Zelensky focuses on Russia’s Porcelanosa, Maxam and Spanish capital goods industry

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday demanded in a congress of deputies that Spanish companies abandon their businesses in Russia. He highlighted three specific names: tile giant Porcelanosa, explosives maker Maxam, and the National Capital Goods Manufacturers Industry, citing an association that unites this sector, Sercobe.

The most famous name is probably the Castellion company Porcelanosa. Specializing in the production of ceramic floor and wall tiles and kitchen furniture, bathroom fittings, faucets and accessories, this company has nearly a thousand selling points. Several have opened in Russia in recent years, in places such as 2019 in Barnaul (Siberia), as then announced.

The group said in a statement on Tuesday that from the day the invasion began, it had decided to paralyze any economic activity in Russia that does not have its own distribution network, such as Spain, the United States, Italy or France. , Among others. The only commercial action taken in Russia is in response to pre-war contracts with multi-brand distributors. The Russian market in March accounted for only 0.009% of the company’s sales, which in that country amounted to 197,000 euros that year.

“Committed to human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence,” Porcelain “actively participates in the delivery of medical equipment, food and clothing to help the Ukrainian people in a state of solidarity and faith.” “We are also providing humanitarian assistance to a group of 7 people from this country who came to our headquarters before the invasion and whose presence in the province of Castellერილიn is supported and protected by the company.”

“We strongly condemn the Russian military incursion into Ukraine and the violence against civil society, the latest episode of which left us deeply shocked by the brutality of the population in the area. “The priority has always been to ensure the integrity and well-being of all members and agents who are part of this company, and that is what we have defended in Ukraine and Spain.

“Really, what Zelensky is asking for is a little bit done,” Jose Maria Segara, director of the Vila-real tile company, told Europa Press, explaining that the company sells its products in Russia to distributors who are who they are. They later sold and that he stopped working with this country when that country was partially excluded from the Swift international payment system and, moreover, there was no transport.

“Another thing is that some distributors are promoting Porcelanosa products that we used to sell in the months before the conflict, but there is nothing we can do about it,” he added.

Explosive giant

Maxam, which declined to specify a stay in Russia this Tuesday and called for a written questionnaire, is a Spanish mining, civil works, defense and sports ammunition company based in more than 100 countries and has 140 subsidiaries in up to 50 markets. More than 6000 employees and 80 industrial facilities. It invoices more than 1000 million euros annually.

According to its latest reports available in Insight View, the parent company had assets worth € 10.5 million in Russia in March 2020 and four subsidiaries in that country. The group, which opened its first subsidiary in the country in 2002, referred to these reports as one of the “milestones” of the year: “Expansion of mining operations by signing and / or extending more than 17 new contracts. Globally, including operations With Russian mining company Severstal.

In 2015, he claimed to have “manufacturing facilities in Samara, Kovdor, Kostomuksha, Chapeevsk, Achinka, Eruda and Kiashaltir (the last three in Siberia)”. “MAXAM Russia has more than 250 employees and delivers explosive services and products (civilian explosives and initiation systems) to mining companies (such as Polyus Gold, Rusal, Sverstal or Eurochem) and quarries across the country,” he explained at the time.

“For fiscal year 2021, it is expected that the corrections made at the end of this year in the corporation will be visible and will bring better results. “Europe and Russia, as expected, will continue the same positive results of previous years,” – the company points out in the latest reports deposited in the Commodity Register.

A century and a half ago, the leader of a group founded by dynamite Nobel laureate Alfred Nobel was called the Spanish Explosives Union (UEE) until 2006, and in 2020 it was controlled by the Rhône Capital Fund. Its first executive is the former president of Aena, Jose Manuel Vargas, who is responsible for piloting the privatization of the airport group. In 2019, one of its subsidiaries signed Former Director of the National Intelligence Center (CNI) and former Ambassador to the United States Jorge Dezcallar. And the same year Joined his subsidiary Expal Systems as director Rafael BardajJose Maria Aznar, former director of FAES, who later found himself in Vox. You are still your administrator.

For its part, Sercobe is an acronym for the National Association of Manufacturers of Capital Goods, which currently includes one hundred and thirty companies and industry groups. Among them, Técnicas Reunidas, which in 2021 was awarded a $ 240 million contract with gas giant Gazprom, along with others such as TSK, the Cuñado Group, Ingeteam or Iturri, and four sectoral associations. Sercobe represents more than four hundred companies and groups involved in the design, manufacture, maintenance, assembly and processing of capital goods and is a member of associations such as Confemetal (CEOE).

In 2020 and its annual report, Russia was one of the 20 most important international clients of the national capital goods industry, with 1.1% of overseas sales, about 357 million euros. The association’s website was down on Tuesday afternoon and could not be reached. The subject “categorically” denied to Europa Press that it has been conducting any kind of business with Russian companies or organizations since the enactment of the international community sanctions. “Sercobe is strictly in line with international law, is one of the main references before the Spanish administration in all regulatory and regulatory issues,” the association said in a statement.

Speech of companies

In the first weeks of the Ukraine war, the flow of companies that ceased operations in Russia was virtually constant, although there are companies that have decided to stay. Among the latter were French multinational Danone or Swiss Nestlé, who said they would not go because they had an obligation to feed Russian citizens.

In the Spanish case, the most relevant name, due to its weight, was Inditex. The owner of Zara took longer than other competitors to leave his business in Russia and continued to operate while competitors such as H&M or Mango had already announced their departure.

He announced his departure on March 5. In total, it closed 502 stores (more than 80, from Zara) and discontinued online sales. According to the results, this decision is taking its toll as Russia accounts for 8.5% of Inditex’s total output (Ebit) and there it adds more than 9,000 employees who continue to be paid, as recently acknowledged by its former president Pablo Islam. Group Results Press Conference. However, this has reduced the financial impact as they rent stores.

The Yale Leadership Institute is renewing the number of companies that in one way or another have reduced their operations in Russia since the February 24 invasion.

Since then, nearly 600 companies have reduced or closed their operations in the country led by Vladimir Putin.