit from the subsidy policy of the Xunta de Galicia, which will once again offer one of the most competitive prices in the Autonomous Community.
What do you think is the differential value of the metallurgical industry and its associated technologies in the Iberian Pole in particular?
The Iberian Pole stands out in the metal industry and its associated technologies due to a combination of tradition and innovation, access to international markets and a skilled workforce.
This sector has a significant driving capacity, boosting other sectors such as the automotive, aeronautics and construction industries. It also generates quality employment and contributes to the territorial development of the municipalities in which it is located, strengthening the local and regional economy.
Pablo Rodríguez, Manager, Carballo Industrial Estate
What challenges do you see facing the industry today?
From the perspective of direct contact with companies of different profiles, which allows the management of an industrial estate, the industry is faced with the challenge of confronting important challenges that will condition its viability in the short to medium term:
- Digital transformation: the race towards digitalisation and automation demands rapid adaptation, where technology redefines efficiency and competitiveness.
- Sustainability: the growing demand for greener practices and stricter environmental regulations is pushing the sector to reinvent itself for a cleaner future.
- Labour shortages: the search for specialised talent becomes an odyssey, with the need to train and attract a new generation of technical professionals.
- Global competition: the battle with lower cost, high quality markets sets the pace for global competitiveness.
- Supply chain: Fragile supply chains, vulnerable to crisis and conflict, test the resilience of the industry.
These challenges are a call for innovation and constant renewal in order to compete successfully in a changing and challenging environment.
What is needed to meet these challenges and maintain the industry’s competitiveness?
In the Spanish context, where the business fabric is mainly made up of SMEs, industrial estate management bodies can play an important role in enabling our companies to face these challenges and maintain their competitiveness:
- Digital transformation and technological innovation: during the first half of the year we have provided 150 hours of training in the field of digital transformation for managers and middle managers of our companies. We also facilitated the participation of our companies in a free consultancy programme aimed at the digital transformation of the industrial sector. We also managed to deploy a redundant fibre service (several companies) in 100% of the surface area of the business park.
- Development of a modern urban infrastructure: over the last 6 years, more than 3 million euros have been invested in various improvements to the urban infrastructure of the industrial estate to improve the daily operations of our companies.
- Sustainability and energy efficiency: the industrial estate has set up a door-to-door waste collection service. The service is carried out by an authorised waste management company, which subsequently recovers the waste. Last year, more than 105 tonnes of waste were recovered. We are also working on the implementation of an industrial energy community.
- Talent retention: we are the link between the companies in the industrial estate and the vocational training centres in the area, and we also manage an employment exchange with more than 900 registered workers. The issue of labour shortage is one of the issues that most concerns our companies, so for the last two years we have been organising our own employment and training fair Sinerxias.org.
- Business collaboration: through various activities we facilitate the creation of collaboration networks between our companies and companies in the surrounding area that allow them to share resources, knowledge and business opportunities, strengthening the business fabric of the industrial estate.
In this sense, industrial estate management bodies must overcome our exclusive vocation as mere administrators of a physical infrastructure and aspire to become development agencies that accompany our companies and help them to grow and become more competitive. Participating in Mindtech 2025 is part of this task.
Pablo Rodríguez, Manager, Carballo Industrial Estate
Come and visit them at stand B11!