The Generalitat, through the Department of Business and Labor, has allocated a total of 45.7 million euros to aid for productive investment projects that improve competitiveness, the impact on environmental sustainability, and digitalization in industrial companies. This is the largest line of industrial aid in the history of the Generalitat, which will mobilize a total investment of 248.7 million euros.
This was announced by the Minister of Business and Labor, Roger Torrent i Ramió, after holding a working meeting with five companies benefiting from these aids: Gràfiques Salaet, Francisco Pagès Valenti, Bluesun Consumer Brands, Industrias Preciber, and Copiral.
The head of Business and Labor explained that "thanks to these investments, industrial companies will gain muscle, strengthening the Catalan industrial fabric, enabling it to take advantage of new business opportunities." Torrent also highlighted the benefits of these projects, which are "a gain for the entire country, as they contribute to creating quality jobs, strengthening the productive fabric, the green transition, and territorial balance."
Given the avalanche of applications, the Government has increased the initial allocation from 10 to 45.7 M€Initially, the new line of aid had an allocation of 10 million euros, but due to high demand from companies, the Department of Business and Labor has expanded it to 45.7 million euros.
This new line of aid, managed through the Directorate General of Industry (DGI), is part of the National Pact for Industry 2022-2025 and specifically the objective set by the Government to recover industrial weight up to 25% of GDP by 2030. The Government has worked since the beginning of the legislature to ensure that industry continues to act as an engine for the entire economy of the country, to improve its competitiveness, resilience, and added value, and to further strengthen its internationalization. The main derivative of this line of aid, beyond the specific projects, is an increase in the size of the beneficiary companies, also a priority of the executive to provide greater robustness to the productive fabric.
More than 20,000 jobs and 205 companies benefited
In total, 205 companies have benefited, mostly small and medium-sized, which will consolidate 19,295 jobs and create 1,424 new ones. The sectors that have received the most aid have been the food products industry, the manufacture of metal products, and the chemical industry.By veguerías, Barcelona concentrates the largest volume of aid with 21.7 million euros granted, followed by Girona (7.1), Central Catalonia (6.9), Lleida (3.8), Penedès (3.3), Tarragona (1.7), Terres de l'Ebre (916,282), and Alt Pirineu (200,569). As for the comarcas, Vallès Occidental, Baix Llobregat, Vallès Oriental, Barcelonès, Osona, and Bages are those that have concentrated the largest volume of aid.
Making new investment projects possible
The purpose of this line is investment projects for new industrial plants or for the improvement of production processes in existing plants that involve a minimum investment volume of 250,000 euros and a maximum of 3 million euros. An essential requirement to access the aid is the maintenance of existing jobs on the date of application, while the creation of new jobs has been one of the most relevant evaluation criteria for project scoring. In this regard, the average increase in staff for companies that have accessed the aid is 7.38%.These investments must be driving forces in the value chain of the activity, in accordance with the objectives of the National Pact for Industry and especially in the areas of sustainability, energy efficiency, and the digitalization of production processes.
Industrial companies and production-related service companies with operational headquarters in Catalonia have been able to benefit from this aid, and the amount of the aid is up to 20% of the investment with a maximum of 500,000 euros per project. This aid can be covered by the temporary framework established by the EU to mitigate the effects that the invasion of Ukraine has had on the business fabric, as a result of cost increases, supply chain disruptions, or difficulties with international transport.
Among the evaluation criteria, the size of the company stands out, prioritizing small and micro-enterprises; job creation beyond the maintenance required by the order; the impact of the investment on suppliers established in Catalonia; the application of renewable energies for its production process; projects that apply circular economy and sustainability criteria, and the territorial impact of the project.