Gonzalo Baratech
05.20.2019 00:00 h.
The surprising result of the elections to the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona is a radical turnaround for a centenary business institution. From now on, the Barcelona corporation will be controlled by Eines de País, the candidature of the ANC and the Cercle Català de Negocis. It consists of 40 micro and self-employed workers and its representativeness of the economic activity of the territory is very debatable, according to the magnitude of the members.
The only exception of the 31 companies which have obtained a chair in the plenary of the business organization is the chain of supermarkets Bon Preu, headed by Joan Font. Last year it invoiced 1,347 million and has 7,400 employees. It should be noted, however, that it participated in the elections with a double candidacy, since it also supported the one formed by Enric Crous and José María Torres for their connection with the nationalist trade association Femcat. These are the peculiarities of this type of election: you can bet double, even triple.
The aggregate turnover of the remaining 30 is estimated at 46 million euros, which gives an average of 1.5 million per company.
Joan Canadell’s company
But not all reached such a level. Up to 23 of them did not reach 1.5 million. The champion and one of the four presidential candidates in the candidature, Joan Canadell, has won the armchair through his Iniciatives Canadell company, whose annual sales are limited to 132,000 euros. The leader of the organization for the next four years will be elected next week.
Joan Canadell (r) votes at the Chamber of Commerce / TWITTER elections
The listing includes another 12 companies that registered a turnover between 200,000 euros and one million. These are Plásticos Pineda, Truckcat, Jaume Giró i Giró, Rapid and Segur Assistència de la Llar, Instaquatre, Saileforners and Llonch Clima.
Average staff of eight people
Four other firms earned less than 200,000 euros: Wen Systems Integration; Implica2 Consulting Services; Pere Quart and Consultoria d’Espais Nuri i Sergi.
The record of billing anemia is held by two other companies. One is The Black Swan Family Office, from El Masnou, directed by Alberto Pont Serrano, whose earnings were limited to 12,291 euros. And the other, Nurbur XXI, from Caldes de Montbui, owned by Roser Xalabarder Sagalés, did not invoice a single euro in 2017 or 2016.
But the most striking fact is that the 30 firms add a permanent staff of 240 people. The average is, then, eight workers.
Automotive sector
The fact that, in the elections of the Chamber, the votes of all the participants are the same, regardless of their size, has provoked shocking events.
For example, the Seat and Nissan automobile giants, which together total 20,000 jobs, have been left out of the cameral entity. In 2018 they accounted for business volumes of 10,200 and 3,390 million euros, respectively. In its epigraph has won Truckcat, of Santa Eugènia de Berga, in the region of Osona, in the so-called deep Catalonia. Its turnover is reduced to 300,000 euros, with two employees on the payroll.
Eight companies in Barcelona
Of the 31 representatives of Eines de País who will occupy a place in the organization of business revitalization, eight are based in Barcelona. The other 22 come from Badalona, Bigues and Riells, Cabrils, Caldes de Montbui, El Masnou, Les Masies de Voltregà, Mollet del Vallèsdel, Sant Cugat, Sant Feliu de Codines, Sant Feliu de Llobregat and Sant Pere de Ribes.
Elisenda Paluzie (c) in the presentation of the candidature of the ANC for the elections of the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona / CG
The economic data transcribed reveal that the historical cameral entity of the Catalan capital is being directed by more modest social layers. Almost all the leaders of these firms are perfect strangers in the business world and had not even trodden before the Chamber.
Semillas Fitó enters with a family firm
The most relevant for the size of their assets, apart from Bon Preu, are Antonio and Jaime Fitó Morató, who enter the Chamber through Pere Quart SL. This is a property company that houses several properties on its balance, including the headquarters of its group, located on Selva de Mar Street, in the Barcelona quarter of Sant Martí de Provençals.
The Fitó Morató brothers are the owners of the company Semillas Fitó, of Barcelona, a multinational and benchmark in the world of the production of seeds of agricultural and horticultural plants.
Agricultural multinational
Its sales are around 80 million, of which three quarters come from exports. Shipments are directed to 70 countries, with a strong predominance of Hispanic Americans. The other third comes from the Spanish market. The social patrimony rises to 90 million.
Curiously, even though the Fitó brothers are part of Eines de País, whose cardinal objective lies in the implementation of the “Catalan Republic”, the Semillas Fitó website is only in Spanish and English. In it, the group claims that it is a “Spanish multinational founded in 1880”.
Four years ago, the Fitó brothers transferred the command to the next generation, embodied in Eduard Fitó Baucells, Eulalia Fitó Castell and Xavier Fitó Baucells. The three executives respectively hold the presidency, the vice-presidency and one of the membership in the council of Semillas Fitó. Antonio and Jaime Fitó Morató remain as directors.
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