| Tecnópole (Parque Tecnolóxico de Galicia) | |
|---|---|
| Localización | San Cibrao das Viñas, Ourense |
| www.tecnopole.es Official website | |
The Tecnopole is the Technology Park of Galicia (Spain), an area of 550,000 square metres with advanced services for technology-based enterprises and high innovative profile. It is located 12 kilometres far from Ourense city and it is very accessible by motorways and dual carriageways with the most important Galician cities. Besides, it has planned its connection in less of two hours with the Castilian plateau through the AVE.
The entity, a management company of business organization, provides services to the whole Galician industrial activity from San Cibrao das Viñas locality in Ourense and includes more than 80 enterprises, which are distributed among the located ones in plots and those of the incubation facilities of its business nurseries. In addition to this, the Technology Wood Centre (CIS Madeira), the Meat Centre (Centro Tecnolóxico da Carne), the Metallurgy Centre (Aimen) and the Metrology Laboratory of Galicia (LOMG) manage their activities from the Technology Park.
In the following months, an investment of 14 million euros will allow the Tecnopole surface be double, with the objective of providing more plots to the establishment of more enterprises and technologic centres, green areas, parking lots, entries and roads.
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The Tecnopole was born in 1992 thanks to the effort of the Xunta de Galicia, that had the support of the three Galician Universities, the Deputation of Ourense, the councils of Ourense and San Cibrao das Viñas and other institutions.
Its start up is due to the need of creating an area in Galicia to welcome, support and encourage business initiatives with innovative character and committed to technology, research and development as main objectives of its activity.
From the beginning, the Tecnopole has focused on supporting initiatives related to the technologic innovation, promoting knowledge and technology transfer and facilitating the creation and development of technology-based enterprises. In order to ensure this objective, it has enabled quality infrastructures and added value services for the enterprises that have been improved over the years.
The services that Tecnopole offers, to the enterprises located in its area and the Galician productive activity in general, clearly distinguish it from other parks or business estates due to its high added value. The enterprises in the Technology Park have telecommunication services, purchasing digital centre, support to the R&D&i and business cooperation, technology transfer net, language courses and others such as heliport, sport centre, training and an Experimentation in Renewable Energies Centre open to all Galician enterprises.
In addition to this, it will shortly start the construction of leased auto sustainable technology premises for suppliers of the current enterprises in the Tecnopole, which will be financed with the revenues generated by the sale of the energy due to the solar panels installed on its roofs.
The profile of the enterprises located in the Tecnopole corresponds to activities with a high R&D&i index and application and development of new technologies; relationship with the University and Technology centres; attraction capacity of other high technology enterprises; highly qualified employees; scientific, technical and innovative potential; and high technical and economic prospects.
At this time, 30 per cent of the activity in the Technology Park is centered on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the rest is diversified in several sectors, with an emergent trend to specialization in two areas: biotechnology and renewable energies. As a proof thereof is the installation of the Experimentation in Renewable Energies Centre, a Biotechnology Enterprises Shuttle and several enterprises related with these sectors.
The Tecnopole is responsible for several regional projects such as the creation of an aerial network of R&D in Galicia, Scientific and Technology Parks Network in Galicia in the future and Innovation Private Agent Network, which the entity will manage.
Last years it has been involved in several projects nationwide, such as ‘Ceipar’ –Creation of Innovative Enterprises Scheme in Parks- and the ‘Red TT’ –Technology Transfer Net-, both with the collaboration of the Scientific and Technology Spanish Parks Association, that it is member.
As far as European projects, it participates in ‘Parque’ –to attract investments to the business parks in the Euro region Galicia-North of Portugal– and took part in ‘Serbatec’ –Cross-border Net of Technology-based Resources and Services-, and other initiatives that currently are in its initial stages.
In addition to this, to support the success of the enterprises located in its area, Tecnopole set into motion in 2005 the Financing Project Office, established to offer information and counselling to start R&D&i projects with all the potential supports.
In the Tecnopole are located two business nurseries, one owned by the Park and another owned by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and it soon will join the Biotechnology Enterprise Shuttle (focused on the launching of business initiatives in this sector). The incubation facilities in the nursery of the Technology Park, that are usually run full, are directed towards entrepreneurs that want to start their businesses and enterprises and its departments that are interested in developing innovative projects or with technologic character.
Once an enterprise is installed in the nursery has all the facilities that are necessary to carry out its activity and the support of the Project Office to develop R&D&i initiatives and searching finance for projects.
Tecnopole is pioneer in the field of business parks to conquer the quality certification UNE-EN ISO 9001:2000 and environment certification UNE-EN ISO 14001:2004 and the Regulation EMAS, the environmental standard of reference.
The quality and environment certifications, given by the DNV agency, are high quality recognition of its procedures and, the regulation to ensure keeping the same quality level.
On the one hand, with this certifications Tecnopole demonstrate having correctly identified what are the necessary processes to ensure that its services follow the customers requirements and, they are going to be obeyed. On the other hand that the necessary measurement is taken to prevent the pollution and improve the efficient usage of the energy, promoting the reuse and recycling of waste and the sustainable use of raw materials.
The Corporate Social Responsibility policy (CSR) in Tecnopole is completed with initiatives related to Personal and Family Life Coordination Support policies. The workers in the entity have the possibility of developing part of their work at home through telecommuting systems such as laptop, mobile phone and internet connection, given by Parque Tecnológico de Galicia, S.A.