Raquel Sánchez, Spanish Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, opens SIL’s 25th anniversary through a crowded day

• SIL 2023 opening event has been presided by the Spanish Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda; this is an extremely important edition due to SIL’s 25^th anniversary as an international flagship event within the Industry.

• SIL acknowledges the work done by public institutions which have contributed to positioning the event as one of the largest global fairs in terms of logistics, transport, intralogistics and supply chain, as well as a benchmark in Spain, Latin America and the Mediterranean area.

Barcelona, 7^th June 2023 – The 25^th edition of the Salón Internacional de la Logística (SIL) –7^th to 9^th June– has been inaugurated through an opening event which has taken place this morning. SIL –organised by Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB)– is one of the largest global fairs in terms of logistics, transport, intralogistics and supply chain, as well as a benchmark in Spain, Latin America and the Mediterranean area.

The opening ceremony has taken place this morning at 10 AM at Fira de Barcelona’s 8^th hall (Mont Juic – Plaza España), and it has been presided by Raquel Sánchez –Spanish Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. The Minister has repeated her support towards the event through the following words: “SIL has turned Barcelona into the epicenter of logistics worldwide, a bridge between Europe, Latin America and the Mediterranean. The sector, which is on a transcendental mission and is decisive for the economy and society, is going through sustainability and digitization. Electrification, automation, the Internet of Things or Artificial Intelligence are trend-setting flags that will allow us to face the challenges we have as a society”. And she continues “The logistics industry that brings together nearly 10% with related subsectors, more than 200,000 companies and nearly 1 million workers are one of the strengths of our country, which enjoys a privileged position as a gateway to Europe. The networks and infrastructures we have are among the 7 best in the world”.

In addition to Sánchez, other authorities have been part of the event: Roger Torrent –Catalan Minister of Business and Employment–, Laia Bonet –Third Acting Deputy Mayor of Barcelona City Council–, Idoia Mendia –Second Vice Lehendakari (vice president) of the Basque Country Government–, Moisés Solís –President of ALACAT–, Pere Navarro –President of SIL–, and Blanca Sorigué –SIL’s General Manager.

On the one hand, Pere Navarro highlighted: “During 25 years, the fair has been a space where professionals within the field have been gathered in order to share their knowledge, discover new trends and establishing strong business relationships. On these days, we estimate more than 12,000 professionals attending the event, as well as 650 companies –40% of them are international–participating. Internationality has always been crucial for us; having an open spirit to new countries and companies, with the presence of professionals from every single continent”.

Due to SIL’s 25^th anniversary, some public institutions –which have been supporting the event year by year and contributing to the fair’s development– have been acknowledged at the opening event: Port de Barcelona (Port of Barcelona), Port de Tarragona (Port of Tarragona), Puertos del Estado (Ports of the Spanish State), ADIF, Renfe, Correos (Spanish Post Service), AENA, SEPES, Cimalsa, ALACAT and Gobierno Vasco (Basque Country Government).

Regarding this recognition, Blanca Sorigué asserted: “The fact that Barcelona has become a leading area within the logistics field has been possible thanks to the support provided by public administrations and companies, which have served as roadmaps for boosting our industry. Last night, at “Nit de la Logística” (Logistics Night), we acknowledged the private sector; today, at SIL 2023 opening event, we want to recognise the public sector, because its support has been crucial for establishing SIL as the greatest global fair within the Industry. The professionals of the public sector are the real players of SIL’s 25^th anniversary”.

Euskadi (Autonomous Community of Basque Country), as SIL 2023 guest region, has been the main character on this first day. Its main event took place at noon, where its industrial and logistic potential was shown, as well as its vision for social, environmental and economical sustainability towards logistics of the future. Even Idoia Mendia added that “Euskadi’s logistics and infrastructures form a solid, sustainable project with great human capital. Ready to lend a hand in the face of all the challenges we face. And we will do so by connecting with companies, people and the territory, with technological, training and innovative capabilities”. And she pointed out that “Euskadi is the place to connect. A safe bet for Spain and Europe. A connecting node from north to south and from east to west that has the social interest, innovation and sustainability, as an integral and intelligent bet, to be a bridge between territories, companies and people”.

On this first and intense day, the five congresses celebrated simultaneously within SIL have commenced: ALACAT’s 39^th Congress, the 18^th edition of CSCMP’s European Conference & European Research Seminar, EUROLOG’s 26^th edition, as well as SIL Knowledge. MedaLogistics Week, the fifth congress, will be inaugurated tomorrow.

Among other events which have taken place today at SIL, PIMEC’s and Clúster Logistic de Catalunya’s (Catalan Logistics Cluster) annual report on logistics impact on the Economy has been presented. This report has obtained the following results: between 2011 and 2014 there was a positive evolution within the Industry in terms of competitiveness (from 50 % to 45 %), while between 2015 and 2019 this figure increases by up to 55 %, and by up to 69 % in 2020; between 2013 and 2014, competitiveness within the logistics industry in terms of work is higher than the total of the Economy, which turned back between 2015 and 2019, and deepened in 2020.