The Sevillian company Hidral is half a century old with the aim of doubling its business by 2030100 million euros in turnover. The company currently has a turnover of 50 million euros, of which 65% comes from international markets.
Although the lift sector is dominated by large multinationals, Hidral focuses its activity on the customer segment "...".who need tailor-made solutions with a high service level", says its president, Florencio Chacartegui. From its production site at the Polígono Parsi in Seville, the company manufactures around 2,000 units a year, with a range that goes from "from a small restaurant dish lift cabin to forklifts capable of carrying more than forty tonnes.", he remarks.
The company has a clear strategy to double its volume over the next few years, based on the company takeovers to enable it to diversify its activity and skills in the lifting sector. In 2023, it made its first international acquisition with the acquisition of a stake in the capital of Flexitecin the Netherlands, with which it already had a two-decade cooperation relationship. This operation also allows it to grow in Germany.
"We have now also explored opportunities in countries such as the UK and Belgium, where we have identified potential new operations."explains Chacartegui. In addition, thanks to the purchase of a company in Madrid, Hidral has developed the range of solutions Acros by Hidralspecialising in products for overcoming architectural barriers, such as platforms and stairlifts. "Another example of this diversification is Hidral Gobel, which designs platforms for access to buses for people with reduced mobility."he stresses. Along these lines, the company is designing solutions to facilitate entry to taxis and other vehicles for people with reduced mobility, as well as adapting controls and pedals for driving, in plants located in Álava and Madrid.
In the past decade, Hidral has been very active in international growth with the development of factories in Brazil and the United States. "It was a great learning experience, but they are two bets that did not have continuity because starting everything from scratch requires a huge amount of resources and the results only come in the very long term."he recalls. The current strategy is therefore based on incorporating operating businesses that complement Hidral's capabilities in markets and products.
This year is particularly relevant, as the company celebrates its 50th anniversary. "My father, Florencio Chacartegui Vázquez, first founded Suministros Auxiliares with some partners, and from there they created Hidral, with which they launched a forklift with a capacity of 750 kilograms that was well received in the market."says the president. In 1992, after finishing his degree in industrial engineering, he himself joined the company. "These were the years in which we started to analyse going abroad, and in 1994 we went to the first international fair in the sector in Brussels.".
Currently, the company has more than 300 professionals on staffwhich, in the words of its president, highlight that ".the industrial sector makes an economy stronger, because it creates stable jobs".
This information was originally published in ABC and can be found at the following link: Read the news in ABC.
