'CAF' COMPANY IS WORKING FOR A NEW CONTRACT WITH SAUDI ARABIA

‘CAF’ company is working for a new contract to export new trains to Saudi Arabia. The contract is almost closed; and it contains the manufacturing of nine trains. Each train will have five wagons, and a locomotive. It has the option of add five more locomotive and seventeen more wagons. This is the second contract with Saudi Arabia in the last three years. In 2008’s June Saudi Arabia’s National Railways signed a contract with ‘CAF’ to manufacture and maintenance eight trains for four years. The contract was valued in 105 million euros. In the last contracts of ‘CAF’ we can find contracts with Houston in the United States (39 trains) and Auckland in Oceania (57 electric trains). In september, the benefits of the company were 84 million euros, 8% more than last year, 2010.

‘CAF’ is probably the most important factory in Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country. It’s located in Beasain, and the first creation of the company was in 1860, but it takes its actual name in 1971. It creates a lot of different trains and trams for everykind of cities. For example: Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Washington, Rome, Brussels, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Pittsburgh, Lisbon, Belgrade and more underground trains are made in ‘CAF’.

So, this is a good new for basque economy. Nowadays we are in crisis time, so everykind of upturn of our economy is good. We need to help our local companies, because they’ll be the best solution for the crisis in the future. We can say that without good and competitive companies, we’re not going to solve unemployment and economic problem in the Basque Country. That’s the reason why now all the political institutions have to help our local companies. If they help our companies giving everykind of material to go ahead, they’ll surprise us with this kind of news. Then, you’ll feel very proud of your country and the good work of it.

Erik Rios Salazar

'CAF' company's factory, in Beasain.