History

Enrique de Sendagorta Aramburu, founder and Honorary President of SENER, and President of the SENER Foundation passed away on January 5.

March marks the 50th anniversary of the first launch of a rocket from the Kiruna launch tower in Sweden. This project represented the first SENER contract in the space sector.

The Torresol Energy company, which belongs to the SENER engineering and technology group, celebrates its 10th anniversary promoting  the construction, operation and maintenance of large thermoelectric solar power plants and is owned by SENER (60%) and Masdar (40%).

It have been 10 years since the opening of the first SENER delegation in the United States with the opening of its first office in the country.

It is 25 years since SENER opened its first offices in Barcelona. Currently the SENER offices in Barcelona are located in Cerdanyola del Vallés.

The aerospace activity of the SENER group now brings on board theentire TRYO Aerospace & Electronics group which is the parent company of TRYO Aerospace Flight Segment and RYMSA RF.  This investment has enabled SENER to strengthen its technology, engineering and production capabilities in the aerospace sector with a clear commitment to growth. 

In 2017, SENER celebrates 50 years in Space, a sector in which it offers engineering and production services in five areas of activity: electromechanical components and systems; Guidance, Navigation and Control / Attitude and Orbit Control Systems (GNC/AOCS); optical systems; microgravity; and life-support and astronomy systems.

The SENER Foundation celebrates its 15th anniversary promoting initiatives and activities to serve the community through the training and education of engineers, while also aiming to develop social responsibility in business activities in the fields of engineering and technology.

SENER is established in South Africa with a permanent office in Johannesburg.

SENER celebrates its 60th anniversary with a long track record of projects, international experience and a team comprised of thousands of professionals who are the co-creators of the innovations that have marked its past and will shape its future. 

The inauguration of the thermosolar plant NOORo I took place in Ouarzazate, within the NOORo solar complex, which, once completed, will be the largest on the planet. The event was presided over by King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

SENER consortium is awarded the HS2 Engineering Delivery Partner contract in the UK.

SENER wins the contract to perform the environmental and engineering services for the California high-speed railway line (USA).

FORAN becomes the world’s first CAD/CAM marine system with integrated Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools.

Unveiling of the extension to the BBG regassing plant (Spain), whose third LNG tank was built using SENER technology.

SENER establishes a permanent presence in Chile, with headquarters in Santiago de Chile.

SENER moves permanently into Colombia, with an office located in Bogotá.

SENER opens an engineering and construction office in Manchester (UK).

SENER confirms its international expansion in the transport infrastructures sector with projects in Europe, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, North Africa, and the Middle East, including such noteworthy endeavors as the Toluca-Mexico City passenger train, the Guadalajara metro in Mexico, and the metros in Riyadh and Doha (Saudi Arabia), Dubai and Abu Dhabi (UAE).

SENER is appointed the main contractor for the Proba-3 space mission for the demonstration of formation flying technologies. For Spain, this contract represents an important milestone in the aerospace sector as it is the only European Space Agency (ESA) mission to date in which a Spanish company, SENER, is the main contractor of the entire program and leader of a consortium of European companies from over 10 countries.

Opening of SENER’s new corporate headquarters in Catalonia, located in Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona), a SENER project.

First sale of AUTOPLAK, the inoculation and seeding device for liquid samples in Petri dishes, designed by NTE Healthcare, a brand created by SENER to market healthcare technology products.

Start of the construction of NOORo in Morocco, the largest solar complex on earth, made with technology created by SENER, which is also a member of the turnkey construction consortium.

SENER is awarded the marine engineering contract for a 1,200-passenger ferry vessel. It is the company’s first marine engineering contract in South Korea.

SENER opens an office in the city of Shanghai in China, in response to the country’s growing importance in the marine sector. China, Japan and Korea are responsible for 90% of global production of non-military ships.

SENER opens an office in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, mainly for the purpose of carrying out transport and industrial infrastructure projects, as well as work in the area of aeronautics.

SENER is awarded the contract for the marine engineering of a stern trawler for China National Fisheries Corp. This is the company’s first marine engineering contract in the country.

Opening of Gemasolar, the first commercial power plant in the world capable of 24-hour uninterrupted production using solar energy, owned by Torresol Energy and with technology designed by SENER, which also performed its turnkey construction.

SENER establishes a presence in South Korea with an office located in Busan, in response to the country’s growing importance in the marine sector.

SENER establishes a presence in the United Arab Emirates with an office located in Abu Dhabi.

SENER is awarded the comprehensive engineering contract for the repair and modernization of the Argentine Navy’s ?Almirante Irízar’ icebreaker ship (RHAI) after the vessel was damaged by fire during an Antarctic campaign. This project is one of the most important marine engineering projects to be carried out in Argentina in the last 25 years.

Operation begins of Barcelona metro’s L9, the longest driverless line in Europe, and the Perpignan-Figueras international high-speed railway line between France and Spain. On both projects, SENER is responsible for everything from the design to the certification and operational start.

Commercial operation of Andasol (Spain), the first thermosolar plant in commercial operations with a molten salt storage system, using SENER technology.

SENER launches Torresol Energy, a company promoting the construction, operation and maintenance of large thermosolar plants, owned by SENER (60%) and Masdar (40%).

SENER establishes a presence in the United States with an office in San Francisco.

SENER opens a permanent office in Algeria, a country with interesting opportunities for the development of energy and transport infrastructure projects and where SENER also has a noteworthy presence due to previous work.

SENER creates a new division in Poland with headquarters in Warsaw, to undertake public infrastructure projects. Over time, this division will come to have a significant weight in the space sector.

SENER opens a permanent office in Mexico, a country with extensive possibilities in the area of infrastructures. Mexico soon becomes one of the most important countries for SENER in terms of both the volume of project contracts and number of professionals.

SENER establishes a permanent presence in the city of Okayama in Japan, to provide support to its Japanese clients in the use of the FORAN system for developing marine projects.

Sagunto regassing plant (Spain), the first LNG plant built by SENER.

SENER begins to supply systems for the manufacture and assembly of composite material structures for aeronautical use, with an initial project for the Boeing 787 airliner.

Commercial operation of Boroa (Spain), SENER’s first combined cycle power station, in which it takes part in the turnkey construction.

BAE Systems (UK) implements FORAN for use in the series of HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers and the series of Successor submarines for the British Navy.

SENER opens its complex in Madrid?the Integration and Testing Center, a state-of-the-art plant for production activities such as the assembly of electronic parts; mechanical assemblies and subassemblies; final integration; and vibration, temperature and functional tests. The mechanisms developed in SENER’s new Integration and Testing Center can be applied to aeronautics (flight control), space (satellites, spacecraft and payloads), propulsion (engine nozzles, thrust vector control), industrial products (for example, actuator mechanisms for thermosolar plants) and healthcare technology.

Commercial operation of the Zabalgarbi municipal solid waste treatment plant in Bilbao (Spain). This plant, promoted by SENER, uses the company’s own technology, the SENER-2 process, a high-efficiency thermodynamic cycle that improves the energy conversion of waste and optimizes the resistance of equipment to corrosion. As well as designing and patenting the process, SENER was responsible for the turnkey construction of the plant.

Commercial operation of the BBG regassing plant (Spain), the first liquid natural gas (LNG) plant built with the participation of SENER.

Commercial operation of Ecolube (Spain), a used oil regeneration plant in Fuenlabrada (Madrid, Spain). This industrial initiative promoted by SENER uses Interline technology for the regeneration of used mineral oils through distillation with propane, a technology designed by SENER.

The Sendagorta family and SENER Grupo de Ingeniería establish the SENER Foundation, setting out to promote initiatives and activities based on two principles: contributing to the community through training people (by means of combined study/work grants) and developing social responsibility in business activities.

SENER decides to return to Argentina, the country where it made its first forays into the marine sector, with licenses for its FORAN system, and into the field of infrastructures. It opens an office in Buenos Aires which becomes the SENER Argentina division.

SENER creates a new area of business in the Defense sector, based on the design and line production of missile actuation and control systems.

SENER wins the turnkey contract for the construction and commissioning of the Benzene Reduction Reforming Unit (RB4) for the Somorrostros (Vizcaya) plant of Petronor (Spain). This is SENER’s first turnkey contract for an industrial plant.

SENER sets up its own office in Valencia.

José Manuel de Sendagorta Aramburu, General Director of SENER from 1961 to 1985 and one of its founders passed away on September 22.

After having worked on several infrastructure projects in Barcelona (Spain), and prompted by the 1992 Olympics, SENER decides to consolidate its presence in Catalonia by creating a Division with headquarters in the region’s capital.

SENER opens a permanent office in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon for its projects in the country, especially in the field of civil infrastructures.

In the 90s, first contracts in high-speed rail (Basque Y, Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Valencia, Madrid-Lisbon) and large airports, ports and singular buildings on the Iberian Peninsula.

SENER contributes to creating ITP, the only Spanish aeronautical engine and gas turbine company.

Jorge Sendagorta joins SENER’s management team and creates the SENER Grupo de Ingeniería holding company.

SENER joins the European consortium working on the development of the EJ 200 engine for the multirole Eurofighter/Typhoon fighter aircraft, beginning its operations in the field of aeronautics.

SENER undertakes work on the projects for the Bilbao, Barcelona and Valencia metros. These are its first urban transport projects.

SENER reaches the figure of 900 professionals and a turnover of 4,000 million pesetas (24 million euros).

This decade SENER begins with the designs for the Spanish nuclear power plants of  Lemóniz and Cofrentes. These are SENER’s first contracts in the energy sector.

SENER undertakes its first major contracts in the infrastructure engineering sector with projects such as the Bilbao-Behovia highway (1967), Bilbao superport (1969), Sondica airport (1971) and the construction plan for the Bilbao metro (1973).

SENER wins the contract for the design and construction of the rocket launch tower in Kiruna (Sweden) for the ESRO (the former European Space Research Organization). This is SENER’s first international contract and its first foray into the space sector.

FORAN, the CAD/CAM/CAE system for marine design and construction created by SENER in the 60s as an in-house tool, secures its first contract outside of SENER with the Bazán (now Navantia) shipyard.

Amine and sulfur recovery plant for Repsol in Puertollano (Spain), SENER’s first refinery contract.

SENER has a capital of three million pesetas (18,000 euros) and 100 employees.

The management team grows with the arrival of José Manuel de Sendagorta, the founder’s brother and the person considered to be the company’s co-founder. Under his management, SENER begins to diversify its activities and open up to other sectors such as industrial plants.