Pimec strengthens itself by renovating its headquarters for "big entrepreneurs of small businesses"

After years of work, Pimec has cut the inaugural ribbon of its renovated headquarters, which features open and bright spaces equipped with new technologies. Now, they will be at the service of SMEs and their managers, "great entrepreneurs of small companies," according to the president of the employers' association, Antoni Cañete.

"Let's not talk about small entrepreneurs, but about great entrepreneurs of small companies," Cañete insisted. The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, took up the gauntlet and applauded Pimec's work in favor of SMEs "led by great entrepreneurs." Illa, who stressed Pimec's "institutional sense" and constructive attitude, remarked that the employers' association has always been aware of the role it must play: "If you are a goalkeeper and you are going to take corners, it means you are desperate. Everyone has a role."

"The role of the Generalitat is to work for the common good and for shared prosperity," added Illa, who recalled that it was exactly one year ago, on May 12, when he won the Catalan elections that led him to the presidency. Illa, who is "satisfied with the work done," recalled that he set himself the maxims of "uniting and serving," to which he now adds a third axis: "sharing," in terms of shared wealth to which entrepreneurs like those of Pimec contribute. "It is a goal shared by all, to generate prosperity and share it with those who need it most," he defended.

The role of SMEs in this generation of wealth is key for the Catalan capital, as highlighted by its mayor, Jaume Collboni. "In a city like Barcelona, small and medium-sized businesses are the great economy of the city; they move more than 90% of the economic activity and jobs," he claimed at the inauguration of the headquarters after the renovation.

Pimec's headquarters, which is finishing the final details of its renovation, has undergone an integral image change, not only in appearance but also in technology. The eight-story, 4,000-square-meter building began construction in 2022, with the aim of gaining efficiency and quality in its spaces.

With the renovation, the building has gained meeting rooms, open-plan offices, a multi-purpose room, and green spaces, and has expanded its auditorium. In addition, it has enlarged its training center, which features new classrooms and equipment. To maintain its activity during construction, the employers' association prioritized teleworking and moved part of its operations to other headquarters and territorial delegations.

After reviewing the difficulties involved in a renovation process like this, Cañete emphasized the fact that the building is owned by the employers' association —it acquired it in 1998—, which shows that "there has always been a management of the entity from a business point of view." This factor, according to Cañete, grants Pimec "economic independence" to represent the values and interests of Catalan SMEs, he said in an event also attended by Pimec's honorary president, Josep González.

The renovation of the building "expresses the capacity for adaptation and for looking to the future with the courage and optimism that Pimec has always had," Collboni highlighted. According to the mayor, Pimec's headquarters and its surroundings reflect the current situation of Barcelona's economy: a few meters away is the Edifici Estel, which will house AstraZeneca's global innovation hub, and Avenida de Roma, which will also be renovated in the coming months: "Barcelona is experiencing a good economic moment."

However, this positive moment includes internal and external shocks; external, due to geopolitics, and internal, BBVA's hostile takeover bid for Banco Sabadell, according to Collboni. In this regard, the mayor applauded the initiative of the main Catalan business entities, including Pimec, to express their reluctance to the operation in a letter to the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.

Collboni calls for participation in the public consultation on the Sabadell takeover bid

"We adhere to this call to express opinions and highlight these factors," Collboni remarked at an event that served as a meeting point for the Catalan political and economic sphere, with representatives from the main Catalan business entities and also from Sabadell, with its territorial director for Catalonia, Xavier Comerma.