The history of ISASTUR has been written over a period of 40 years based on the will to do business, a desire to grow and the need to innovate. The story began in 1978 with 15 workers, in precarious conditions regarding material means, when Spanish and Asturian industry was going through a deep crisis in the mid 1970s. At that point, a group of businessmen and professionals decided to establish ISASTUR, a company that focussed on high voltage engineering projects as well as the supply and installation of industrial electrical equipment.
Over the next 15 years, the company continued to grow, totalling a staff of 120 enployees in 1990. This milestone in the evolution of the company led to a first major change: the construction, in the Silvota industrial estate near the capital of Asturias, of ISASTUR's own headquarters, which still houses the group's main offices today.
1990 marked our passage to the “modern age” of what is now a robust and competitive business group that operates in more than a dozen countries worldwide. The last decade of the 20th century saw the launching of new companies and the opening of headquarters that would gradually shape the way our business group was organised.
Between 1992 and 2000, two important steps were taken; namely, the establismen of Aplicaciones de Control y Automatizacion, AC&A, and the granting of the ISO 9000 certification. With the acquisition of AC&A by ISASTUR, the group began to organise itself into Business Units.
This was the period when ISASTUR began to expand at a national level, opening branches in Galicia, Huelva and Sevilla Towards the end of this decade, ISASTUR had become a group with three business units: Assembly, accounting for 90% of production; Automation accounting for 5%, and Engineering, another 5%. We also commenced our international expansion by means of a cooperation agreement with the German company, Polysius, for the automation of cement manufacturing installations.
The end of the century saw the expansion of the headquarters in Seville and the creation of the Maintenance and of the Health & Safety Business Units. This was also the year when we started to design and manufacture remote control systems. By then, the group had achieved turnover figures of 17.9 million earns and was employing a workforce of 350.
The following years saw the orderly and continuous growth and structuring of ISASTUR with the establishment of Ingenieria y Montajes Electricos de Galicia, the opening of a branch in Catalonia and the creation of Ingenieria y Gestión de la Construcción, IGESCON, the company through which the group performs Civil Engineering and Construction work. In 2002, the group decided to develop its own ERP to handle its processes. ISASTUR group grew and consolidated at the same time as it expanded its offer of "turnkey" projects, building its own biodiesel plant and creating Bionorte. It also acquired a stake in Asturian de Proyectos y Montajes Electric, AMPEL, a decision that enabled the group to complete its range of high-voltage installation services with the laying of overhead lines. The companies obtained their ISO 14000 certifications and work began on the EFQM project. In addition, a stake in Isertia, a company dedicated to publicity and graphic design, was acquired.
The construction of ISASTUR's Advanced Services Building (ESAGI) was another milestone achieved in the first decade of this century. This Proyect is a cuttingedge building that, through time and the praise received from experts, has become one of the icons of ISASTUR. In 2004, we received the National Health and Safety Award in acknowledgement for a preventive policy that, in addition to many others, displays a solid commitment to H&S. The Dupont Safety Award, Apollo Award and several other awards have confirmed this commitment over the years.
Towards the middle of the first decade of the 21st century the ISASTUR group had 600 employees and established ISASTUR Servicios as the group's internal services and holding company, ISASTUR Ingenieria was also established and we acquired Electroamsa, a company dedicated to electrical installations in Andalusia. The internationalization of the business gradually increased with the purchase of the company, Isotron, and its subsidiary, lsotron Maroc. Operations in Portugal began with the opening of Engemalia. The acquisition of Babcock Montajes in 2008 and of ASAS Systems in 2009 further expanded the group's commercial and international capacity, especially in the automotive sector in which ASAS Systems is a world leader.
The group's workforce totalled 1.200 in 2010 and the global economic crisis began to show the first signs of its severity. The group took the necessary measures to adapt to the situation without overlooking the need to maintain a solid structure tomove forward.
In the second half of 2015, ISASTUR group started a process to strengthen its internal structure, which we called "Newton Project". Isaac Newton, one of the great sages of history, that gives name to our project, noted that “No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess”. To advance, it is necessary to evolve and do it with common sense and clear objectives, such as ISASTUR Group has been doing for nearly four decades.
In practical terms, the most striking changes have been the absorption of ISASTUR Servicios by ISASTUR, which will become the owner of the holding and who hall be responsible for the administration and management. ISOTRON, on the other hand, will take over ISASTUR’s industrial activities, thus ending the concentration of businesses under a single name
Coinciding with these changes, the Holding will have a new corporate image and will no longer be called Grupo ISASTUR, to be known simply as ISASTUR
The sale of ASAS in 2017, ISASTUR puts end to the "Newton Project" implementation and the Group focuses its activity on its core business: the creation of infrastructures related to the energy sector.
The group's strong intemational presence and its structural adjustments, which have already been implemented, enable us to face the future with optimism. We still see ISASTUR's founding principles as the guidelines for a company committed to continuity. This is the reason why the group has permanent presence in sixteen countries through branches or subsidiaries, and ongoing projects in 28 countries through four continents. Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Jordania, Marruecos, México, Perú, UK, Romania, Uruguay and Venezuela, as well as Spain, are among the countries where ISASTUR is present today.
The founding principles are still valid: willingness to do business, the desire to grow and the need to innovate. To them we now add the courage to resist.