We make echo of the L’Ordit Nº5 publication about the Cercle de Recerques i Estudis Mogoda (CREM) published in 2012, which gives us a historical overview of how the company Industrias ROURE S.A, founded in 1948 by JAUME ROURE BOU, evolved into a whole cluster of machine manufacturers in the packaging sector
Ten years have passed since 2012 and some of the actors in the graphic are no longer operational.
ROURE TECTOSA was the direct evolution of Industrias ROURE S.A. and allowed us to give continuity to the knowledge acquired until the 1980s, with the corresponding generational changeover with JAUME ROURE PAGÈS and ANNA PADROS, whom we thank for giving us the opportunity to give a new life to this industrial legacy within the DIFMAQ ROURE project. In addition, DIFMAQ ROURE is completed with the inclusion of the core technical team of the former Talleres Pupar-AUXIEMBA.
Photo right: Albert Puig, Ana Padros, Jaume Roure, Pepe Ferrer, Jordi Conejos, Alberto Ferrari. Constitution of DIFMAQ, December 2020
In any case, the review of history leads us to analyse the future of this conglomerate of companies in the packaging sector (EFFYTEC, INNOENVAS, ARANOW, TOTPACK, etc.) which emerged from Industrias ROURE S.A., and which, especially those with a family company structure, will have to propose specific solutions to give continuity to the accumulated technological knowledge depending on the situation of generational handover in the coming years. The country needs this to be the case, and even more so after all the circumstances experienced with the COVID pandemic and the global supply problem.
Catalonia and Spain also have a problem with the size of their companies, which in many cases prevents them from being able to face the new challenges posed by the current complex geopolitical and economic environment, as well as the new technological challenges to which they must adapt (connectivity, Industry 4.0, etc.). A good part of the companies in the graph that continue to operate have a turnover of less than 1.5 million euros.
Catalonia has a strong business fabric with the capacity to continue growing and generating employment. The machinery sector, and specifically the packaging sector, is one of the sectors with the greatest possibilities for expansion at the present time, but the size of the companies and the potential difficulties of generational replacement are the main handicaps.
HISPACK is just around the corner and will allow us to gauge the state of health of the sector and more specifically, of the group of companies in this specific cluster.
Hopefully, in 10 years’ time, we will be able to complete the chart with a snapshot of success stories that have overcome the above-mentioned limitations
Alberto Ferrari, Co-Owner and General Manager at DIFMAQ ROURE
