Francisco Martorell Esteban (Mancor de la Vall, 1951) es President of ASIMAthe Association of Industrialists of Mallorca, which promotes and defends the interests of companies in the industrial estates of Son Castelló and Can Valero Palm.
Industrial and service locomotive of the Balearic Islands, ASIMA is committed to dynamism and proactivity, as well as combining business activity with contribution to society. Martorell claims the priority role of industrial estates in the economic development of any territory.
Question.- How many companies are integrated into ASIMA?
Answer.- Between the industrial estates of Son Castelló and Can Valero de Palma, which are the ones represented by the association that I am proud to preside over, there are more than 2,000 companies and 20,000 workers. And for years they have been representing 20% of the GDP of the Balearic economy. Therefore, the economic and productive lungs of the Balearic Islands are in these two industrial estates and in the rest that are scattered throughout the Islands. Not all companies are associated, but the vast majority are.
Q.- How many industrial estates are there in the Balearic Islands?
R.- In the Balearic Islands there are 53 business parks and in total in Spain there are 5,787. The Association of Industrialists of Mallorca is a founding member of the Spanish Coordination of Business Estates (CEPE), which was created in 1998. The role of these estates is a priority in the economic development of any territory.
Q.- There are complaints from users and workers of Son Castelló and Can Valero for the deficient maintenance of these polygons. Dirt, garbage from large bottles, potholes in the streets, destroyed sidewalks… Do you think that public institutions are acting?
R.- That’s how it is. Unfortunately businessmen, workers and visitors to the Son Castelló and Can Valero industrial estates complain, and rightly so, about the dirt in the streets, the potholes and destroyed sidewalks, the abandonment of junk… a problem that we suffer from day to day and that makes it impassable go through these two polygons in Palma. The institutions know it, people express it on their social networks, we convey it in person to the municipal departments that manage these powers. But the dirt and poor condition of the sidewalks persists. For years we have been in the Línea Verde APP, where users of Son Castelló and Can Valero can notify incidents so that they are managed by municipal officials. I recommend that you have it downloaded because that way we will all continue to contribute to having clean and passable polygons. From ASIMA we always go with an outstretched hand in public-private collaboration. For us it is very important and there are always aspects to improve.
Q.- How can parking problems be solved in these business premises?
R.- Parking problems are associated with public transport, since it does not respond to the real needs of workers in industrial estates. We have raised it legislature after legislature, but nothing has been done about it. Mobility continues to be one of the issues that must be improved. As for public transport, the EMT lines continue to be a pending issue, which stresses the parking problem in the Son Castelló and Can Valero industrial estates. We have been looking for solutions to this problem for many years, meeting with the Palma City Council Mobility Councilor, conveying the discomfort that exists between the businessmen of both estates, who see how parking is complicated for their workers, the arrival of customers to the estate or other cases such as supply distribution logistics. And for this it is necessary to improve the public transport lines that connect different points of Palma with the Son Castelló and Can Valero industrial estates. To date there has been no effective response from the City Council.
Q.- And the state of the sidewalks?
R.- Sidewalks are also a pending issue. We are in an initial phase of fixing the tree pits after the agreement signed this summer with the Palma City Council, which means an improvement in pedestrian traffic. From ASIMA we have worked hard to reach this agreement. We provide the labor and the Infrastructure area of the City Council is in charge of offering the materials and the collection of rubble. Several businessmen have requested this service and we continue to receive requests. I want to remind you that not all the tree pits will be fixed, only those tree pits that our associates want and request. At no time will the roots of the trees be touched. The objective is to repair the state of the tree pit by removing all the material that has been deteriorated by the roots themselves, thus complying with our environmental protocol.
Q.- What would you ask of the political parties that will shortly begin the electoral campaign for the elections on May 28?
R.- That people get involved, that it is not regulated for regulating. That they not introduce administrative obligations that later complicate the companies on a day-to-day basis. That they no longer strangle the income statements of the companies. It is not something new and there is always a part of difficulty in public-private collaboration, and in its administrative part. Both publicly and privately, we want cleaner polygons. In the administration, in the private company, it is necessary to get involved in our square meter.
Q.- How is inflation and the rise in prices of materials, energy, etc. affecting businessmen?
R.- The tension with the inflation data and the increase in energy costs has been generating uncertainty since autumn and for the next season. Throughout Spain they are noticing these effects, although in the Balearic Islands we have the differentiating fact of insularity, which leads to distribution and delivery problems.
Q.- Tell us about the environmental and sustainability projects in which ASIMA is involved.
R.- Many companies already have a sustainable business vision and are promoting Corporate Social Responsibility projects in their businesses. We have a project to create an Energy Community on the roofs of the Old ASIMA Fire Station, in which we can generate almost 200 kilowatts for self-consumption and supply interested associates. We have made reforms to insulate the roofs and be able to directly install the solar panels. We are doing a project to help companies identify their carbon footprint, which is as clean as possible, all with blockchain technology.
Q.-The ASIMA Escoleta continues to be widely accepted.
R.- If many. The ASIMA Escoleta managed by our Foundation is our jewel. It is the first child labor education center in Spain that opened its doors in a business park, located in Son Castelló. It arose from the initiative of the members of the Coordinating and Executive Board of the Association of Industrialists of Mallorca, who thought of giving companies in the Son Castelló and Can Valero industrial estates a tool to help their workers reconcile family life and labor. Families who bring their children to the school know that it is governed by the work calendar, the center is open all year round, including school holidays at Christmas, Easter and all summer. The educational project is another factor that attracts parents, focused on artistic education to enhance the child’s skills and encourage imagination. I want to highlight that a few months ago the ASIMA Foundation received the Premis Populars 2022 award from Cope Balears. A recognition of which I am very proud as president of ASIMA. A very important recognition of the social work that we have been developing from the Association in matters of social, educational, training, cultural and sports action, among other activities. This distinction belongs to the entire ASIMA team, the associates, the companies and workers of the two industrial estates that we represent.
Q.- What are ASIMA’s challenges for 2023?
R.- Always continue to work for and for the associate, as the association has been doing since 1964. And among the challenges, as I have mentioned before, continue to insist on the administration so that there is a comprehensive maintenance plan for the infrastructures of the industrial estates.
Q.- Where does the future of polygons go?
R.- As members of the Spanish Coordinator of Business Estates, we defend the need for equal opportunities throughout our geography of the country and advance in public-private collaboration.
