Óscar Puente inaugurates an edition of SIL marked by innovation and digitalization

• The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, presided over the opening ceremony of SIL 2024 accompanied by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, the Minister of Territory of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Esther Capella, the special delegate of the State in the CZFB, Pere Navarro, and the Director General of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué.

• The 650 participating companies present 176 new products in a world exclusive, a figure that reaffirms SIL as one of the world’s largest trade fairs for Logistics, Transport, Intralogistics and Supply Chain.

• MedaLogistics Week celebrates its 20th anniversary, reaffirming itself as the great summit for the discussion of the logistics, transport and infrastructure sector in Africa, Europe and Asia.

Barcelona, 5 June 2024.- This morning saw the opening of SIL 2024, the international benchmark trade fair in the field of logistics, transport, intralogistics and the Supply Chain, organised by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), which brings together the entire supply chain until 7 June in Hall 8 of Fira de Barcelona’s Plaça España venue. The opening ceremony was presided over by the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, who was accompanied by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, the Councilor for Territory of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Esther Capella, the Special Delegate of the State to the CZFB, Pere Navarro, and the Director General of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué.

During his speech, Óscar Puente, highlighted that “It is an honour to be here in Barcelona to celebrate the opening of an important logistics fair. The SIL is a crucial tool that demonstrates what Barcelona and Spain can contribute to the logistics industry at a global level. The decarbonisation of the logistics sector will be achieved by committing to innovation and developing a green supply chain. As for the Mediterranean Corridor, it will be essential for the global industrial revolution. Currently, 70% of the corridor is executed or under execution, and the remaining 30% is in the pipeline, which confirms the government’s commitment to the sector”.

Jaume Collboni also pointed out that “it is an honour to participate in this leading logistics fair, an event that reflects one of the objectives of the Barcelona City Council: to project the city globally. Barcelona is committed to economic diversification, innovating to reduce emissions and minimize the impact on public space. The city is implementing last-mile projects in collaboration with companies and associations, facilitating the transport of goods without affecting urban life. Greater investment is needed in the rail industry and in the mobility of people and goods, with a strong emphasis on public-private collaboration to meet these challenges”.

 For her part, Esther Capella stressed that “companies, organizations and entities make a vital contribution to the logistics sector, and the commitment of the Generalitat is aligned with them. The logistics chain is strategic, it allows us to move forward as a country and position ourselves in the international market. Catalonia is already taking a step forward, and we are not doing it alone, we are doing it with private collaboration. Logistics is essential for the industrial competitiveness of the country”.

 In the words of Pere Navarro: “SIL returns once again with all its strength, with 650 participating companies and 35% of internationality, with the presence of countries from the five continents and in an edition that is clearly marked by innovation and digitalisation and reaffirms its vocation to position logistics as an essential sector in our day-to-day lives”.

For her part, Blanca Sorigué, emphasised that “this year we have the presence of 120 startups and 176 new products presented in world exclusivity by the participating companies, a record figure that indicates the good health of the SIL as a global showcase where to present the innovations of a fundamental and essential sector for the economy”.

This new edition of SIL Barcelona will be marked by innovation and digitalisation, serving as a showcase for the latest technological solutions applied to logistics. During the three days in which the event will take place, the 650 participating companies present 176 innovations in an exclusive world-wide, a figure that reaffirms SIL as one of the world’s largest fairs for Logistics, Transport, Intralogistics and Supply Chain. In addition, it will be attended by 120 startups, the largest participation of emerging companies in the history of the fair, which will have the opportunity to present their most disruptive ideas.

Likewise, SIL Barcelona is once again positioned as the unmissable event in the sector for networking, with a full agenda of more than 150 events organized by the same companies participating in the event, as well as an extensive SIL International Knowledge program, which will have the participation of 320 top-level speakers.

On the other hand, to echo Spain’s logistics potential, SIL 2024 will have one of the largest participations of Autonomous Communities in its history. Aragon, the Canary Islands, Castilla y León, Catalonia, the Basque Country, Extremadura, Galicia and the Region of Murcia will be present with a very prominent participation where they will present all their logistical potential. In the case of Aragon, today it has celebrated the day of its community with an event that has taken place at its own stand and that has had the participation of the Minister of Development, Housing, Mobility and Logistics and president of APL, Octavio López, the general director of Strategic Planning and Logistics, Raquel Campos, and the manager of Aragon Logistics Platform,  Pedro Sas. In the same way, Extremadura and the Region of Murcia have presented their logistics offer today.

20th Anniversary of MedaLogistics Week

On this first day of the fair, the Mediterranean Logistics & Transport Week 2024 (MedaLogistics Week Barcelona 2024) was also inaugurated, the benchmark logistics summit in Europe, Asia and Africa organized once again this year by the Association of Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce (ASCAME) and the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), which in its 20th edition focuses on uniting the three continents -Europe,  Asia and Africa – through the Mediterranean and logistics, during the days of 5 and 6 June. 

Tonight, at the Torre Melina Hotel in Barcelona, La Nit de la Logística will take place, the great gala dinner of the sector where the SIL 2024 Awards will be presented that recognize the best projects of young talent and reskilling, SDG 5 in the logistics sector, the best startup and the best innovation presented at SIL among the 650 participating companies.