What's left of Spain's 100% homegrown industry! Made in Spain!!
Spain does have real industry: Gestamp, Acerinox, Indra, Viscofan, Navantia. But almost all of it is B2B. The debate over the myth of industrial dismantling.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Spain's unseen industry: invisible giants and a fading myth
In Palencia, a gross salary of €70,000 generates more savings capacity than €90,000 in Madrid. The gap is not marginal: it's around €3,000 a month for a family with housing and school costs. But that's not what worries those looking at Spain's industrial map. The question being debated is whether Spain still manufactures anything other than café con leche and costume jewellery.
The truth is that the list of 100% Spanish companies in high value-added sectors is longer than most people imagine, but it has a problem: almost none of them sell directly to consumers. They are component factories, engineering firms, steelmakers and defence companies working for third parties. Gestamp, Acerinox, Viscofan, Maxam, Indra... names that never appear on supermarket labels but that bill billions and compete in global markets.
The myth of industrial dismantling
Some argue that Spanish industry was liquidated during the transition to democracy and European integration. They point to Navantia, Talgo, CAF, Irizar and Beulas as survivors of a planned massacre. Others recall that SEAT ended up in Volkswagen's hands, Pegaso in Iveco's, and Santa Bárbara in General Dynamics'. "Spain was allowed to hook up to the infinite money printer in exchange for giving up industry," sums up a recurring analysis.
But the other side of the coin comes from those who argue the problem is not productive capacity but the absence of consumer brands. "Spain has serious industrial muscle in B2B; what it doesn't have are consumer brands," they argue. And they give examples: Gestamp, top 5 worldwide in automotive components with €13 billion in revenue; Viscofan, global leader in sausage casings with 40% of the market; Técnicas Reunidas, which designs refineries for Aramco; or Indra, whose air traffic management systems are exported to 160 countries.
The deeper debate: political decisions vs. historical fate
The comparison with France is inevitable. France bet on strategic independence: its own nuclear programme, Airbus, Dassault, the grandes écoles and a centralised industrial policy for 70 years. Spain had Franco's INI (a state industrial holding company), which worked reasonably well, and dismantled it without replacing it with anything. The transition decided that industrialisation was a thing of the past and that the future lay in construction and services.
Some point to demographics: in 1800 Spain had 10 million inhabitants, France 30. But then come the counterexamples: the Netherlands, with 2 million in the 17th century, built a trading empire; Switzerland, with 8 million today, is an industrial power; Israel, with 9 million, exports more military technology than Spain. "The difference is not how many we are, but what institutional decisions are made," they conclude.
Another recurring factor is the role of raw materials. Asturias had coal (Hunosa reached 6 million tonnes/year) and the Basque Country had first-class iron. But they were exported raw to British blast furnaces, and Spain kept the crumbs. Meanwhile, Germany, without much in 1800, was by 1900 the leading industrial power thanks to Bismarck's commitment to technical education and investment banking.
What's left: between pessimism and B2B realism
In the end, the implicit consensus is that Spain is not deindustrialised, but badly industrialised. It lacks global consumer brands and has too much dependence on financial engineering and construction. Companies like Puig, Grifols or Ercros are the exceptions that prove the rule. The military and defence industry (Navantia, Indra, Urovesa) survives, but in public or mixed hands, and always under threat of privatisation.
The open question remains: is it possible to reverse the dynamic, or is the Spanish economic model condemned to be Europe's workshop, but without a brand of its own?
Related discussions in the forum
In Palencia, a gross salary of €70,000 generates more savings capacity than €90,000 in Madrid. The gap is not marginal: it's around €3,000 a month for a family with housing and school costs. But that's not what worries those looking at Spain's industrial map. The question being debated is whether Spain still manufactures anything other than café con leche and costume jewellery.
The truth is that the list of 100% Spanish companies in high value-added sectors is longer than most people imagine, but it has a problem: almost none of them sell directly to consumers. They are component factories, engineering firms, steelmakers and defence companies working for third parties. Gestamp, Acerinox, Viscofan, Maxam, Indra... names that never appear on supermarket labels but that bill billions and compete in global markets.
The myth of industrial dismantling
Some argue that Spanish industry was liquidated during the transition to democracy and European integration. They point to Navantia, Talgo, CAF, Irizar and Beulas as survivors of a planned massacre. Others recall that SEAT ended up in Volkswagen's hands, Pegaso in Iveco's, and Santa Bárbara in General Dynamics'. "Spain was allowed to hook up to the infinite money printer in exchange for giving up industry," sums up a recurring analysis.
But the other side of the coin comes from those who argue the problem is not productive capacity but the absence of consumer brands. "Spain has serious industrial muscle in B2B; what it doesn't have are consumer brands," they argue. And they give examples: Gestamp, top 5 worldwide in automotive components with €13 billion in revenue; Viscofan, global leader in sausage casings with 40% of the market; Técnicas Reunidas, which designs refineries for Aramco; or Indra, whose air traffic management systems are exported to 160 countries.
The deeper debate: political decisions vs. historical fate
The comparison with France is inevitable. France bet on strategic independence: its own nuclear programme, Airbus, Dassault, the grandes écoles and a centralised industrial policy for 70 years. Spain had Franco's INI (a state industrial holding company), which worked reasonably well, and dismantled it without replacing it with anything. The transition decided that industrialisation was a thing of the past and that the future lay in construction and services.
Some point to demographics: in 1800 Spain had 10 million inhabitants, France 30. But then come the counterexamples: the Netherlands, with 2 million in the 17th century, built a trading empire; Switzerland, with 8 million today, is an industrial power; Israel, with 9 million, exports more military technology than Spain. "The difference is not how many we are, but what institutional decisions are made," they conclude.
Another recurring factor is the role of raw materials. Asturias had coal (Hunosa reached 6 million tonnes/year) and the Basque Country had first-class iron. But they were exported raw to British blast furnaces, and Spain kept the crumbs. Meanwhile, Germany, without much in 1800, was by 1900 the leading industrial power thanks to Bismarck's commitment to technical education and investment banking.
What's left: between pessimism and B2B realism
In the end, the implicit consensus is that Spain is not deindustrialised, but badly industrialised. It lacks global consumer brands and has too much dependence on financial engineering and construction. Companies like Puig, Grifols or Ercros are the exceptions that prove the rule. The military and defence industry (Navantia, Indra, Urovesa) survives, but in public or mixed hands, and always under threat of privatisation.
The open question remains: is it possible to reverse the dynamic, or is the Spanish economic model condemned to be Europe's workshop, but without a brand of its own?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (54 replies).
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