Editor’s Note
This article highlights the full occupancy of the industrial units at the Torredonjimeno CADE, a public entrepreneurship center in Andalusia, with the launch of Ibertech Design Institute. It underscores the regional government’s support for new businesses by providing rent-free workspace to help them establish and grow.
The company Ibertech Design Institute S.L., specializing in prototype design and manufacturing, has begun its operations in a unit at the Andalusian Center for Entrepreneurship (CADE) in Torredonjimeno. This fills all six industrial units available at this CADE, which also has three commercial premises, two of which are currently available. The Junta de Andalucía provides this space free of charge to the company’s founders to develop their project for a period of three years (extendable by another year). This resource from Andalucía Emprende allows entrepreneurs and newly created companies that meet certain innovation and competitiveness requirements to have free space at the start of their activity (3 years for units/premises, 1 year for offices). The regional government’s accommodation network aims to facilitate and promote the birth of new companies in each municipality, while simultaneously stimulating the local economy.
Ibertech Design Institute specializes in the very specific sector of CAS/CAD-CAM engineering, involving computer-aided production, design, and manufacturing (Computer Aided Design “CAD”, Computer Aided Manufacturing “CAM”, and Computer Aided Styling “CAS”). They will develop projects in both design and high-speed machining manufacturing for a wide variety of clients, such as the automotive and jewelry sectors, and in the future for aeronautics. This is a company that aims to respond to the market demand for quality parts and designs.
This worker-owned company is led by three founders – Rainer Hohlbein, Rubén Valverde, and Emilio Escribano – who are specialized in design, numerical control, and project development. They possess extensive theoretical-practical experience in the industrial sector, having been trained in various European countries, such as Italy, the cradle of automotive design; and in regions known for engineering quality, like Germany and Spain.
They also plan to offer weekend workshops in design, CNC engineering, and synthetic clay modeling for those who want to develop their projects, both private and academic.
The Torredonjimeno CADE, which will tutor and advise this business, had fostered the creation of 41 companies in its area of influence (Torredonjimeno, Villardompardo, and Jamilena) by September 2016, generating 58 jobs and leading to a private investment of approximately 578,250 euros. Of these companies, 75.61% are sole proprietorships, 17.07% are commercial corporations, and notably, 4.88% are social economy enterprises.
The province of Jaén has 41 CADEs, of which 23 offer business accommodations, totaling 136 spaces (54 industrial units and 82 offices).