The technology and engineering group Sener has introduced its new corporate purpose, after a collaborative internal process, open to its more than 3,400 professionals. The new purpose, “To transform the world by challenging the boundaries of technology”, is the result of a joint reflection process that reflects Sener’s ambition to generate positive impact through solutions to the most technically complex challenges of its clients, based on the innovation and technological excellence.

During the process, Sener’s professionals have contributed to redefining its vision, mission, and values. According to the new vision, Sener aspires to be a global ecosystem, leader in advanced technology and engineering, recognized for tackling the most complex projects, inspiring people and promoting their growth. Its mission is to help its clients with innovative and effective solutions, with the talent of the most outstanding professionals and always with a spirit of social service. And, to do so, it relies on its differential values: excellence, commitment, passion, teamwork, and innovation.

Regarding this, the company invested more than 16 million euros in innovation last year. Likewise, it actively collaborates with partners, research centers and universities, such as Tekniker, Eurecat or the UPV and the CSIC (with whom it recently agreed to develop a pilot plant for the generation of green hydrogen using microwaves), among others.

To carry out the process, Sener has held work sessions and various dynamics to learn the opinion of its professionals regarding Sener’s role in society, the main challenges that its clients address, the global challenges that they consider most pressing and their own perception about the company.

At the forefront of the technology transforming the world

Sener is a diversified company, specialized in areas with a strong technological component, such as the aerospace, defense, energy, mobility, advanced installations, digital or marine industries. For them, the group researches and develops solutions in innovative fields, such as floating offshore wind energy, green hydrogen or energy efficiency for data centers. This way, the company can participate and lead complex projects that positively impact society.

An example is the European Space Agency’s EUCLID space observatory, whose mission is to map the universe, in which Sener has been the main contractor for the attitude (or pointing) and orbit control system (AOCS), leading the design and development with unprecedented pointing stability features; or the construction of the 2.5 MW electrolyzer at the Petronor refinery in Muskiz, which contributes to the change in the energy and economic model to advance decarbonization, providing the first green hydrogen generated in the Basque Country. Or, more recently, the Cebu Bridge (Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway), winner of the IABSE (the most prestigious international association of structural and bridge engineering) awards in the category of Innovation in Construction and inaugurated in 2022, and which is helping to decongest one of the most important economic centers in the Philippines. The technical challenges of this latest project are an example of Sener’s technical solvency in technically complex projects: it is an entire construction on the sea, in an area of high seismicity, also affected by strong winds.

The disruptive moment that the global economy is going through especially impacts areas like these, with a high technological component. Today, companies act, even more so, as agents of change and social progress. For this reason, the company has decided to update its corporate purpose, with the aim of further linking its value and business proposition to the positive social and environmental impact it generates. Regarding this, the president of Sener, Andrés Sendagorta, declares: “we have the challenge of improving the world by doing what we do best: solving difficult challenges. To address these types of challenges, we must work as a team or, most likely, we will not succeed. For this reason, I especially value this initiative, in which the result is as valuable as the process, which has involved all the people at Sener. I am convinced that it has been a good idea that will help us continue working to transform the world and make it a better place.”

This Monday and Tuesday, Sener held the fifth edition of its biannual monographic meeting on the future of innovation, the ‘V Sener Innovation Forum’. The event, which brought together more than 200 professionals and experts at the San Mamés stadium on October 9 and 10, included the participation of Estíbaliz Hernáez, deputy counselor of Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Basque Government, who was in charge of leading the opening ceremony.

The Forum offered more than a dozen discussion panels on topics such as energy (for example, green hydrogen and offshore wind), autonomous navigation on unmanned platforms, connectivity in the current geopolitical context or digitalization (more specifically, cognitive infrastructures, 5G and hyperconnectivity, data centers as strategic energy value or the application of disruptive technologies, such as quantum computing, cybersecurity and robotics). Likewise, one of the central axes of the event has been the transversality and synergy between these and other sectors and technologies.

As explained by Òscar Juliá, director of Innovation and Digitalization, and Ferrán Costas, director of Innovation and Technology, innovation plays a determining role today in the field of engineering and, more specifically, in when proposing more sustainable technical solutions for society’s modern challenges. As an example, they presented the latest R&D efforts of the group, which, in the last year, invested more than 16 million in this area; Likewise, nearly a third of the staff (made up of more than 3,000 professionals on 5 continents) participated in R&D projects.

The group took advantage of the occasion to recognize the technical excellence of nine of its engineers. Thus, on Monday a recognition ceremony took place for Sener’s Chief Technical Engineers (CTE), a position awarded biannually by Sener to those professionals with outstanding knowledge in their respective fields of activity, specifically, space mechanisms , railways, geotechnics and tunnels, acoustics, noise and vibrations, energy, chemical processes, installations and safety in tunnels, electronic engineering of electromechanical systems and control engineering.

In the last of the two days, some of the most relevant points for the development of the digital economy were discussed, such as the role of clean and renewable energy sources in meeting the needs of data centers (area in which Sener is present since the acquisition of Quark, a leader in the design of these facilities), the deployment of 5G or the impact of cognitive infrastructures for the growth and consolidation of smart cities. The event was closed by Andrés Sendagorta, president of Sener, who stressed the relevance of innovation as an engine of growth and competitiveness for organizations and for the development of their people and talent.

Gabriel Alarcón has been appointed Corporate Managing Director for the entire Sener group. Alarcón, who until now held the position of Managing Director of the Engineering area, will be responsible, along with Sener’s CEO, of leading and coordinating the global strategy of Sener, which currently employs more than 3,000 highly qualified professionals worldwide. His appointment reflects the group’s need to shore up its corporate structure, given Sener’s organic and inorganic growth over the last few years. This way, from his new position, Gabriel Alarcón will seek to promote synergies between the various business areas of Sener: aerospace and defence, mobility, energy, renewable investments, advanced facilities – including the recently acquired Quark – marine and digital.

In his previous stage as Managing Director of the Engineering area, he completed the reorganization of the mobility and energy business subsidiaries; the acquisition of Tactix in Australia and Quark in Spain, and the strategic reorientation of the energy business, among other achievements. Before that, he coordinated the restructuring of the Engineering department, which included the launch of the mobility, energy, and innovation technology units. His work has been essential to reviving and promoting the culture of innovation and digitization in the group.

Sener faces an ambitious 2025 strategic plan, which anticipates the group to grow significantly, both in its current businesses and in new areas of technology. This growth will be driven by strong investment in people, technological innovation, and corporate acquisitions. The current order portfolio exceeds 1 billion euros, a record for all major businesses, and represents a broad spectrum of international projects.

Gabriel Alarcón started his career at Sener in 1995. Since then, except for a short period at ALSTOM, he has held different positions of responsibility in Sener, in technical, project management, engineering and general management areas, in sectors with a relevant technological, innovation and sustainability component. He was, among others, the Managing Director of Engineering and Director of Sener in Catalonia. He has a PhD in Mechanical Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), and he is a graduate of the General Management Program at the IESE Business School.