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FAGORNEWS 2013 TOGETHER WE EVOLVE FAGORNEWS 2013
TOGETHER WE EVOLVE
FAGOR PEOPLE
Antonio Sánchez
Industrial Director of the
Fagor Industrial Group
Q & A
FAGOR PEOPLE
After several years at the forefront
of the cold production plant of Fagor
Industrial in Poland, and after a time
in Lucena as Head of Fagofri, Antonio
Sánchez has just embarked on a new
adventure in responsibility as Industrial
Director of the Group (DIG)
What does the position of DIG involve?
This is a new position that covers the two
main parts of the Group’s industrial division;
on the one hand manufacturing and
on the other, product development (R&D&I).
In this respect. the objective is to organise
and direct the development of manufacturing
processes and technologies with the
clear purpose of obtaining improvements.
Improvements which should be applied to
the different businesses and production
plants. An important task must be the coordination
and global monitoring of the development
and launching of new products,
seeking standardisation of the same and
the optimisation of processes.
What challenges do you face as DIG?
One of the challenges before us is to be
able to position each of our business units
according to the established strategy and
to have the Fagor Industrial Group seen
as one of the leaders in our sector. Consequently,
one major challenge is to establish
criteria for the definition, organisation
and modernisation of the production
processes that permit optimization of the
manufacturing process of our products,
clearly focussed on improvement in terms
of efficiency and quality. Above all, we are
looking for improvements in processes and
in products that allow us to become more
competitive and better placed in the different
markets.
What are your plans for the future in
this post? What is the first thing you
will set up?
The first step is to analyse the present situation
in order to identify the principal needs
and priorities. We have a number of projects
and plans for the future that must be
prioritized and analysed. For the moment
we have started with some projects related
to the cold plants in addition to the new
developments of products that are already
underway.
You have had a long career abroad
with different companies and affiliates
of Fagor. Will you maintain relations
with the offices and factories
abroad, such as those in Turkey, from
this position?
In fact, this post is not just based in Oñati,
but has to provide support to all the plants
in the Group, with which I will be permanently
in touch, both those that I know and
those that I have yet to get to know.
How does your career abroad have an
influence on your present position?
How can this experience improve your
work?
Undoubtedly, my experience abroad helps
to give me a clear idea of the current situation
in our affiliates and of their principal
needs. Knowing the people and how they
“Above all, we are looking for
improvements in processes and in products
that allow us to become more competitive
and better placed in the different markets”
operate will certainly help to streamline coordination
and the setting up of the different
projects.
After your time at Fagofri, what would
you keep? What advances were
achieved while you were in charge?
I would keep the people, a hard-working
committed team of humans. One of the major
advances was the company’s change
in direction. The move from merely being
a production plant to becoming a plant
with commercial activity, getting closer to
the customer and the market, enabled a
change in the way of thinking and therefore
greater involvement in quality and continuous
improvement.
What was the best thing about working
in different countries? And the
worst...
The best thing is always the people you
meet, the cultures you discover and the
experiences you live. The opportunity to
meet different people is very rewarding
and offers much on a personal level. This
allows you to better value what you have,
both from a positive and from a critical
point of view. Naturally, the negative side
is always being away from your family and
friends. From a work point of view, the
work is rewarding and dynamic involving
decision-making and the assumption of
responsibilities. One of the aspects I most
value is the satisfaction of watching how
a project takes shape and grows. The difficult,
rather than negative, side is that this
responsibility is always associated with a
huge work load and level of dedication
What differences have you found
when working in Spain with respect to
abroad? What lessons could we learn
from workers in Poland or Turkey, and
what could they learn about our methods
of working?
The first is undoubtedly the language, it
may seem trivial but there really are occasions
when it poses a barrier in communication
that makes it difficult to get
a clear message across to the team. On
the whole, I believe that there are posi-
tive aspects and not so positive aspects
in any situation, the objective is to develop
and promote the positive aspects and try
to change the others. One very important
aspect which must be achieved in any project,
wherever it is, is the implication of the
people involved in the project.
How do you view the situation in forthcoming
years? How do you think Fagor
Industrial will evolve from now on in
the current economic climate?
I think that at the moment Fagor Industrial
is immersed in a change and redirection
that will allow it to continue growing
in a global manner, based on the different
company strategies and on the different
markets. The project before us is both exciting
and demanding, but I am sure it will
enable us to achieve a better position and
development of the Group. I am optimistic
about the future, as I believe that we are
doing things correctly and that this will give
us the opportunity to continue growing
with the objective of increasing profitability.
From the point of view of someone
who has been away for some time,
what is your opinion of the internationalisation
of Fagor? Will the company
continue expanding and establishing
itself in key markets?
The internationalisation of Fagor Industrial
is already a fact with plants and commercial
offices all over the world, and export
sales that are higher than sales in our national
market. I am convinced that we will
continue to grow in the different markets
where we already have a presence but that
we also face the challenge of expanding
to new markets, particularly the emerging
markets.
50 #11 / JUNE 2013
#11 / JUNE 2013
51
T Q
IN BRIEF
Age. 39
Personality. Open,
responsible, hard-working
Hobbies. Kayak, cycling,
skiing, in general any sport
Favourite Food. Any
in good company
A film. Braveheart (partly
because I saw it in Scotland
surrounded by Scots)
A book. The one I currently have on
my bedside table: Leo the African
A colour. Red
A date to remember. More than
just a date, a period; the four years
I spent in France when I was little
A wish for the future. Health