Indra Colombia will close the fiscal year with 223 million dollars in revenue. Its CEO argues that the subsidiary should move from selling technology to producing it in the country.
According to moncloa.com, Indra Colombia will end the year with 223 million dollars in revenue. Behind this figure lies a request: for the subsidiary to manufacture in the country systems that it currently imports from Spain.
The proposal comes from José Fernando Quintero, CEO of Indra Group in Colombia, in an interview marking the 30th anniversary of the subsidiary. Quintero suggests establishing factories for drones, anti-drones, and radars for all of Latin America, as well as systems for smart mobility.
The subsidiary already manufactures radars in the United States using Spanish technology; the question is why not do it in Colombia as well.
The subsidiary employs around 4,000 people. According to the company's own data, its systems are involved in operations that account for nearly 95% of Colombian air traffic management and are present in 85% of the country's airports.
Over three decades, the company has invested more than 25 million euros in knowledge transfer, software factories, and centres of excellence for the maintenance of defence systems, cybersecurity, and data and artificial intelligence. Its ticketing and train navigation systems operate in the Medellín Metro.
The Colombian workforce has increased more than 14 times since Quintero joined the company about 16 years ago. There are engineers in Bogotá, the Caribbean coast, the Coffee Triangle, and the Llanos conducting quality tests on systems deployed in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
Quintero asserts that the country must retain its own capabilities and that training is key for the plants to be sustainable. He mentions the Indra Academy programs in Urabá and Pasto.
According to the executive, what is lacking is coordination between the public sector, businesses, and universities, as well as the ambition to export that knowledge. The next step depends on Colombia articulating incentives for these plants.
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