More than 70 years have passed since José Castro Suárez bodied on wood and repaired vehicles in a small workshop in O Carballiño. In those early decades, Grupo Castrosua was growing at a very good pace, although dedicating part of its time to thinking about where it wanted to go and under what conditions.
Even at that time, when Castrosua had not yet been born as such, but was part of Castro Caride or UNICAR, the first vehicles with our seal had begun to be exported. Therefore, internationalization has always been in our roots.
However, the main turning point occurred in the 1980s. Already established as Castrosua in the Santiago de Compostela plant, the O Carballiño native ‘Pepe el carrocero’, accompanied in the company’s management by his son José Manuel, whose figure would be fundamental in its expansion, changed the manufacturing of urban buses forever with low-floor platforms. From this point on, the internationalization of its production grew exponentially.
The truth is that behind Castrosua’s international expansion there is a very interesting story; an exciting tale that began with the first export, in 1989, and which is now going through one of its most exciting periods.
The first steps for Castrosua’s international expansion
As we said, Grupo Castrosua opened up to the international market around the 90s, a decade of great success for this family business. The low-floor buses that our bodybuilder began to produce then were very well received in the automotive sector. This low-floor platform allowed for a more rational configuration of the interior space of a bus while, at the same time, increasing passenger comfort, mobility, and freedom. Furthermore, Castrosua also surprised at this time by bodying buses for alternative fuels such as LPG, GLC, or CNG.
And so, known for its constant innovation and commitment to the environment, the firm exported its first buses (two units of the Master 35 model) to Portugal in 1989. Likewise, between 1994 and 1997, our bodybuilder received an order that was very important for the beginnings of Castrosua’s international expansion: a transport company from Romania bought no less than 68 units of the CS-40 City urban bus, manufactured in Santiago de Compostela.
Shortly after, in 1996, a French client trusted Castrosua for its commuter service and acquired 24 units of the Master 35 model, one of which reached the island of Martinique. Between 1999 and 2001, the same client bought about 29 units of another bodywork prepared for medium-distance travel from Castrosua: Intercity F. A. In the following years, the French country would bet on the group on two more occasions, adding another 13 bodies to its fleet.
Since then, exports have advanced gradually but firmly, and Castrosua vehicles have become present in more and more countries: the United Kingdom in 2001, the Czech Republic in 2003, and Israel in 2006. However, it was not until 2014 (after Castrosua reinforced its internationalization resources) that it received an order numerically as important as those previously sent to Romania or France.
Lithuania and Korea: two key clients in Castrosua’s internationalization
It was precisely around 2010, after having worked for the most demanding international markets, that our bodybuilder decided to make internationalization one of the basic pillars of its strategic plan.
With some of our vehicles improved and new models in production, Castrosua prepared its team to face new export aspirations. The company was already known in many parts of the world for the functionality, aesthetics, and modernity of its buses, but it dedicated a large part of its efforts to making itself known in other countries. In this regard, the order from Lithuania for almost one hundred buses in 2014 served as a real springboard for Castrosua.
Lithuania’s call was followed by one from South Korea, which in 2017 bought a bodywork from Castrosua for the first time for a compressed natural gas (CNG) powered bus. Satisfied with the vehicle, the same Korean client ordered another 115 units of the City Versus GNC model from our bodybuilder between 2017 and 2019.
Arrival in the United Arab Emirates with an eye on the future
Without a doubt, our human team was and continues to be decisive in the good foreign sales figures. For Castrosua, which has never lost its status as an approachable and family-oriented company despite having an eye on the international market, the training and development of its workers has always been the most important thing. All of them have had to adapt to a new work model that has become more demanding, both in terms of offering good after-sales and spare parts service and in seeking partners or business associates to help us achieve our goals abroad.
Thus, with extensive experience behind us and a very clear strategy, in 2019 we introduced our first buses in the United Arab Emirates. Between 2019 and 2020, we have sent 119 units of our Magnus.E bodywork to its capital, Abu Dhabi. Grupo Castrosua is currently manufacturing another 16 units at its Vilagarcía plant for their imminent departure, and there are still 33 pending delivery soon in this country. This operation of 168 units is the largest international order to date for Grupo Castrosua.
We are not lying when we said at the beginning of this post that Castrosua’s international expansion is now going through its most exciting moment. This period is proving very fruitful for our bodybuilder, which, without neglecting the national production that established it in 1948, is very close to its desired expansion goals: we expect that, soon, 30% of our sales will come from the international market.
Castrosua will continue to advance, promoting eco-sustainable mobility solutions with a great technological component and high quality in Spain and the rest of the world. We have the best team for our representation abroad and we are more than prepared for the challenges of the future. Who would have thought, in the 1940s, to ‘Pepe el carrocero’…
