“More than three million vehicles take to the roads every year with one of our parts in them”

Gonzalo Hidalgo, son of Arsenio Hidalgo, apologised for his father’s absence due to the Moroccan government’s closure of its borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic, announced weeks before the awards ceremony. He conveyed the following words from the Supplier Director of the Year 2020. “The origins of EPP Natur go back to 1992, when the Natur Division was founded, and today it is one of the SMEs that make up the industrial landscape in Spain, with the peculiarity of focusing production on parts mainly covered in leather for the interior of the car such as steering wheels, sun visors, gear sticks, etc. There are two differentiating aspects that have marked the trajectory of the company in the last three decades. The first is a stability in the human

team that has accompanied us in all areas of the company, as well as a robust agreement that the two partners who created the company agreed upon. We have proven to be good travel companions, as Paco Fernández, my partner during all this time says. It is unquestionable that we extend this recognition to our entire team. The second aspect that has defined the future of Natur is found in the decision, 17 years ago, to internationalise the company in the face of increasing downward pressure on prices that came to us from competitors in the so-called low-cost countries. When we made the decision to establish ourselves in Morocco, the people around us thought we were crazy because we were not big enough. nor did we have the support of customers to establish ourselves there, since when we did it, the current base of constructors that there is today in the country did not exist. That is why we also owe part of this award to Morocco, a country that welcomed us or, rather, adopted us. We made an effort to adapt to their customs, language, economy and legislation, and we have been surprised in recent years with the development of infrastructures, clean energy and, of course, the automotive sector, with companies that contribute to developing Brand Spain. Charo, Luismi, long ago are the times of the AutoRevista events in which the Government of Morocco explained its country strategy, which has been fundamental so that what was seen as a dream, has become a reality in very few years. At present, EPP has more than 300 workers and more than three million vehicles take to the roads every year with one of our parts in them. Regarding 2020, it has truly been difficult for those who have been hit by the pandemic, with many who have left us, and to whom we send our appreciation. In our case, we have to be thankful because the virus, although it has touched us, has not harmed us. We have taken it as a period of strengthening in areas such as digitisation, in the design of a strategic plan that allows us to face the next few years and in the diversification of other activities in the industrial field. We have kept the entire workforce both in Madrid and in Morocco. We need Spanish administrations to have an in-depth knowledge of the activity that industrial companies carry out in order to take advantage of the experience of worldrenowned corporations and use it to help entrepreneurship in a supervised way. We must take advantage of the magnificent training of our young people, inviting them to share experiences from SMEs and thus achieve increases in entrepreneurship success percentages. Entrepreneurship is exhilarating and satisfying. Young people must be encouraged to start new projects. We must take advantage of the knowledge accumulated in the DNA of Spanish companies and thus avoid the pain of failure. The automobile industry faces a challenge in circumstances in which it has never been encountered before, since the damages caused by the pandemic are all together, which makes it difficult to quantify; the semiconductor crisis, something inconceivable for those of us who have been working in this industry for so many years; or the speed of trends like electrification or carpooling. I have no doubt that the exemplary Spanish business network will adapt by improving its industrial management and investing in R&D&I. To do this, to maintain jobs, we cannot go alone”. Hidalgo expressed his gratitude to AutoRevista, congratulated the rest of the winners and dedicated the award to his children Claudia, Gonzalo and Paula.