Siro, a success story in collaboration between the food industry and distribution channels
February 23, 2015
During his visit to the R&D Centre of Grupo Siro at El Espinar (Segovia), Mariano Rajoy pointed out that Spain is the world’s eighth-biggest exporter in the agri-food sector.
The Prime minister of Spain emphasised that “when we talk about the agri-food sector we are talking about one of the most thriving and dynamic economic sectors of Castile-Leon and indeed all of Spain”. He explained that “many sectors have helped hugely in keeping the country afloat during difficult times“. One of these is the agri-food sector which “has exported 40.648 billion euros per year, making Spain the eighth-biggest exporter in the world in this sector”.
Rajoy indicated that “the strategic nature of the sector lies behind the Government’s determination to work unceasingly at both European and domestic levels to strengthen it and improve its structure”. These efforts were reflected in the long and hard negotiations of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in which the objectives were achieved: 47 billion euros for agricultural operations over the next seven years, guaranteeing 30% of their income.
Siro, a corporate flagship for Castile-Leon and for Spain
Mariano Rajoy congratulated the Grupo Siro on establishing itself as one of the corporate flagships for Castile-Leon and Spain. He also thanked the corporation for its social commitment to employment, the well-being of thousands of families and the integration of marginalised groups. The Prime Minister made particular mention of the Special Employment Centre in Venta de Baños, Palencia, which employs nearly 350 people with some form of disability: “They earn a living there – a good living – doing their job and contributing a great deal to their country“.
As for i+dea, the Grupo Siro’s Research and Development Centre, Rajoy declared that it is a “microcosm of innovation, combining in perfect synthesis training, investment and sustainability”. In other words, he added, “all the fundamental ingredients which successfully drive the renewed competitiveness of our country, applied here in El Espinar, to improve the health and quality of life of consumers”.
To end the Prime Minister thanked Grupo Siro for the opportunity it gave him to tell the story of success which it exemplifies: “Despite the current fashion for telling tales of woe and things that go wrong, which do exist, in Spain there are also plenty of success stories such as this one“. Because, he added, there are people “who are working with a serious attitude, contributing to the growth of our country, of which we all today feel very proud“.
For his part the Chairman of Grupo Siro underlined the fact that the two fundamental cornerstones of his company are “efficiency and innovation“, which respectively guarantee the present and the future. Meanwhile, with more than 4,000 workers, he indicated that they are “optimistically” committed to a sustainable economic, social and environmental future.
Grupo Siro, a family firm chaired by Juan Manuel González Serna and Lucía Urbán, was founded in 1991, and has increased its sales at a rate of 20% per year over the course of its 24 years in the business. Its initial turnover of 10 million euros had risen to 610 million by last year, with the workforce expanding from 85 to more than 4,000 at present, 14% of whom belong to groups at risk of social exclusion.
