He defines himself as “curious, innovative and spirit-breaking”. Oriol Guixà (Barcelona, ??1952), the man who piloted the reconversion of La Farga, also considers himself a “pactist and dialoguer, but more about doing than arguing.” With these achievements and his extensive experience at the head of a large company, he now tries to “work to give back to society everything it has given me.” The presidency of Femcat, to which he has just arrived, fits well with that objective: “Serve society in a business sense,” he summarizes.

Like so many innovators, Oriol Guixà did not shine at school and even had to face “this child is no good at studying” which did not discourage him, because he ended up graduating in two engineering degrees, aeronautical and industrial. He always liked motorcycles, and that passion led him to Motocicletas Montesa, where he was responsible for the R&D department until 1982 and from where he led the trial team that won the World Championship in 1981. Before, in the seventies, he was also trial motorcycle racer, and participated in the European Championship and the Scottish Six Day race. As a reflection of that event, the oldest in the world of trials, he was one of the creators in 1972 of the Three Days of Trial of Santigosa, an international competition that continues to be held in Sant Joan de les Abadesses.

Although he fondly remembers the time of Montesa, a time of strong competition in Catalonia with other prominent brands such as Bultaco and OSSA, the time had come for La Farga. Founded in 1808 by the Lacambra family, the company was on the verge of closing in 1980. At the age of 28, Guixà advised on industrial issues at the law firm of his father-in-law, Vicenç Fisas, to which the Lacambra family turned to manage the liquidation. of the company. Fisas and Guixà analyzed the company’s accounts and the situation of the sector and saw its reconversion possible, so they decided to take control of the company.

“I went around the world to learn in depth the techniques in the copper sector,” explains Guixà. From there, “we invented a totally innovative process in which we have been pioneers in the world: the production of the raw material to make electrical cables by continuous casting from copper scrap.”

The patent for this process made the company viable and ensured its growth. Today, in the midst of the boom in recycling and the circular economy, it becomes even more important. After 40 years as CEO, his daughter Inka took over the management of the company in 2023 and he remains president. La Farga has grown to a turnover of 1.3 billion euros last year, although Guixà recalls that “not everything has been successful.” The company suspended payments in 1993, although they managed to recover, and international expansion has worked in the United States, where they have a subsidiary in Indiana, but not in China, where they closed in 2019.

Married with five children, Guixà is part of the International Wrought Copper Council and is a director of the London Metal Exchange, as well as a member, among others, of the Balmes and Bages foundations, on which the University of Vic-Central de Catalunya depends.

Founding member of Femcat, now as president he wants to emphasize the need to “take more into account the entire territory and not just the metropolitan area of ??Barcelona”, a problem that, he points out, highlights the current farmers’ protest. He also sees it necessary to work on improving transfer to the research industry, where Catalonia, there, is well consolidated. And, finally, he considers that “our DNA of entrepreneurial spirit characteristic of Catalonia is being diluted,” which is why he calls for finding formulas to “protect the innovative spirit, the culture of effort and the mentality of internationalization.”