A sector with a great tradition and one which has high potential for the future in the region. Andalusia has consolidated its position as the second region in Spain and one of the principal regions within Europe for this sector. The sector encompasses 145 companies that specialise mainly in mechanical activities and in tooling, followed by engineering and consulting services. The sector employs 7,555 people and has turned over almost 1,417 million Euros. EADS-CASA and Airbus are the principal driving forces. There is modern infrastructure to support the sector, such as the Andalusian Aerospace Technology Park and the Bay of Cadiz Technology Park. At present the aeronautical industry in Andalusia participates in two large aeronautical projects: the manufacture of part of the Airbus A380 aeroplane in Cádiz and the assembly of the military Airbus A400M in Seville.

A sector with a longstanding tradition and the most important economic and social development field in the Andalusian Autonomous Community. Andalusia has over 5,000 food and agriculture businesses with a turnover of more than #8364; 13,000 million, representing 22% of the region´s total industry value and generating over 52,000 jobs, representing 20% of total Andalusian industry. The auxiliary agriculture sector is made up of 20,000 companies principally engaged in engineering activities and consulting, as well as manufacturing of auxiliary items and services. The region is an international reference in technologies for intensive and under plastic agriculture and olive grove technologies.

There are modern infrastructures such as Geolit Technology Park and Agroindustrial Technology Centres for developing R&D&I projects such as the Grease Institute, the Adesva Technology Centre (Lepe, Huelva), Andalusian Technology Centre for Meat Sector in (Cortegana-Huelva) or the Aquaculture Centre for Technology (Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz). The most noteworthy are the SOS Cuétara Group, Ebro Puleva Group, Danone Group, AgroSevilla, Ybarra and Heineken, among others. Also the Grease Institute, Adesva Technological Centre (Lepe-Huelva), The Technological Centre of the Andalusian Meat Industry (Cortegana-Huelva) or the Centre for Agricultural Innovation and Technology (El Puerto de Santa María-Cádiz).

Some high opportunity sectors in Andalusia include:

• Auxiliary agriculture sector: production of greenhouse plastics, biological fertilizers, irrigation supplies, farm machinery.
• Olive growing sector: Packaging and marketing of olive oil, machinery, harvesting and processing of oil.
• Cereal Sector: Sour and semolina industry.
• Meat processing sector: Meat slaughterhouses.
• Fruit and vegetable sector: Platforms for handling / Horticultural Marketing in fresh /Juice Manufacturing.
• Vinicultural sector: Wineries.
• Food-processing industry: Packing technologies; Prepared food factories (IV and V ranges).
• Renewable energies: Agricultural or Agro-food Biomass production plants.

Strategic sector that is experiencing an outstanding growth in research activities and business initiatives, turning Andalusia into a high quality scientific area for the promotion of research. Andalusia has become the second autonomous region in terms of number of biotechnology companies, 19% of the total corporate sector in Spain. The sector includes more than 100 biotech companies, generating 2800 jobs and a turnover exceeding euros 586 million, which includes companies like Rovio, Pfizer, Merck, and Abbott, focusing much of its R&D&I in Granada.

There are 270 research groups specializing in biomedicine, 170 in life sciences and 120 in agro-biotechnology. Likewise, a biocluster was created recently to promote the sector in the region. Granada was the venue for the publication of Biospain in 2008 which marked the consolidation and presentation of the sector at all levels.

The region has technological parks and research centres including the Technology Park of Health Sciences (PTS), the first in Spain and one of the few in the world specializing in Health Sciences. Furthermore, Andalusia has a strong network of international centres for research, as BIONAND (Nanotechnology and Biotechnology), CABIMER (Molecular Biology) or GENYO (Genomics), Health Research Centres and Institutes as IBIS (Biomedicine) IMIBIC (Biomedicine) or BIOBANK (stem cells), and with an Andalusian public initiative in Advanced Therapy.

Andalusian health network has:

• 72 Hospitals (public/private)
• More than 20.000 beds
• More than 200 health centres
• More than 65.000 jobs (Andalusian public systems)

The main opportunity sectors are:

• Health biotechnology: Personalized medicine (pharmacogenomics), Natural products (pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals from living organisms replacing their chemical counterparts), specialized Technologic Services Market Development; kits for molecular diagnosis and disease prognosis, regenerative therapies, gene therapy, vaccines produced by genetic engineering, Development of computational biology.
• Food and agriculture biotechnology: Functional and personalized dieting; Deepening the value chain IV and V range, In vitro cultivation of plants, Plant production assisted by molecular markers; Biofertilizers and natural phytosanitaries; Genetic engineering of plants and Biofactories in some crops (cotton, corn, soybeans), Traceability and food safety.

Andalusia, thanks to its weather and geographical situation, is now considered one of the most privileged spots in the promotion and development of renewable energies. The Andalusian Autonomous Community is the region receiving more solar radiation on its surface. The main sources of renewable energy are thermal, photovoltaic, eolian and biomass energies. Our region leads biomass sector at national level. It is one of the leading Spanish regions in photovoltaic power installations, the first Spanish region on surface of panels installed and one of the pioneers in Spain in terms of wind installations.

The region is launching a technology industry with the aim of covering the needs of the installations. Currently, there are plants in operation and other projects in development of factories for the manufacture of thermal energy panels, photovoltaic and wind energy modules. The region is becoming a focus of attraction for component manufacturers such as Eozen, Schott Solar, Solel, Terrasun, among others. The high opportunity areas in the region are manufacture of components of the diverse renewable energy installations and the establishment of R&D&I centres to improve energetic efficiency of different technologies.

A mature and consolidated sector that has been experiencing high growth levels over the last few years. The sector is made up of companies dedicated to the manufacturing, repair, assembly and transformation of metals. Amongst the main activities are metallurgy, the manufacture of machinery, automotive and naval activities. The metal companies in the region represent 5% of all the Spanish companies and around 40% of the national industrial production, contributing approximately 9% of the GDP. The metallurgical-mechanical industry is made up by almost 9,000 companies, generating 75,000 jobs.

Defence is a very stable sub-sector that has a vey optimistic outlook. It turns over more than 1,500 million Euros and employs around 11,000 people. The main driving forces in this sector are Santana Motor, Navantia, Dragados Off-shore, Astilleros de Huelva, Astilleros de Sevilla (shipyards), Renault, Valeo, General Dynamic-Santa Bárbara Sistemas, amongst others.

Within the sector, the areas with the greatest opportunity for investment are the following:

• Energy subsector: Development of Wind Energy (components for wind turbines, engines and structural parts of large dimensions) and Solar Energy (support structures for photovoltaic panels and thermal installations).
• Aeronautic-space sector - (manufacture of high quality components)
• Health- medical subsector: Electromedicine (equipment for diagnosis / therapy).
• Subsector Intelligent / Sustainable Construction: Energy installations (thermal, solar and photovoltaic), LEDS as alternative to light bulbs and fluorescent lighting, home automotion and connectivity (domestic racks, connections and cable conduction, telecommunications, and digital TV), air conditioning and ventilation. Elevators and other lifting devices.
• Other interesting subsectors: Urban Furnishing (more accessories on the urban space), Military and defense (lightweight, high strength and protecting materials), Railways (strong growth looking for lightening, improved modularity, comfort, livability, accessibility, etc.), special purpose vehicles ( ambulances, firemen, policemen and others), Sport and Leisure (theme parks, sports facilities ,..), Boating and marine applications (entertainment boats, platforms, ..)

Sector that has stood out for its significant growth in recent years. It is made up of 1374 companies with a turnover euros 4,609 million in 2007, a growth up to nearly 15% over the previous year. At national level, it contributes to about 14% of turnover generated by the sector, employing 34,000 workers. IT associated services and telecommunication and information system industry stand out, in particular those segments of professional electronics and telecommunication equipment. The sector?s most innovative trends include nanoelectronics and domotics.

The region has modern infrastructures in highly competitive environments such as PTA and Cartuja 93 technology parks, 10 research and technology centres, and 8 universities where students can learn telecommunications, computing and engineering specialties. Outstanding research and / or technological centres in Andalusia are: the Andalusian Centre for Innovation and Information and Communication Technologies (CITIC), Foundation for Research and Development of Information Technologies in Andalusia (FIDETIA), Association for Research and Industrial Cooperation in Andalusia (CLIL), Telefónica Centre for Excellence in R & D, Foundation for Free Software. Some remarkable companies are Telvent, AT4 Wireless, Oracle, Huawei, Genera Mobile Solutions, Fujitsu Ten España, Isotrol, Ingenia, Novasoft, MP Corporación

Certain key strengths exist within the IT sector in Andalusia:

• Embedded Systems and assembly of electronic devices (computers, PDAs, mobile phones)
• Wireless Technologies (Test, certification, normalization, Application, Networks and Services)>
• Defense and Safety ITs (Homeland Security)
• Vertical Software Development (great applications, corporative software and industry control)
• Sectorial applications (eGovernment, eHealth, etc).
• ITs and Smart transport.
• ITs and Sustainability.