1. An engineer dedicated to finance and not to engineering, is it a vocation then? When and how did your interest in this field arise? I prefer to say that I am an engineer dedicated to the family business founded 40 years ago by my father, Rafael Moreno, together with my uncle Ángel Moreno and Antonio Pujante. Today Jesús Pujante has taken over from his father, and both Rafael and Ángel are still active.

As for me, it is true that I have developed my career in the field of engineering, but when you try to take sides in the direction of the company, you are forced to train in other areas, such as operations management, international trade, or finance. However, Autorema’s core business is the design and manufacture of industrial machinery, or more specifically, the development of automatic or robotic applications to improve our customers’ production processes. So engineering continues to play a very important role in my day-to-day life. However, seeing engineers in management positions in large companies is more common than people think. Today, half of the Ibex35 companies have engineers at the head of them.

2. Autorema is a family-owned company. Tell us about the positive aspects intrinsic to such condition. And also, of the major difficulties faced by family-owned SMEs. There are family businesses of all sizes and conditions. In the case of Autorema, where the management remains part of the company’s management, the greatest advantage is undoubtedly the rapid decision-making, both internally and externally. We are now almost 100 people in the company, but that does not prevent the management from dealing directly with each and every one of them. When one of these people has an idea, it is listened to, and if it is a good idea, it can usually be implemented. No matter the rank or position.

On the other hand, the proximity to customers, as well as the commitment between employees and the company, are also very important advantages. In difficult situations such as the one experienced during the pandemic, the company is able to offer extra energy that serves not only to overcome the situation, but also to come out of it even stronger. As for the difficulties we face, I would highlight increasing globalization. This is a concept that has been known for a long time, but is still in vogue today. In our case, our competitors are increasingly no longer just around the corner, but can be found on the other side of the world.

This forces us to be more attentive than ever, to innovate constantly and to strengthen our contact with customers. Secondly, a common problem in this type of company is generational change. We cannot ignore it, and that is why it is important to have plans in advance that are known to all, and to lay the foundations for the process to be carried out in the best possible way, without affecting the business in the least, and generating confidence in customers and investors.

3. They have clients such as Alvalle, Calvo, Heinz, Hero and Nestlé, among others. What does it mean for Autorema to provide the best service? For us, it means making all the tools at our disposal available to the customer. And today there are many. In addition, honesty with the client is fundamental to cultivate a good relationship.

4. You have the bulk of your customers in the metal packaging manufacturing sector and you supply them with machinery for this. Tell us about it. Autorema started supplying machinery for the local canning sector 40 years ago. At that time, the region of Murcia was known as “the cradle of vegetable canning”, due to the large number of canning companies that exported their products to the rest of Europe. This fact led to the creation of numerous companies that tried to serve the canning companies in the area: numerous workshops, metal packaging suppliers, cardboard suppliers, and even a very powerful logistics sector that is still a reference today. Over time, the canning companies closed their doors (for reasons that would merit a second interview), but many of the ancillary industries survived and even became stronger, finding other market niches. This is the case of metal packaging manufacturers. Today, Murcia is one of the most important places in the world as far as the manufacture of metal containers is concerned.

At Autorema we were able to anticipate this situation and over time we became a strategic supplier for this type of companies. This, together with the export effort we made in the late 1990s, allows us today to enjoy the confidence of most of the manufacturers of
metal containers worldwide.

A good technical service becomes essential. Technologies such as the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, digital twins…, help us a lot to achieve these objectives.

5. Autorema has been able to adapt to changes in economic cycles and the evolution of technology. Tell us about the biggest challenges you faced when you started to internationalize. At first, the biggest challenge was the language barrier. After that, we had to change the mentality of our customers, to convince them that a Spanish company could compete on equal terms with companies coming from Germany or the United States. And we achieve all this, among other things, with training, effort and investment in new technologies.
6. Never before have we experienced so many big changes in technology. What has the advent of automation, robotization or artificial intelligence meant for the industry and the company? It is clear that we are living an industrial revolution, in which collaborative robotics, the internet of things, big data, 3D printing… are taking a leading role in the industrial processes of our customers. Those companies that know how to interpret this correctly and take advantage of this inertia will have a lot of work done for the future. We are constantly on the lookout for applications that integrate these types of technologies in order to offer our customers cutting-edge solutions that provide added value compared to our competitors.

For example, this is the case of collaborative robotics. Today we have on the market almost a dozen robotic applications that integrate the use of a collaborative robot, i.e. a robot capable of interacting with line operators, being 100% safe and increasing the efficiency of the production line.

Remote technical assistance, or anticipating possible maintenance on our customers’ machinery, are fields that we are also exploring, thanks to the aforementioned technologies.

7. And with regard to innovation, you have your own R&D&I department. How does Autorema innovate? Innovation is part of Autorema’s genetics. Since its inception, the company has always sought to find new products or take on new challenges. We would like to thank our customers, who have placed their trust in us and have allowed us to put all these innovations into practice.
8. More than four decades of business experience allow us to look to the future with greater perspective. How do you envision it for the coming years? How do you think your customers, and therefore your business, will evolve? The future is always an unknown, and even more so now with the speed at which society and customers are changing. To give an example, two years ago no one would have imagined that a pandemic would change many of the processes carried out in companies. Personally, I do not see this uncertainty as something negative, but rather as something exciting and exciting. Those companies that know how to anticipate changes and take advantage of them will be the ones that lead the market.
9. Where does the company’s future growth lie? Have you considered bringing in a financial partner to leverage for further growth? At the moment we are focused on our business and our customers. It is true that we are growing, but we are taking it step by step, without losing sight of our origins and what has brought us here. Innovation, active listening to our customers, taking care of our employees, using the tools provided by the market… must continue to be the pillars on which the future of the company rests.
10. How can SMEs encourage more women to take an interest in the industrial world, which is practically monopolized by men? Autorema is a company focused on mechanical and electronic engineering, with a strong focus on mechanical manufacturing. Personally, I would love to have more female engineers or more female mechanics or electricians, but unfortunately they are still professions that, since their training stage, are practically monopolized by men. In our case, we have had and continue to have women engineers who have turned out to be professionals of the highest level. I think having a diverse workforce enriches the company.