IRU Congress in Spain
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NEXT MONTH the Andalusian capital of Seville will welcome more than 800 delegates representing all sectors of road transport on the five continents to the 17th World Congress of the International Road Transport Union.
Choice of Spain for this IRU event, which will open officially on Tuesday May 6 in the presence of King Juan Carlos I, and the inclusion of a special symposium ("The introduction of the TIR system to Latin America") on May 8 underlines the strong alignment of the Spanish economy with South American trading partners.
This is particularly well illustrated by the export efforts of the country's commercial vehicle industry which so far has greater outlets in Latin American markets than in Europe.
Spain has not only become one of the most popular holiday areas, but despite the relatively gloomy long-term outlook on the industrial front, continues to attract foreign investment on an exceptionally large scale.
Industrial development, particularly in the automotive sector, has accelerated with increasing foreign participation.
By the mid-70s investment.
by European and American motor vehicle builders dominated Spanish industry and licensing and royalty payments constituted a heavy load on the balance of trade. Many links had been forged much earlier, such as the Chrysler joint venture with Barreiros which dates back to 1963 and the Fiat backing of SEAT which became a licensee of the Italian company in 1953. In the car sector SEAT is thE largest single manufacturer ir Spain.
One reason for the growth of interest in the Spanish scene by motor vehicle manufacturerE can be found in the country' application for full membershir of the EEC. This was placed ir July 1 977 and negotiations be gan just over a year ago.
The enormous potential fo the cv industry to expand it activities in Latin America witf model ranges also built for thr wider European markets, corn bines with new domestic oppor tunities for the establisher names. This philosophy als< lies behind the recent moves IT International Harvester am Nissan to participate in wha may become one of Europe' major truck-building countries.
Plans already announced b IH to establish engine produc tion in Spain — finalisation c the agreement is expected b July 31 — would probabl mean that the DT466 engine, a fitted in the US maker's S-Serie and Paystar range, as well as i the Seddon Atkinson 300 rang is sourced from Spain.
Delegates to the IRU Cor gress will have an exceller opportunity while in Spain t see something of the role roa transport has assumed in thi! the second largest Europea country.