The large tile, ceramic and tile factories wind through the landscape of Castellón. These industries are an inseparable part of the province’s economy and account for 23% of its GDP, according to data from a 2021 PwC study. The Castellón industrial cluster is the leading producer in the European Union and the third exporter to world level (in terms of volume) only behind the immense India and China.
“We export 3 out of every 4 tiles we produce; We have a presence in 189 countries and we create 73,000 jobs generated by our activity between direct, indirect and induced employment,” they explain from the Spanish Association of Ceramic Tile and Flooring Manufacturers (Ascer).
However, the sector is now going through difficult times as a result, first, of an increase in the price of gas in 2022 (cost crisis) that has become a demand crisis where, Ascer explains, “the main markets fall. , both due to the inflationary situation and the loss of competitiveness of our products compared to other producers.”
Thus, in 2023 production fell by 21% and remained below 400 million euros. A steeper drop than in 2022, when it was 15%. Two very complicated years in which a third of production has been lost. And as it could not be otherwise, this has had an impact on employment, although the negative trend falls to a lesser extent than production (approximately 8%). In 2023, it is estimated that the sector provided direct employment to around 15,000 people. Despite this, the severity of the crisis is seen in two figures: last year there were 64 ERTE (7,927 affected) and eight ERE (576 affected).
Faced with this complicated situation – energy deficit, increasing costs and decarbonization obligations and goals far removed from industrial reality – the employers’ association is demanding direct aid to alleviate an extra cost borne by the sector since 2021 of around 1.8 billion euros. It is not the only request from the sector: they also ask for support for pilot plants to test alternatives to decarbonize the industry.
Another strategic sector, footwear, is “at a crucial moment”, according to the president of the Valencian Association of Footwear Entrepreneurs (Avecal), Marian Cano, who last week presented an analysis of the situation and needs of the sector carried out by experts from the Miguel Hernández University of Elx.
The Valencian Community is the region that exports the most footwear in Spain (42%) and 17.2% of the exports of the province of Alicante are footwear. Studies maintain that approximately 55% of consumers would be willing to pay up to 20% more for a sustainable product, which represents, according to Cano, a great opportunity. Currently, almost 3 out of every 10 euros billed in the sector are in the online channel. The study indicates that the small size of the average company in the sector (75% have fewer than nine workers) translates into difficulties in accessing technology and financing. While artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the design and manufacturing of this industry, 50% of footwear companies do not invest more than 15,000 euros in R&D due mainly to the atomization of the sector, with 95% being SMEs and microSMEs. For this reason, the study coordinated by Professor Javier Gómez Gras concludes that the lack of strategic alliances between footwear organizations is one of the “unfinished business” of the sector.
On the other hand, one of the most dynamic industrial areas of the territory, the toy valley, recently received the support of the important multinational packaging company Smurfit Kappa, which announced an investment of 54 million euros and the creation of 200 jobs in your Ibi plant.
The toy sector and its application of know-how to open up to the manufacture of other products derived from plastic is an example of adaptation to the changing market environment. Toy companies, in a difficult context, are fighting on the one hand against massive counterfeiting and are showing their concern about the new safety regulation announced by the EU, more restrictive than the current one, which can harm their chances of competing in the global market. .
