The history of Francisco J. Riberas Mera has always been linked to steel and the automobile. The current president of Gestamp has experienced the first steps of what his company is today since he was a child. Thus, in 1958, his father, Francisco Riberas Pampliega, an entrepreneur from Burgos, founded the Gonvarri Group with a capital of 20,000 pesetas (about 120 euros at current exchange rates).
This process coincided with the irruption of the automobile sector in Spain with the arrival of the big manufacturers. Already established as a benchmark supplier of components and metal assemblies for bodywork and chassis from top-tier manufacturers, in 1988, Francisco J. Riberas Mera joined the management.
This was the case until 1997, the year in which he founded Gestamp, a company that focused on the manufacture of components. At that time, Gestamp had four production centers, another three in the pipeline, which had a turnover of 200 million euros. Today, Gestamp has a presence in 24 countries, with 113 production plants and 13 R&D centers.
The Commander level is the most important rank of this order founded by King George V
Now, 25 years after the foundation of Gestamp, the manager from Madrid has been honored with the Order of the British Empire. Specifically, he has been recognized as an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), a distinction granted by Queen Elizabeth II to those who perform outstanding work for the country or British society.
The Commander level is the most important rank of this order founded by King George V, for those who do not have British nationality and is the second highest level of the Order of the British Empire. In this case, the title of Honorary Commander is awarded to those who play a notable role at the national level, an outstanding leading role in regional affairs through achievement or service to the community, or a highly outstanding innovative contribution in their area. of activity.
In the case of Francisco Riberas, this distinction has been awarded for his services to the automotive industry in the United Kingdom.
close relationship
And it is that the Basque multinational has invested more than 400 million euros since it began operations in the United Kingdom, 20 years ago. In addition, Gestamp achieved a turnover of 348.4 million euros in the United Kingdom in 2021, which represented 4.3% of the total turnover achieved by the company.
Gestamp currently employs around 2,000 people at its three sites: Newton Aycliffe, near Newcastle, is the largest of the production plants with around 1,200 workers, which also has an R&D centre, one of the 13 that Gestamp has around the world. The plants in the West Midlands, near Wolverhampton, and Llanelli in Wales complete Gestamp’s operations in the United Kingdom. During this time, Gestamp UK has become the main Tier 1 company in the UK automotive sector.
Gestamp experienced one of its historic moments on April 7, 2017: its IPO. It placed 155.38 million shares on the Spanish market with a free float equivalent to 27% of its capital. With this operation, Gestamp sought to endorse its long-term strategy marked by the nature of a family business. Despite having this percentage on the stock market, the company has maintained the discipline that Citi likes so much, contrary to what the ferrets of private capital in favor of excluding the company and depriving the rest of the current shareholders of future value would defend.
Gestamp’s great leap occurred in 1999 when the company began its internationalization stage
Five years after its stock market debut, the Riberas family holds 73.69% of Gestamp’s capital. But it is not the only company in which the Riberas family has interests, since CIE Automotive also owns 15.69% of its capital through Acek Desarrollo y Gestión Industrial, the family holding company headed by Francisco J. Riberas together with his brother Jon Riberas.
But Gestamp’s big leap came in 1999 when the company began its internationalization stage in markets such as Germany, France, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Currently, 40.9% of the company’s turnover comes from Western Europe, while 22.8% comes from North America and 14.1% from Asia. “For me, an adequate balance should be to have 30% of the turnover in Asia, 30% or something more in Europe and another 30% between the US and Mercosur,” explained the executive president of Gestamp in an interview.
It is not the only investment that Riberas has. The manager from Madrid, born in 1964, has a 0.21% stake in Telefónica’s capital, which is equivalent to being the director of the operator with the greatest presence in the capital. Specifically, three times more than José María Álvarez-Pallete himself. He was also appointed as a director of the Catalan electric charger company Wallbox through the Halekulani holding company. In addition, at the end of last year he was appointed president of the Spanish Association of Automotive Suppliers (Sernauto).
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