Pere Navarro receives the FITAC Medal of Merit in Colombia

• In recognition of his professional career and the transformation he has carried out in the Zona Franca of Barcelona, positioning it as a world reference.

• The special delegate of the State in the CZFB, Pere Navarro, has been very grateful and has reaffirmed his objective of “continuing to project the Zona Franca de Barcelona as an ecosystem of industry 4.0 and epicentre of attraction of talent and new opportunities”.

Barcelona, December 1, 2023.- The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) has participated in the 24th edition of the International Congress of the FITAC -Colombian Federation of Logistics Agents in International Trade- which is being held from November 29 to December 1 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Pere Navarro, the special delegate of the State in the CZFB, and Blanca Sorigué, general director of the CZFB, promoted the next edition of SIL Barcelona and presented the innovative and disruptive projects that the entity is carrying out.

During his participation in the FITAC Congress, Pere Navarro received the medal of merit in recognition of his professional career and the excellent work he is doing in the Zona Franca de Barcelona, with his business development, the promotion of technological innovation, the transformation of industry and the connection of the new economy.

Navarro, in his acceptance speech, highlighted the importance of the business and logistics activity of the Free Trade Zones: “They are essential geographical areas for the development of countries and regions. They stimulate the economy, increase international trade, promote technological and industrial development, and last but not least, generate employment and professional talent. We are proud to receive this recognition, and from the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona we will continue to project our industry 4.0 ecosystem and epicentre of new opportunities for society as a whole”. The special delegate of the State in the CZFB has expressed his desire to “turn the Zona Franca de Barcelona into the 4.0 district of the metropolitan region of Barcelona”.

CZFB as a catalyst for Industry 4.0

During their visit to the Congress, both representatives promoted the next edition of SIL, the reference fair for Logistics, Transport, Intralogistics and Supply Chain in Spain, the Mediterranean and Latin America, which will be organised in Barcelona from 5 to 7 June 2024 and will bring together the transport, logistics, distribution, manufacturers,  retailers and spin-off services from the global logistics sector. Also presented were the Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week (BWAW), the benchmark event for actively advancing gender equality, which will celebrate its 4th edition at the beginning of March 2024, and the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW), the multisectoral event that aims to position Barcelona as the capital of the new economy.

Likewise, the two projects with which the CZFB promotes innovation were announced: the Incubator 3D, the first European high-tech incubator in 3D printing and the Logistics Incubator 4.0, the first incubator in Spain dedicated to industry 4.0 in the field of logistics. DFactory Barcelona was also presented, the industry 4.0 ecosystem that is a global benchmark that brings together companies, large corporations and startups that develop projects based on Artificial Intelligence, 3D Printing, Big Data, robotics and sensors, among others.

Both also participated in the academic program of the Congress, with the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona being the official sponsor of the event. Pere Navarro was one of the authorities invited to the opening ceremony and was a speaker on the panel on “Free Trade Zones: A New Vision in the Face of Global Growth Challenges”. In turn, Blanca Sorigué was one of the protagonists of the new scenario of transformation and sustainability in the panel on women and logistics. Throughout the 3 days of the Congress, more than 500 national and international companies met to talk about foreign trade, customs, create new synergies and networking and generate strategies between the public and private sectors.