- Members of the Industry, Ecological Transition and Digital Business Commission of the Parliament of Navarre are familiarizing themselves with the project on which the Navarrese coachbuilder is working together with the Government of Navarre and Volvo Buses.
- As a result of the strategic project, Sunsundegui expects to double its workforce, manufacture up to 783 units and grow to 140 million in sales.
- Mikel Asiain, member of parliament of Geroa Bai: “Public-private collaboration is essential to continue promoting Navarre’s industry and Sunsundegui is an example of this type of collaboration when it comes to creating jobs and recovering the most sensitive areas”.
Members of the Industry, Ecological Transition and Digital Business Commission of the Parliament of Navarra attended yesterday Sunsundegui’s facilities to learn about the strategic project we are working on together with the Government of Navarra and Volvo Buses, as well as future plans and growth expectations.
The attendees learned about the courses organized by the Navarre Employment Service-Nafar Lansare, which are being taught at the factory itself and whose professionals began to join Sunsundegui’s workforce in 2023 as a result of the company’s agreement with Volvo Buses. With this project, Sunsundegui expects to double its workforce, manufacture up to 783 units and grow 140 million in sales.
Among the visitors were Ana Elizalde and Ángel Ansa (UPN), Javier Lecumberri (PSN), Laura Aznal (EH BILDU), Mikel Asiáin (GEROA), Maribel García Mayo (PP), Miguel Garrido (CONTIGO).
The parliamentarian Mikel Asiain has described this visit as “very positive” and has indicated that “the company has impressed me, since I did not know that everything is done so handmade”. In turn, with regard to the project, he stressed that “I found the investment figures that will be provided and the creation of new models very interesting, as well as the maintenance and potential growth of employment in the area that it will entail”.
Likewise, Mikel Asiain considers that public-private collaboration “is essential”: “Industry in Navarre is a fundamental element in terms of its GDP – we all know that it represents 30% of its GDP compared to the State, even compared to countries such as France or Germany – so we consider that public-private collaboration is essential to continue promoting, in this case industry, but also other sectors”.
Finally, he reiterated the importance of public-private collaboration, since, thanks to it, “a reference company in the whole area of the Sakana Valley, such as Sunsundegui, has managed to recover after the hard years of the pandemic. Sunsundegui is an example of public-private collaboration when it comes to the creation of jobs and the recovery of the most sensitive areas”.
Sunsundegui’s CEO, José Ignacio Murillo, General Manager, Félix Aramendía, and Human Resources Manager, Patxi Iraizoz, attended the visit.
For his part, Félix Aramendía defends that “the collaboration with Volvo will revitalize and dynamize the fabric of the area and, thanks to it, we will be able to practically double our current workforce because this agreement requires an increase in skilled labor”. In this sense, she mentioned the revitalization of the company with the equality plans: “Of the new incorporations, approximately 30% are women and we are progressively increasing, which indicates a notable increase in the number of female employees”.
Beyond this project, Aramendía stressed that “we are already working on bodywork for electric vehicles, which are being developed this year and, in principle, will be on the market in 2025. For us, this is a substantial change, as it means adapting to technological change and zero emissions”.
A strategic project for Navarra
The Government of Navarra, Sunsundegui and Volvo Buses are working hand in hand on a project considered strategic for the region of Navarra. The process of recruiting and training professional profiles, which began in 2023, carried out through the Navarre Employment Service-Nafar Lansare, is one of the first actions defined within the framework of the public-private collaboration that is being coordinated by the Industry and Ecological Transition and Digital Business Commission, through Sodena, and which is also working on the study of land and facilities and on the line of financial support in view of the planned production expansion.
About Sunsundegui
Sunsundegui is a leading coachbuilder in the design and production of coaches and buses. With more than 300 employees and located in the town of Alsasua (Navarra, Spain), it has a wide range of models(Sc7 NG, Sc7, Sc5, Sb3 Go and Sb3) that cover all the needs of road passenger transport. The bodybuilder focuses its business model on the development of environmentally responsible and innovative public transport solutions that guarantee a light and safe body, and an efficient design through weight and energy consumption reduction. Present in more than 20 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia and with its own R&D department, Sunsundegui is today a solid company in constant growth that is committed every day to the quality and excellence of its vehicles.