Underlines the need to consolidate the Spanish defense industry
MADRID, 14 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of Indra, Marc Murtra, has reiterated that the company’s entry into the capital of the aeronautical engine manufacturer ITP “is not on the table”, although he has underlined that the option of spinning off Minsait, its information technology business information, it is still feasible.
With regard to the aeronautical engine manufacturer, Murtra, at a breakfast organized by the Spanish Confederation of Directors and Executives (CEDE) in Madrid, made it clear that “it is not an operation that the council is studying and we are going to do at all times what we believe is best for Indra’s shareholders”.
As for Minsait, the president of the technology and defense group has underlined that Indra’s objective is to increase the margins of this subsidiary by focusing on businesses that provide greater value and with greater technical difficulty. Among them, Murtra has highlighted cybersecurity, IoT or digital payments.
However, the segregation is an “option to be analyzed”, but Murtra has transferred that any operation will be carried out taking into account the interest of the shareholders.
In terms of defense, the president of Indra has demanded that Spain draw up a list of military capabilities that it would like to have ten years from now so that the sector can direct its growth towards them.
“In order to undertake the investments that are required in R&D, economies of scale are always important. In Spain we need more investment and greater coordination,” stressed the director of the technology company, which this summer acquired the Simumak military simulator as part of its commitment for the consolidation of the sector.
Murtra has advocated that public tenders make it easier for companies to present themselves in alliance, as well as the need to generate a “climate of trust” within the sector.
The manager underlined the importance of scale when investing in R&D and highlighted the need for Spain to increase the percentage of GDP devoted to defense to align with the 2% agreed upon by NATO members and to bet on the European autonomy.
He has also emphasized the importance of Spain gaining weight in the European defense sector to a position equivalent to its economic and political weight in the European Union.
To this end, it has considered the Future European Combat Air System (FCAS) very relevant, in which Spain participates equally with Germany and France. The director has attributed to the program a transforming capacity of the entire Spanish industrial fabric.
Murtra has also reflected on the evolution of technology and the effects of the pandemic, which, in the personal section, has changed his opinion about teleworking, a modality that he has come to support.
The manager has confessed that before the pandemic he was skeptical, but currently he supports it, since he considers that a lot of work can be done “perfectly well” and there are tools to measure productivity.
However, he has also pointed out that there are fields such as informal training, culture or teamwork that continue to provide more value in face-to-face format. He has also pointed to the need to appropriately segment telecommuting workers.
“And in part it is also a negotiation, in some segments we could want there to be a little less teleworking, but they are very qualified people who if you burn them you lose them,” he added.
