Madrid host the General Assembly of Mafex 2017

Junta General de Mafex 2017
Junta General de Mafex 2017

Madrid was the host of the General Assembly of Mafex 2017, held last April 6th at the premises of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE). 

The event opened with the words of welcome by Javier Calderón, Executive of Companies and Organizations of CEOE and the intervention of the Vice President of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi.

 At the meeting, which was attended by representatives and executives of the majority of the 71 companies associated with Mafex, the “Strategic Plan of the Association 2017-2020” was presented and approved. A detailed report that outlines the strategic objectives of the Association, future guidelines and work lines in which the Association will pay special attention in the next four years. The intensification of the railway sector representation works, the improvement of internationalization and the competitiveness of the associated companies, together with the provision of a strategy that ensures the operational and financial viability of the Association, will be the main challenges of Mafex until the 2020.

 A year later, the meeting also highlighted the important role of Mafex in the sector and the fact that it still occupies the top position of a total of 92 Spanish exporting associations, representing 85% of Spanish railway exports, not only regarding the representativeness levels, but also in relation to the activities developed and the service capacity in the industry.

 The 2016 foreign promotion action plan’s profit was also presented during the General Assembly, with positive figures, especially due to the high participation in trade fairs, such as Innotrans, with more than 50 Spanish exhibitors. Other initiatives, such as the trade delegations to Iran, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Denmark, Sweden or countries in the Middle East, among others have been added. Special attention is also given to the conference on “Business Opportunities in the Railway Sector of Rolling Stock Suppliers, Manufacturers, Chairpersons and Integrators” and the second conference on “Business Opportunities in Urban Public Transport Systems: rails, tramways and commuters”, which together with the rest of activities brought more than 230 participating Spanish railway companies close to the railway bodies and companies from more than 40 countries.

Likewise, special attention should be given to the presentation of the works carried out by the Management, Communication and Internationalization Committees, as well as the consolidation of the Competitiveness Committee, an area highly demanded by the railway SMEs. Finally, the presentations regarding the integration of three new companies in Mafex earlier this year, Icon Multimedia, Gantrex Spain and Tecnivial should be mentioned.

Finally, the event ended with a cocktail in which the representatives of the participating companies had an opportunity to exchange views on the general situation of the Spanish and international railway sector.