The Diplomat
King Felipe VI presided yesterday in Getafe the central act of the centenary of the creation of Construcciones Aeronáuticas, Sociedad Anónima (CASA), whose memory, he affirmed, demonstrates “the capacity of our industry to be at the forefront” in the field “of development and innovation”.
The commemorative acts of CASA’s centenary will be extended throughout this year in the different Airbus plants in Spain -Getafe, Illescas, Cadiz, Seville (Tablada and San Pablo) and Albacete- and will count with the participation of all the employees and with the collaboration of customers and prominent authorities in Spain.
The Monarch, accompanied by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares); and the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, presided yesterday the central act in which the foundation of CASA is remembered, by José Ortiz Echagüe, on March 3, 1923. CASA is currently integrated in Airbus, “the driving force of the sector and the heart of the aerospace and national defense industrial fabric”, as the Royal House recalled.
The King was received by Sánchez, Albares and Robles, as well as the Mayoress of Getafe, Sara Hernández; the CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury; and the President of Airbus Spain, Alberto Gutiérrez, among other authorities. Afterwards, Don Felipe posed in front of the plaque commemorating his visit and went to the auditorium to take his place for the ceremony.
Then, the King took a picture with a group of workers, started a tour through stands explaining the missions and lines of work of Airbus and inaugurated the building which houses the manufacturing and assembly line of the structures of the Ariane VI launcher. After this last tour, Felipe VI signed the factory’s book of honor, before meeting with Airbus managers and employees.
In the dedication in the book, the King pointed out that “today is, without a doubt, a historic day for Airbus Spain, and for the participation of our country in the European aeronautical and aerospace adventure”. “To relive on this date of CASA’s centenary with the inauguration of the new facilities in Getafe of the Airbus space division, is a great success and helps us to understand and value the capacity of our industry, as pioneers in the 20s of the last century”, to “be in the current and future vanguard of this so demanding field of development and innovation”, he wrote.
On March 3, 1923, José Ortiz Echagüe incorporated and founded the company CASA, of which he would also become president. The company started its activity in a plot of land in Getafe, which was followed by the Puntales plant in Cadiz -embryo of Puerto Real and Puerto de Santa Maria-, inaugurated in 1928, and the Tablada plant in 1942. Later, in the 1950s, the first facilities were built in San Pablo (Seville). From the eighties onwards, the plants of Barajas and Illescas were started up and, finally, the one in Albacete, which opened its doors in 2007.
CASA is currently integrated in the Airbus Group, headquartered in the Netherlands, the most important industrial corporation of the European Union in the aviation and space sector and the largest aerospace group in the world together with Boeing. Nearly 13,000 highly qualified Airbus employees work at eight sites in three of Spain’s main autonomous communities: Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia. As a result, Airbus is at the heart of the aerospace and defense industry in Spain, leading most of the country’s national and cooperative programs in these sectors.
“After a long history in the design and production of military aircraft and superior scientific satellites, as well as in the manufacture of essential components for the world’s leading commercial aircraft and helicopters, Spain is today one of the few countries in the world with the capacity to manage the complete cycle of an aircraft: design, manufacture, delivery and in-service support,” said the Royal Household.
Sánchez meets with Airbus
After the event, Pedro Sánchez held a meeting at the La Moncloa Complex with the CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, in which they analyzed the major aeronautical and defense programs developed jointly and the challenges for the company and its activity in Spain.
The meeting, the fourth at the highest level between the Government and Airbus management since 2020, was attended by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Minister of Science, Diana Morant, together with the Secretary General for Economic Affairs and G20, Manuel de la Rocha; the Director of the Department of National Security, Miguel Ángel Ballesteros, and the President of Airbus Spain, Alberto Gutiérrez.
During the meeting, the President of the Government and the CEO of Airbus addressed the need for the company to increase the industrial workload in Spain and the investment in R&D&I and to intensify the participation of our country in space programs, according to Moncloa.
