Madrid, the 17th of December, 2018. The Spanish Development Financing Company, COFIDES, SA, SME, has signed a loan agreement worth 30 million euro to promote the business development in the American market of the TUBACEX Group, world leader in the manufacture of seamless tube products in stainless steel and high alloys.
COFIDES has financed the operation with funds from the Spanish Government’s Foreign Investment Fund (FIEX), which facilitates innovative companies´ access to financing in order to promote their internationalisation.
This loan will allow TUBACEX to continue developing tubular solutions with high technological value, as well as boosting its industrial and operational strategy in the US with the construction of a second production plant.
The facility will be located in Durant (Oklahoma) and will assist the development of the business in key sectors such as aerospace, with great growth potential in the coming years.
The activities financed will be carried out during 2019 and will impact on the group´s activity globally, consolidating the company´s position in a key market, where it currently has a production plant in Pennsylvania (Salem Tube), as well as commercial offices (Tubacex America) and a storage facility in Houston (TSS Houston).
The chairperson of COFIDES, José Luis Curbelo, commented that COFIDES’ support helps Spanish companies to grow in the global economy and to be competitive, while contributing to the development of the environment in which they operate and generating employment, both in the place of origin and in the target destination.
For the CEO of TUBACEX, Jesús Esmorís, this loan recognises and promotes the company´s strategy: "This agreement enables us to advance in the development of innovative solutions, improving our position in a key market and accessing highly challenging projects such as aerospace with significant forecast for growth in the coming years".
TUBACEX is a multinational group whose head office is located in Álava. It is a world leader in the manufacture of seamless tubes in stainless steel and high alloys. It has production plants in Spain, Austria, China, Italy, the United States and India and service facilities in Brazil, France and Houston, as well as subsidiaries and commercial offices in fourteen countries. Demand for the tubes manufactured by TUBACEX comes mainly from the oil and gas, petrochemical, chemical and energy sectors, which account for more than 90% of sales. With sales of over 700 million euro, the Group makes more than 95% of its sales outside of Spain. TUBACEX has been listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange since 1970 and is part of the "IBEX SMALL CAPS" index.
COFIDES is a public-private company which has been offering financial support to Spanish companies investing abroad since 1988. It is the exclusive manager of FIEX and FONPYME funds on behalf of the Secretariat of State for Trade attached to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. Shareholders include Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Santander, Banco Sabadell and CAF-Development Bank of Latin America.
