• This is what the chairman of the company, Juan Luis Castro, claimed during his meeting with the director of the Instituto Energético de Galicia (Energy Institute of Galicia), Ángel B. Tahoces.
• The company fosters energy-saving and efficiency at its facilities by replacing its old lighting with a LED system.

Santiago, 10 February 2015 – Grupo Castrosua―consisting of the companies Castrosua, Carsa, Insular and Cidsa―achieved a turnover of 52.7 million Euros in 2014 from the production of nearly 300 units. This data was shared by the chairman of the company, Juan Luis Castro, during a meeting with the director of the Instituto Energético de Galicia (INEGA) (Energy Institute of Galicia), Ángel B. Tahoces.

“Our sector is undergoing a period of moderate optimism and we can say that in 2014 for the first time we have observed a change in the tendency, after a long period of recession”, stated Juan Luis Castro.

Banking on energy saving and efficiency

The chairman of Grupo Castrosua made these statements to the media n the occasion of the visit by the director of INEGA to the company’s production plant. Tahoces visited Grupo Castrosua to get first hand knowledge of the project switching to LED lights, carried out by the company. Last year, Grupo Castrosua benefited from one of this Institute’s aid lines, specifically the one created to subsidize energy-saving and efficiency projects in companies (belonging to the industrial sector and to the service industry).

With the aid received, which totalled more than 95,000 Euros (for the Castrosua and Carsa plants), the Castrosua plant in Santiago replaced a total of 2,113 lights which had an installed power of 205 kW, by 1,858 LED type lights, with an associated power of 54 kW. On the other hand, at the Carsa plant (in Vilagarcía de Arousa) 937 LED lights, associated with a power of 31 kW were installed.

“For us this has represented an annual saving of 386,455 KW in Castrosua and 293,494 KW in Carsa. That is to say, between 70 and 80% energy-saving per year, with the resulting reduction of C02 emissions”, said Juan Luis Castro. “By renewing or energy supply equipment, our company continues to promote a management model based on sustainability, through energy-saving and efficiency”, he added.

Improving competitiveness

Precisely, relying on sustainable development is one of the premises of Grupo Castrosua’s Strategic Plan. This commitment to environmental sustainability is also reflected, for example, in the manufacture of hybrid buses and gas buses and has helped to improve the competitiveness of the company as well as to strengthen its market position, as Juan Luis Castro pointed out. The chairman of the company also pointed out that this is one of the few companies in the automotive manufacturing industry that boasts the ISO 14001 certification (which accredits good practices in the field of environmental management).

During his visit to Castrosua, the director of the INEGA indicated that the period for submitting applications to benefit from the new line of subsidies for energy-savings and efficiency projects in the industrial sector is still open. He stressed that the INEGA seeks to “promote competitiveness in the industry and services sectors”.

About Castrosua

Since the end of the 40s Castrosua has been manufacturing bodywork for coaches and buses. With 90,000 square meters of facility area, of which 34,500 are occupied by productive plants, the company currently has 386 permanent workers. It occupies a key position in the Spanish market due to its pioneering nature and its commitment of always being at the forefront in the application and development of new solutions for the bodywork sector.

For further information contact: teresa.canas@.castrosua.com