The creation of 1,960 new jobs in the Corporation’s co-operatives as a whole was one of the most gratifying achievements in a year in which there was spectacular export growth in the capital goods sector. Danobat made sales worth €18m to Meizhov and Norinco in the Peoples’ Republic of China. Also in China, Fagor Arrasate supplied Jianghui with the biggest mechanical press built in Spain.
The setting up of MTC, dedicated to the research and development of products manufactured with thermoplastics, at a cost of €3.6m, was a further step in the consolidation of the policy to strengthen the cooperatives in terms of technology.
The Irizar co-operative was awarded the Prince Felipe Prize for professional excellence in the design category and the Coach of the Year Award in Spain. In the construction sector, Urssa’s participation in the building of the metal structure for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao designed by Frank Gehry and in the work on the Bilbao Metro stood out. Fagor Electrodomésticos opened a refrigerator plant in Mohamedia in Morocco.