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ISTObAL<br />
Celebrating 60 years of success<br />
Left to right: Javier díaz, Sonia Mañas, david Casanova<br />
When I first thought about the idea of producing<br />
erpecnews, getting out of the office<br />
and meeting erpec delegates in their own<br />
surroundings was the main drive behind the<br />
concept, which I am pleased to say has resulted<br />
in a great many worthwhile experiences for<br />
me over the last two years and hopefully<br />
some interesting features for the magazine.<br />
But for me personally there was always going<br />
to be something very special about visiting a<br />
major factory, probably because, due to my<br />
marketing background I have never actually<br />
been asked to make anything in my life. On<br />
a personal level I did once craft a wooden<br />
chair at school which my parents still use for<br />
the cat to sleep on, but apart from that my<br />
manufacturing skills are non-existent.<br />
So the chance to visit Istobal HQ and their<br />
factory, just outside Valencia in Spain, was<br />
an opportunity I could not afford to miss,<br />
especially as the company involved, widely<br />
considered as one of the world leaders in the<br />
vehicle washing industry, operates the lean<br />
manufacturing system created by Toyota<br />
on their manufacturing and assembly lines.<br />
Since 1972, Istobal has designed engineered<br />
and manufactured car washes, accounting<br />
for over 40 000 units in operation across 67<br />
countries in the world today. Prior to this,<br />
the company, which was founded in 1950<br />
and this year celebrates its 60th year in<br />
business, manufactured greasing machinery<br />
and car lifts for the garage equipment sector.<br />
Originally, its founder, Ismael Tomás alacreu,<br />
had experienced considerable success with a<br />
lubrication machine which led to developing<br />
a strong business in the motor trade industry,<br />
but for many years now Istobal have solely<br />
produced car wash machines. Today employees<br />
at Istobal account for over 550 workers at its<br />
Headquarters 20 minutes from Valencia’s city<br />
centre. Worldwide presence centres around<br />
50 distributors covering most of Europe and<br />
as far away places such as New Zealand,<br />
Mexico, UaE, Russia, USa and argentina.<br />
So it was to the very picturesque old town<br />
of l’alcúdia, the name of the location where<br />
Istobal’s offices actually are, that I went, ac-<br />
14<br />
LATEST ALTErNATIvE FUEL NEwS – www.PETrOLPLAzA.COM<br />
by Nick Needs<br />
companied on this occasion by PetrolPlaza<br />
team member Sandra Stroppel. as it happens<br />
Sandra also speaks fluent Spanish, having<br />
previously lived and worked in the Valencia<br />
area. This for me was always going to be a<br />
bonus should we get lost, or experience any<br />
problems, as my ability to speak Spanish is<br />
limited at best. anyway, me getting lost, having<br />
problems, needing help, not a chance, as<br />
I was a hardened business traveller prepared<br />
for anything! Read on.<br />
The Istobal HQ site is huge, there is no other<br />
word for it, occupying a total area of 80 000<br />
sq. metres. Interestingly enough though, the<br />
company has never had to move from its original<br />
base, where in 1950 orange trees surrounded<br />
a small repair shop, the building where it<br />
first started out. Replacing the orange trees<br />
since is a vast factory and impressive office<br />
buildings which very much incorporates most<br />
of what Istobal do in the car wash industry<br />
today. In charge of Corporate Marketing at<br />
Istobal is Sonia Mañas, who accompanied by
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