Brussels, 28/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 28 June, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that it had granted a loan of €175 million to Corporación Gestamp S.L. to support its research, development and innovation (RDI) activities in the field of automotive metal applications. The funding contract was signed in Madrid on Monday 27.
There are two planks to the project. The first, which concerns RDI activities for automotive metal applications, aims to increase the energy yield and vehicle safety. It will be implemented in the centres owned by the company in Spain and Germany. The second plank covers the implementation of technologies designed to improve the productivity and energy efficiency of the promoter's installations in convergence regions in Hungary, Slovakia and Turkey, and for the construction of new factories in the Czech Republic and Romania. The project will be carried out in phases between 2011 and 2014.
In a press release, the EIB states that as well as the positive effects for the local economies, the project it is funding - particularly investments in Central and Eastern Europe - will have a direct effect on employment in these convergence regions, and on the modernisation of plant located in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey. There are plans to recruit some 400 new employees locally. This is the EIB's first loan to Corporación Gestamp; it will represent around 48% of the total costs of the project. Part of this loan, €50 million, will go through the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), with the balance loaned directly to Gestamp Corporación.
Last week, the EIB approved an operation to support the RDI activities of the Aernnova in the form of a direct loan of €20 million and an “intermediated” loan of €18 million (which could be increased to €27 million) involving Banco Sabadell, Banesto, Caja Vital, Novacaixagalicia and La Caixa, with the latter acting as sole point of contact for the EIB. This operation aims to fund the development of structural parts for lighter aircraft, making increased use, amongst other things, of carbon fibre and composite materials. (O.L./transl.fl)