My father, Javier Ormazabal Ocerin, founded our company in 1967. The Basque Country at that time was a region rebuilding after hardship. Yet he created one of the few family-owned industrial groups that still exist today, which now stands as a testimony to the transformative power of industry.
His conviction was simple: a company’s strength lies not only in its technology but in its roots. That belief built an enterprise that now spans more than 20 countries, while still remaining firmly anchored in Bizkaia.
My father’s legacy is an example of Europe’s industrial legacy. A story of resilience and reinvention and a strong sense of responsibility: the same values at the very core of the European Union.
Peter Drucker said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” My father believed that too. He built a business that looked beyond profit to purpose.
As I look back on his work, and forward to the future we are shaping, I see clearly how Europe’s industrial past, present, and future are connected.
The same principles that have powered our recovery before, must now drive our response to the defining challenge of our time: building a sustainable and competitive industry for the future.
The past: A long legacy
Europe’s prosperity was built on industry and international trade. Factories and workshops provided livelihoods and progress. In many regions, Bizkaia included, local industry shaped local identity.
When families, friends, neighbours and communities live and work together there is a deeply ingrained sense of collaboration and a solution-oriented attitude that comes from mutual dependency.
This spirit lead Ormazabal to become recognised leaders in technology and manufacturing.
And there are thousands more family businesses across our continent that are often overlooked today.
These firms, sometimes called Europe’s “hidden champions”, have been the silent engine of innovation and employment for decades by weathering crises, and maintaining a long-term vision that transcends quarterly results: for both the region and its people.
This heritage is not nostalgia: it is experience. And our experience should tell us that locally rooted companies can achieve global impact in the right conditions.
Javier Ormazabal, President of Ormazabal
The present: Change rooted in the regions
Too often, public debate focuses on multinational corporations. Yet Europe’s SMEs and family businesses form the backbone of our economy, accounting for 99% of European enterprises and two-thirds of industrial employment.
The challenge today is to decarbonise without deindustrialising. I would argue that our SMEs are well placed to do this. They are by nature agile and adept at finding solutions. In other words, they may be the ones to turn the Clean Industrial Deal from strategy into reality.
At Ormazabal, we see this every day. Our company has launched a €35 million investment plan to modernise our plant in Igorre and build a new headquarters and digital hub in Derio, near Bilbao. This reaffirms our commitment to preparing the Basque Country for a low-carbon future.
We are developing medium-voltage equipment free of fluorinated gases (SF₆), our way of anticipating EU regulation and contributing to the decarbonisation of the electricity system.
We are investing in industrial cybersecurity, electrification and talent development, because sustainability is not just environmental, it is also economic and social.
Green industry can develop close to home – and that is an example of what it looks like.
The future: Sustainable industrialisation
As someone now in my early sixties, I find myself thinking not only about my father’s generation, but also about the next. Europe’s industrial renewal will depend on whether we can hand over an economy that is both sustainable and strong.
This requires a new kind of agreement between public institutions and private enterprise. Public policy must accompany private investment, offering stable regulatory frameworks, predictable incentives, and taxation that rewards long-term commitment to regions.
It also requires investment into modern infrastructure – such as smart grids, renewable energy – and alliances between companies, universities and administrations, so that knowledge flows freely and translates into jobs.
If we get this right, regions like Bizkaia can lead the way, showing Europe’s green and digital transitions can bring renewed prosperity for local communities.
Europe does not need to depend solely on multinational giants to deliver the future. Its strength lies in its network of hidden champions. These are family companies that, generation after generation, keep investing, training, and innovating where they were born.
From legacy to leadership
The future of European industry will be shaped in factories, workshops, and labs across our regions. Our future will be created by people who believe, as my father did, that progress must be both innovative and human. That is the spirit we must carry forward now.
At Ormazabal, we are proud to represent that continuity. For us, the past, present, and future are united by one conviction: that Europe can have a strong industrial future if we act with vision today. The Clean Industrial Deal is our chance to prove that sustainability and competitiveness are not opposing forces: they are natural partners to our long-term values.
The story of our family business is also the story of Europe itself. Born from industry, challenged by change, and ready once again to create the future.
