Interview with the president of ARQUIMEA Group ARQUIMEA Research Center, Diego Fernández Infante
-You have recently announced that ARQUIMEA Group has created a new company in Tenerife (Canary Islands), what activities will be developed from this center? What objectives have you defined in the short and medium term?
ARQUIMEA Research Center is a private research center that was born with the vocation of promoting and preserving the innovative nature of the ARQUIMEA Group.
For two years we have been looking to create a corporate research center and, in Tenerife, we have found the place where to make this long-term bet with the aim of enhancing the research capabilities of the different companies that make up the Group.
With the launch of the ARQUIMEA Research Center, we have created an integrating center where the needs of different sectors meet and synergies based on cutting-edge cross-cutting technologies are valued.
What previsions do you have regarding the lines of business that will be developed from the center?
We are going to work intensively in sectors and technologies such as electronics; circular economy and sustainability; robotics and mechanisms; photonics; audiovisual; Maths and physics; and artificial intelligence.
ARQUIMEA Research Center plans to establish synergies with other local companies?
ARQUIMEA Research Center has the objective of becoming a benchmark in carrying out private R&D projects that become high-value products. For this, it is essential to involve the different actors in the value chain, always looking for technologies that can have an exponential impact at a social and economic level.
Do you think that the start-up of a company backed by such a relevant group will entail an call effect for the development of a technological business ecosystem on the Island and and that it become an international benchmark in science, technology and R+D?
The Canary Islands have many advantages as an enclave of business investment promoted by the Cabildos and the Canary public institutions. If we add to this an unbeatable location and great potential to become the California of Europe. Engineers choose where to work, and the Canary Islands should be a leader in attracting that talent.
Regarding location, what criteria inclined the decision to opt for the Canary Islands and, specifically, for the technological infrastructures of Tenerife?
We chose Tenerife for three reasons: firstly because of our relationship with the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute with which we have been working for years and which encouraged us and opened the way to Tenerife; second, by the University of La Laguna (ULL), which offers us a wide portfolio of doctors and researchers with whom to collaborate; and third, for the exceptional facilities that INTECH has created, with the ideal work areas and laboratories for our project.
ARQUIMEA Research Center operates under the tax regime of the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC). How did the fact that the Islands have a low tax regime authorized by the European Union (EU) for R&D companies contribute?
The Canary Islands have an unbeatable ecosystem of support for business investment. The tax incentive system that works in the islands is undoubtedly a claim to attract investment that promotes the fabric in the Archipelago.
To operate as a ZEC entity, investment and employment requirements are required for the Canary Islands, what previsions does the entity have regarding these two indicators?
In a four-year plan, we want to create 150 jobs. In the first year, we plan that 25 researchers are already working with us.
What professional profiles will the company require?
The profiles that we demand are STEMA, recent graduates and doctoral students. The Canarian talent dispersed globally is vast, and being able to bring them back to Tenerife is also an opportunity.
When and which are the origins of the ARQUIMEA Group?
The gern of the Group was ARQUIMEA, the company dedicated to the space sector, which I founded in 2004 as a spin-off of my projects as a researcher when I was at Carlos III University in Madrid. A year later, in 2005, we became official partners of ESA. From there, we have already traveled a path of more than 15 years in which we have continued to grow, incorporating our projects and companies, to become the multisectoral group that we are today.
Where does the capital of the business group come from?
ARQUIMEA Group is a group of 100% Spanish and private capital.
What activities do the companies that make up the group carry out?
ARQUIMEA Group is a multisectoral group, we develop technologies in sectors as demanding and diverse as: space; industry, defense and security; health and biotechnology; critical services and infrastructure; or audiovisual.
What markets do you currently operate in? And countries?
We operate in the global market. We have a wide market share in Spain and the rest of Europe, although we also operate in countries such as the US, China, Japan and Israel, among others.
In a moment like the current one, how do you reinforce an entrepreneurial future with optimism?
In the current situation, the first thing is to put everyone’s health first, we have stayed at home but we do not stop. We have launched several initiatives to help get out of this health crisis as soon as possible, there are three initiatives to stop the virus: 3D printing of protective screens we have already distributed more than 5,000, the design and development of an automatic ventilator for the ICU and, for lastly, we have launched an alliance with approved research centers and laboratories to be able to offer groups, prioritizing with the most vulnerable, 24-hour PCR diagnostic tests with a reliability of 99.9%. Now more than ever, science and technology are going to be essential to get out of this crisis.
What message of positivity would you send to the business sector?
Right now, all the companies in the world are showing that they have resilience and joint action in times of need, and technology, scientific and research companies are working more than ever and recycling to offer their services to stop the virus. I am sure that we will come out of this stronger.