Grupo Villar Mir gave the Leaders an overview of the company’s strengths at a lunch at Torre Espacio, also attended by the rest of SACF’s patrons
Torre Espacio, the head offices of Grupo Villar Mir and OHL, was the next stop for SACF’s group of Leaders, where they attended a presentation of the company given by Grupo Villar Mir’s Vice President, Juan Villar Mir.
“Grupo Villar Mir is a Spanish corporation that comprises a large number of companies from several sectors, each with its own identity and autonomy,” said Juan Villar Mir. The Group is Spain’s largest independent producer of hydroelectric power, the world’s top producer of silicon, a major producer of fertilisers and a prominent real-estate agent, as well as one of the world’s largest infrastructure contractors. As for the companies that make up the corporation, the most prominent ones are OHL, which operates in the engineering and construction sector and is three times the size of the rest of the group, and Abertis, an international contractor for telecoms and toll roads. The Group also owns Torre Espacio, one of Spain’s tallest buildings and part of the Cuatro Torres Business Area.
After the presentation, the group was offered a working lunch on the 51st floor of Torre Espacio, where SACF Chairman Juan Miguel Villar Mir gave a speech detailing the Foundation’s work to bring the two countries closer together, especially in the fields of business, politics and education, which are the areas in which most of its patrons operate.
During the lunch there were addresses by the patrons to give a brief overview of their projects in Australia. Josep Piqué, CEO of OHL, gave a presentation on the Group’s operations in Australia, with offices in Brisbane since 2011 and Sydney since 2014. The main contract signed by OHL in Australia was its debut contract in the market in December 2011 to rebuild a stretch of the Peak Downs road, in the State of Queensland. The company recently signed its largest contract in the country to build a stretch of the Pacific Highway in New South Wales. It is also currently bidding for a light rail project in Canberra in partnership with Acciona.
The other addresses were given by Germán Bejarano from ABENGOA, José Manuel Revuelta as Chairman of NAVANTIA, Francisco Torrente from MAXAM, Joaquín Mollinedo from ACCIONA, Íñigo de Palacio from INDRA, Ramón Mª Moreno as Managing Director of Casa Asia, Ramón Gascón on behalf of BBVA and Jacinto Aramendi from Instituto Cervantes. The last to talk was the Director General for North America and Asia-Pacific at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ernesto de Zulueta.