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Aragon Technology Hub Green Energy

BWB will invest 230 million in a new data center and four solar plants in Aragon

Aragon continues to position itself as a benchmark in the digital economy as well as in the renewable energy sector

BWB's investment, born from the heat of Amazon Web Services, will create 2,200 jobs

The company Best Wonder Business (BWB) will launch a new data center in the Huesca Logistics Platform (Plhus) that will be powered entirely by solar energy produced by four photovoltaic plants that the company will install in the province of Zaragoza, in the municipalities of Perdiguera and Alfajarín, and which will connect with the Peñaflor substation.

This new business project that will involve a total investment of 230 million euros and the creation of 2,200 jobs is divided into three phases. The first phase is the construction of the four photovoltaic plants that will generate 178 MWp. Subsequently, the data processing center that will be installed on a 40,000-square-meter plot of land in Plhus generating 8 MW each phase. Both projects will be completed by the end of 2024.

The BWB project is almost the same size as that of the large multinationals but in this case it serves a complementary objective because they create a cabin where technical services are provided but the data is not processed. In other words, BWB offers a place to store and process information with all the redundant security systems, three individual power lines and restricted access.

Among the 2,200 jobs created, they will mostly require highly specialized personnel such as telecommunications and systems engineers, electrical and industrial engineers, as well as chemical and environmental engineers. 

For their operation, these centers require high energy consumption, hence the importance for BWB of simultaneously promoting the four solar plants planned in Alfajarín and Perdiguera, which will also allow it to guarantee the use of 100% renewable energy. Thus, the project will be considered eco-sustainable because it has large-scale batteries to reduce the price of electricity during peak hours, aerothermal energy for cooling and construction materials with a footprint carbon neutral.

A strategic sector

Antonio Macías, CEO of Bester – group where BWB is a part of – has assured that Aragon and Huesca in particular offer magnificent conditions for the installation of this type of company since the trunk fiber optic line that nests in Spain and joins the big capitals passes through here.

With this new business investment, Aragon continues to position itself as a benchmark in the digital economy, as well as in the renewable energy sector. The BWB center will be located in Plhus next to one of the three data centers promoted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in our Autonomous Community, which will come into operation this year and in which the company estimates a total investment of 2,000 million euros and the generation of up to 1,300 jobs over the next ten years.

ICT infrastructures are the basis of the entire value chain of the new digital economy, which generates quality employment, improves services, encourages the creation of start-ups and companies with greater added value and facilitates equal opportunities.

Source: Aragonhoy

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Pharmaceutical

The world’s leading company in hormonal therapies, Besins Healthcare, installs its newest factory in Aragon

Aragon attracts another pharmaceutical company to install its first factory in Spain
The 25-million-euro investment will create 150 highly qualified jobs

Besins Healthcare, world leadeing company in novel therapies for gynecology, fertility, obstetrics, endocrinology and andrology, has chosen the town of Muel (Zaragoza) to install its first factory in Spain. The pharmaceutical multinational acquired a 9,800-square-meter warehouse in the industrial area El Pitarco to carry out this investment, which will reach 25 million euros and create 150 stable highly qualified jobs.

The plant is expected to start manufacturing in the second half of 2022. Construction works are already underway, soon part of the equipment will be installed so that it can be tested starting this summer. According to company sources, there could be additional future investments, “given that we are talking about a stable process of decades.” Besins has assured that, as a company in a constant research process, they contemplate the production of new creation products at the Muel plant destined for the whole world.

This new business project will be declared of Regional Interest by the Government of Aragon, which will make it possible to shorten administrative process times. In addition to this declaration, the Department of Economy, Planning and Employment is already processing, together with the company, its application file for Regional Economic Incentives. The President of Aragon, Javier Lambán, declared that this investment is particularly welcome as it is implanted in a rural area, contributing to its revitalization.

Why did Besins choose Aragon?

Besins Healthcare has chosen Aragon to install its first plant in Spain due to factors such as its geographical location and communication routes. In addition, the proximity of Muel to the University of Zaragoza facilitates the hiring or attraction of qualified personnel. Another decisive cause that has led the managers of the company to settle in Muel is the immediate availability of a spacious and empty warehouse that allows, in a short time, the integration of all the necessary facilities for the production of medicines. 

Besides, according to the president of the French company, Antoine Besins, choosing Aragon has responded to objective industrial parameters. Although, among all the candidate countries -mandatorily belonging to the European Union for the application of mandatory pharmaceutical standards-, the “excellent” reception of the authorities and the facilities for the establishment of companies in the sector has entailed a keypoint to make this decision.

The Department of Economy, Planning and Employment, through Aragón Exterior (AREX), began working in 2019 on attracting the investment project of this company. Up to 14 Autonomous Communities presented location proposals in their territory. Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium or Ireland have competed with Spain, and within Spain, Aragón was the most competitive region for its dynamism and adaptation to the needs of the company. 

A leading company

Besins Healthcare is a family business specialized in the development and commercialization of hormonal therapies for the treatment of gynecology and obstetrics, fertility, endocrinology and andrology. It currently produces and markets more than thirty different products that are prescribed in one hundred countries around the world.

One of the mainstays of the company is constant research. Thanks to it, it has been possible to discover innovative technologies that have an impact on improving the health of women and men throughout their lives. Besins Healthcare products include natural progesterone for pregnant women, transdermal gel for testosterone deficiency syndrome, or estradiol replacement therapies during menopause.

Source: Aragonhoy

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Automotive Sin categoría

Magna will invest 15 million euros and create 50 new jobs backed by aid for R&D from the Government of Aragon

Magna Automotive expands its production in Aragon boosting their line of electric vehicles
Aragon consolidates its commitment to R&D subsidizing 28 new business projects that promoted an investment of 60 million euros

Magna Automotive will invest 15 million euros in its Pedrola plant over the next two years, which will be allocated mainly to new production lines for components for electric vehicles and the improvement of current processes, supported by aid for R&D in mobility of the Department of Economy, Planning and Employment of the Government of Aragon. With these projects under development and other products in the launch phase, the company expects to generate 50 new jobs.

Magna Automotive has been awarded a total of nearly 1.2 million euros through the two calls for R&D grants aimed at the automotive sector launched to date by the Department of Economy. The last of them, published last year, has made it possible to support one of Magna’s experimental development projects and ten other business proposals linked to sustainable mobility, in addition to four business initiatives in the pharmaceutical sector and 13 in the circular economy. These 28 subsidized business R&D projects in 2021 have made it possible to promote an investment of 60 million euros in Aragon.

In 2019, the Department of Economy had convened for the first time this type of R&D aid aimed exclusively at the development of the electric vehicle, subsidizing another nine different projects that have generated an investment of 53.9 million euros in Aragon. In that first call, Magna received a grant to create a hot stamping battery tray for electric vehicles.

The company has thanked the Government of Aragon for its support in their current and future plans which reinforces the commitment to the territory, people and industry as an economic engine for development.

Producing in Aragon since 2016

The Magna group is one of the main suppliers in the automotive sector, being a leading company in the use of technology and offering advanced solutions to facilitate mobility. Globally, the company has more than 161,000 employees and an organizational structure designed to innovate and adapt with agility. Magna’s 60 years of experience are supported by a unique systems approach for design, engineering and manufacturing that encompasses most vehicle components. Their global network includes 340 manufacturing operations and 89 sales, engineering and product development centers in 28 countries. The company is committed to a business model based on long-term sustainability and integrates Corporate Social responsibility policies into its processes.

After managing its implementation in our Autonomous Community with the support of Aragón Exterior / Invest in Aragon, this Magna division has been operating in Pedrola since 2016. At this time, the plant is focused on the manufacture of components for vehicle bodywork with a high level of automation and has a workforce of more than 300 people. The company expects to reach a turnover of close to 75 million euros in 2022 due to the specialization in hot stamping processes, laser cutting and assembly of parts through resistance welding and MIG/MAG. Components are served to the main automobile manufacturers, not only in Spain but also in several European countries.

As a complement to its productive work and to give greater impetus to its innovation and development activities, the company has been working for several years with the University of Zaragoza and has its own Collaboration Chair. The commitment to local talent and internal development has allowed the company to consolidate a high-level production and technical team through specific qualification programs.

Source: Aragonhoy
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Doing Business in Aragon

The Walqa Technology Park , the place to be

Walqa Meeting, Walqa Grow and Walqa Cloud are the newest ideal business ecosystem in Aragon

60 companies already take part in Walqa, one of the main concentrations of human capital and innovative business activity in northern Spain

Changes in the way companies work and relate to each other that digitalization has favored have been accelerated by the outbreak of the pandemic. In this context, the Walqa Technology Park has carried out a renewed service proposal.

With this expansion and updating of services, the Walqa Technology Park reaffirms its status as a strategic project for the development of the city of Huesca, its province and the entire autonomous community. Promoted by the Department of Industry, Competitiveness and Business Development of the Government of Aragon, it is one of the main concentrations of human capital and innovative business activity in northern Spain, involving half a thousand people and nearly 60 companies in its ecosystem.

This project is based on three pillars: Walqa Meeting, Walqa Grow and Walqa Cloud. Under these names are included the services and advantages that make this Park the ideal ecosystem in Aragon to carry out any activity or business meeting, grow a new project or develop it in a connected environment in which attendance is no longer decisive.

Walqa Meeting, Walqa’s proposal for business meetings

Within Walqa Meeting, meeting rooms, training rooms and an assembly hall are offered, equipped with audiovisual media, capacity up to 200 people and catering services in the park itself.  Designed for companies whose staff is geographically distributed, a new product has been offered: offices for temporary use with a capacity of up to 24 workstations.

Walqa Grow, a fountain of growth for projects 

To the current 12-seater coworking, called Cowalqing, a new space will be added in the upcoming months, with new membership formulas. It covers the needs of both people who undertake individually and larger teams who want offices for rent, rentals with the option to buy or even build your own building on the available land.

Currently 70% of the space is in use or reserved for future implementations. Spaces have opened up at the Ramón y Cajal Building, the María Josefa Yzuel Building, or the Félix de Azara Building.

The companies established in Walqa have advantages such as a lower price of the plots, a line of aid for investments and hiring from the Aragonese Development Institute, preferential conditions in aid from the Government of Aragon or reductions in municipal taxes.

Walqa Cloud, new solutions for companies in a global world

Walqa Cloud offers the possibility of belonging to the Park’s ecosystem without the need for a permanent physical presence. Thus, Cloud Home allows you to establish your virtual headquarters in the Park, make use of its facilities and participate in activities. Cloud Nomad is designed for the traveling professionals or those who only need sporadic use of coworking. Lastly, Cloud Nine is a powerful network that connects those companies with their own buildings in the Park with a group of companies and entities essential to the ecosystem.

The activities organized by the Park are included under the Walqa Roots brand, and include actions to attract talent, promote the professional growth of workers, spread technology, create an innovative culture and consolidate a professional and business network in Huesca and Alto Aragón.

Source: Aragonhoy
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Doing Business in Aragon

The Zaragoza area, a magnet for new investments

The municipalities located within a radius of 30 kilometers from the capital await a shower of projects

Certest, Amazon Web Services, Becton Dickinson and BonÁrea are the first firms to make the most of Aragonese attractive assets

The ring that surrounds Zaragoza has become in recent years a magnet for business investment. Zuera, Villanueva de Gállego, San Mateo de Gállego, La Muela, El Burgo de Ebro, Épila, La Cartuja and Pedrola are part of the list of municipalities that surround the Aragonese capital and that will be the focus of a shower of projects that will boost the corridors and regions in which they are located. Some of these initiatives may have not seen the light yet, but the Government of Aragon has rushed to enable industrial land at the request of numerous companies.

Among these investments, we find:

  • The Aragonese biotechnology company CerTest plans to disburse 100 million euros to light, among other projects, a factory for vaccines against COVID-19.
  • The giant Amazon finalizes the start-up of its three data centers (El Burgo, Huesca and Villanueva) with an investment of around 2,500 million euros.
  • Becton Dickinson recently announced an investment of 200 million euros and the creation of 600 jobs at the Empresarium of La Cartuja.
  • BonÁrea works are advancing at a good pace in a project that will generate 4,000 jobs in Épila.

But these projects are only the spearhead of many others that will arrive and serve as a driving force for attracting more companies. This diversified productive fabric will include the following sectors: logistics, automobile, renewable energies, new technologies, agri-food and biotechnology.

In order to make it happen, industrial land is needed in that golden ring. Therefore, the Governing Council approved land to build a logistics-industrial estate of 1.5 million square meters in Zuera in which 28 million euros will be invested over the next three years. In addition, the Government of Aragon and Sareb recently signed an agreement so that the grounds of the Recycling Technology Park (PTR) in Zaragoza, a total of 175 hectares, can house companies that are not just recycling.

Attractive Assets

There are several reasons why companies want to locate their facilities within this ring. Large firms are looking for administrative agility, adjusted land and logistics costs, good communications – all municipalities are located in corridors -, proximity to the airport or the railway and economic aid. Alongside these assets, they value stability and its proximity to Zaragoza guarantees qualified labor for these projects.

“Our concern is to be able to respond to the lively and growing demand of investors, but with Malpica, the PTR, the extension of Plaza and the Zuera industrial estate, a good supply is guaranteed, and sufficient in the medium term, in real estate logistics”, affirmed the Executive. In this sense, they add that “the generation of employment is guaranteed in good numbers.”

The Government of Aragon trusts that the implementation of projects will improve communications, boost growth in population, promote residential areas and, ultimately, provide employment and wealth to their neighbors.

Source: El Periódico de Aragón
Categories
Green Energy Pharmaceutical

Aragon triples funds raised in the H2020 program and is now among the leading Autonomous Communities in European resources for R + D + i

Regional companies and public entities achieve a return of 176.3 million euros from their participation in 500 EU-funded projects
SMEs, public technology and research centers, and the university achieve the highest funding in strategic areas such as clean energy, industry and agri-food

Aragon has achieved a return of 176.3 million euros in the European Horizon 2020 program to promote research and innovation, tripling its result from the previous funding plan of the European Commission and placing the Autonomous Community as the sixth in Spain in terms of fundraising.

This number is the result of the efforts of 145 Aragonese entities and agents, who have participated with excellent results in H2020. 

The biggest share of this amount was achieved by Aragonese companies, and especially small and medium-sized ones (SMEs), who have participated in 500 financed projects, accounting for almost 50 million euros (27.9% of total return).

The performance of the Aragonese technology centers such as the Technological Institute of Aragon ITAINNOVA and Aitiip Technological Center has also been remarkable, with 26.7% of the total funds obtained and a global amount of 47.16 million euros. University of Zaragoza, with 34 million euros, represents 19.2%; public research centers, 13.7% with just over 24 million euros; while the public administration represents 4.8%, exceeding 8.5 million euros.

Among the main participating agents, there are also the Institute of Materials Sciences of Aragon and the Institute of Carbochemistry, both dependent on the Higher Council for Scientific Research, as well as the Foundation for the Development of New Hydrogen Technologies, the Zaragoza Logistic Center Foundation, the Aragonese Health Service, the Iberus Campus of International Excellence or the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza.

From the sectors’ perspective, those who have obtained the highest returns are clean, safe and efficient energy (29.9 million); nanotechnologies, materials and biotechnology (26.5 million); and bioeconomy and food security (13.7 million). In fact, they account for 40% of the funds capitalized by Aragon and confirm the Community’s strategic specialization in the fields of energy (hydrogen and fuel cells), industry and agri-food.

In addition, this program has been supported by all actors of the Aragonese science and technology system, which speaks of good health and coordination of the regional ecosystem. The excellent results obtained by the Aragonese entities participating in the program, as well as by the rest of the Autonomous Communities, have led Spain to rank fourth in volume of subsidies received, only behind Germany, the United Kingdom and France.

The new Horizon Europe framework program, endowed with 95,517 million euros for the next seven years, aims to achieve the greatest scientific, technological, economic and social impact of EU investments in R & D & I, promoting the competitiveness of the regions and Member States. It is estimated that it could generate 11 euros for every euro invested and create up to 320,000 new highly-skilled jobs by 2040.

Source: Aragonhoy

Categories
Pharmaceutical

Pharmaceutical investments in Aragon are on the rise

More than 50 companies of the biomedical sector have established facilities in Aragon
CerTest Biotec, a local manufacturer of antigen tests, will invest € 100 million euros in the next three years, creating 205 new jobs

Nowadays, around 50 pharmaceutical companies have established their installations in Aragon, manufacturing a variety of  pharmaceutical products, radiation, electromedical and electrotherapeutic equipment, and medical and dental instruments and supplies.

BD‘s recent investment in Zaragoza has helped boosting the industrial sector in Aragon, and the pharmaceutical industry in particular. This project is part of its business unit specialized in the manufacture and marketing of preloaded drug administration systems, mainly glass syringes, that are supplied to pharmaceutical companies to be filled with the drugs they produce.

Other notable companies, in addition to Becton Dickinson, have also set their eyes on Aragon:

  • Novaltia, the sixth pharmaceutical distribution company by national market share, has invested in two logistics centers in Zaragoza and Calatayud in 2020.
  • One of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, Teva will invest 40 million until 2025 in its Zaragoza plant and will create new 60 jobs, to increase its production by 20%
  • Alliance Healthcare has hired about 200 people – half of them in the company’s international digital innovation center WBA Digital – in Villanueva de Gállego.

Another  project that is already being developed is part of the industrial park Polígono Río Gállego II, in San Mateo de Gállego, where local antigen test producer CerTest Biotec  is installed and whose presence and expansion is serving as a tractor for the installation of other projects in the biomedical sector.

CerTest will invest € 100 million in the next three years creating 205 new jobs. After the seventh phase of its initial development project to double the area and number of employees, construction of a  vaccine factory has also started, with an investment of 10 million euros, out of the 100 announced last year in the presence of the Spanish Minister of Science. The company is  already working on the earthworks, the total estimated  execution period will be of 15 months.

The pharmaceutical industry reveals  to be one of the strategic sectors that contribute to the economic reactivation of Spain and attracts new international investments to our country, being a driving force for science and the economy, contributing to its revitalization. Each euro invested in this sector generates between one and two in other sectors, and each direct job generates up to four additional ones.

Source: Aragonhoy

Categories
Pharmaceutical

Aragón, in the top tier of European pharmaceutical hubs with BD investment

BD will build a 200M€, latest generation plant for glass syringes, creating 600 jobs in Zaragoza
Aragon grows as the new pharmaceutical benchmark in Europe

In two years and a half, Becton Dickinson (BD), one of the largest medical technology companies in the world, will begin to manufacture in Zaragoza the first components of its latest generation glass syringes that will reach an annual production of 400 million units in 2030.

With a consummated investment in Aragon of 450 million euros, the American multinational founded in 1897 presents itself as a reliable company that will continue to invest another 206 million euros between 2021 and 2030. This investment will lead to the creation of 150 qualified jobs -in areas such as electromechanics, metrology, robotics or process quality control- until the end of 2023, a figure that is expected to increase to 600 workers upon completion of the start-up of all production lines.

The project for the new plant located in Zaragoza is linked to the operations of the company’s facilities in Fraga, which will contribute to its consolidation and potential growth. Both plants will be connected through their production processes and the possibility of sharing knowledge, which will make both factories located in Aragon a benchmark within the Becton Dickinson organization and the Aragonese industrial fabric itself. Aragon is becoming a firm competitor of Liège (Belgium) and Basel (Switzerland), thanks to its strategic entry position to Europe and its logistical capacity.

The Fragatina plant has an area of 65,000 m2 and is one of the largest factories in the region, fully automated and 100% powered by renewable energy . Its staff reaches, after the last hiring, almost 700 employees. With a production of 6 billion units per year, it is the only plant in the company that integrates the entire supply chain, including direct delivery to the customer, with an automated warehouse whose capacity of 24,000 pallets will increase to 38,000 after the expansion works.

On July 14, 2021, the Governing Council of Aragon approved the declaration as an investment of regional interest for the new manufacturing plant, in other words, streamlining the administrative processing of this project. The project includes the phased construction of a sustainable plant for the manufacture of plastic components of multiple types and production lines for Hypack glass syringes, with their corresponding equipment and services. Long-term planning is to optimize space utilization to allow the installation of at least 10-12 lines of these syringes, equivalent to 1.5 billion units of syringes per year.

The company will continue working with the Government of Aragon to develop the legal-technical framework so that the  industrial park can accommodate other companies interested in settling there.

Source: Aragonhoy

Categories
Green Energy

Pontegadea joins forces with Repsol and invests 245 million in a wind farm in Aragon

The project comprises 89 wind turbines, with a capacity of 335 megawatts, all located in the Zaragoza province
The Delta wind project keeps up the investment euphoria in renewable energies in Aragon

The business of renewable energies in Aragon maintains its steady growth with Pontegadea Inversiones acquiring 49% of Repsol’s Delta Wind Park, which operates 89 wind turbines in the region.

Repsol has reached an agreement with one of the main private investment groups in the world – the fund that manages the personal fortune of Zara owner Amancio Ortega – to partner in the Delta wind project, made up of eight wind farms located in the province of Zaragoza. Its 89 wind turbines, all of them fully operational since last March, add up to 335 megawatts (MW) of installed power, .

Under the agreement, Pontegadea invests 245 million euros to take a 49% stake in Delta, which means valuing these assets at 500 million, that is, 5.6 million for each windmill. This operation is Pontgadea’s first foray in the renewable energy sector, following in the footsteps of other great fortunes and multinationals that have been seduced by the green energies of Aragon, such as Amazon.

The parks are located in the surroundings of the Zaragoza towns of Villar de los Navarros (in the county of Campo de Daroca), where 236 MW are located; and Fuentes de Ebro (Ribera Baja de Ebro), with almost 100 MW. 

These facilities began operating in tests a year ago. Construction involved the investment of 300 million euros, and works were completed in less than 12 months with tips of up to 600 workers involved. Delta will produce 992 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy per year, equivalent to the average annual consumption of 300,000 homes, preventing the emission of one million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per year.

Thanks to its favorable wind conditions and orographic features, Aragon has become one of the epicenters in the deployment of wind farms in Spain.

Categories
Doing Business in Aragon Logistics

DHL Express invests 4.7 million euros in its Zaragoza facilities

The project includes the implementation of a new international transport center in Aragon
E-commerce in Aragon has grown by 60% in two years, and traditional businesses are recovering pre-pandemic activity levels
DHL Express will expand its presence in Zaragoza Logistics Platform (PLAZA) with a new 1,995-square-meter center for operations related to international transport. These new fully mechanized facilities, built on an area of 8,900 square meters and incorporating the latest technology, have already been in operation for a few weeks. The total investment for the expansion is 4,739,000 euros.

The objective of this investment is to respond to the registered growth of more than 50% both in the volume of import and export shipments in the Zaragoza facilities. “Industrial development is being strong and the companies we are providing services to are growing,” says Miguel Borrás, Managing Director of DHL Express Spain and Portugal.

Growth in B2B and B2C trade led the company to delopy five additional delivery routes between 2006 and 2021. Retail, fashion and engineering are the main sectors that concentrate shipments and deliveries in Zaragoza, followed by professional services, consumer goods and the automotive industry. Regarding the origin of shipments to the Zaragoza facilities, the “top” countries are China, Italy and Germany, while Mexico, France, the United Kingdom and Italy are the main destinations for the merchandise.

Due to this expansion, DHL’s workforce in Zaragoza has increased by 15%, mainly to carry out work related to routes and customs, among others. In fact, chances are DHL will be able to incorporate more professionals according to the growth and development macroeconomic trends for this year.

In Zaragoza, DHL Express has also committed to sustainability acquiring 12 small electric aircraft  and it is expected that, by 2025, the company will have replaced all its fleet to be electric, with the exception of long-haul vehicles.

Future growth and expansion

By maintaining the existing facilities focused on domestic transport operations, DHL Express expects to continue growing because e-commerce in the area of Zaragoza and Aragon has grown by 60% in two years, even during the pandemic, and traditional businesses are recovering, reaching pre-pandemic activity levels.

DHL’s growth forecasts within Aragon are currently focused on Zaragoza and Teruel, although the company does not rule out opening another facility in the third Aragonese province, Huesca, in the longer term. The company has a market share of around 53%, although “in Zaragoza, it may be higher and above the Spanish average.”