La secretaria general de CEOE, Ana Plaza, ha destacado los beneficios que traería el Tratado Transatlántico de Comercio e Inversión, TTIP, al comercio europeo en general y, en concreto, a la economía española. Ha señalado, en este sentido, que el acuerdo haría que el PIB español pudiera crecer en el entorno del 0,7% y que se crearan más de 83.000 empleos al año, durante su intervención en la mesa redonda que sobre “los retos de la actividad empresarial en España” ha organizado la Confederación Empresarial española del Vidrio y la Cerámica en CEOE.

Ana Plaza ha subrayado que este acuerdo entre la UE y EEUU debe firmarse pronto pero siempre y cuando se dejen bien cerrados los flecos del mismo. Durante la mesa redonda también se ha analizado el efecto de los costes energéticos en la industria española, como otro de los retos de la actividad empresarial y Ana Plaza se ha referido al descenso del precio del petróleo como un factor importante, junto a la bajada de los tipos de interés, a la hora de que España ahorrara 12.000 millones de euros y ha resaltado que nuestro país importa las dos terceras partes de la energía que consume y que, en el caso del petróleo la importación es del 100%.

Sobre el desarrollo sostenible, cuestión que también se ha debatido en la mesa redonda, ha indicado que debe estar inserto en el ámbito de la responsabilidad social empresarial y que ha de entenderse como una actitud y no como un sello o memoria que se le conceda a la empresa o institución de que se trate. Afirmó que desde las empresas se debe ver como una oportunidad y no como una traba u obligación más que tenemos que cumplir.

En la mesa redonda participaron también Álvaro de la Haza, consejero delegado de Consentino Group; Julio Mazorra, presidente de ANFRE; Ricardo de Ramón, ex directivo de Saint-Gobain y Carlos Mallén, presidente de ANAREVI, que hizo de moderador de la misma.

1.- A iniciativa de CONFEVICEX, representantes de las principales empresas y organizaciones del vidrio y la cerámica se han dado cita en la CEOE para debatir sobre la actualidad del sector y sobre la futura negociación colectiva.
Entre otros, estuvieron presentes miembros de las cúpulas de UNFEAC, de Pilkington, de Saint Gobain, de REVIP por parte del vidrio plano; de LA GRANJA, de BAVIDRIO por el vidrio hueco; de AVEC, de ASCER, de LLADRO, del grupo COSENTINO, de ANFRE, de la Sociedad Española de Cerámica y Vidrio, por parte de la industria cerámica; de ANAREVI por la industria de la recuperación de vidrio; de OMNYA por la minería, etc…, en definitiva, la práctica totalidad de los subsectores integrados en CONFEVICEX han tenido la oportunidad de compartir opiniones y escuchar la de expertos, tanto en la dirección de grandes compañías como en responsabilidades en el área de personal, en el marco de la CEOE que colaboró además, con la intervención de su Secretaria General, Ana Plaza.
2.-La primera de las dos mesas redondas, “Los retos de la actividad empresarial en España” versó sobre el actual contexto en el que han de desarrollar su actividad las empresas.
2.1.-En relación con la influencia de la inestabilidad política sobre las decisiones estratégicas de las empresas se coincidió casi unánimemente en que, si bien era un condicionante para decisiones a corto plazo, la globalización de los mercados, el marco jurídico de la Unión Europea y otros factores le restaban trascendencia a lo que pudiera resultar de unas elecciones en España. Para Ana Plaza, la inercia del crecimiento de 2015 está disimulando el coste de oportunidad de la incertidumbre política que, en su opinión si está afectando a la economía; Alvaro de la Haza recomendó a las empresas concentrarse en aquello en que está en su mano. Se pidió a la CEOE que reivindicase al Gobierno medidas de agilización de la Administración, replicando Ana Plaza con la invocación a empresas y organizaciones a implicarse en la labor de las comisiones de trabajo de CEOE.
2.2.-En relación a la energía, todas las intervenciones fueron especialmente duras, incluso las del público que tuvo la oportunidad de participar. Julio Mazorras consideró que hay una indefinición sobre el modelo económico de país que afecta a aspectos como éste; Ricardo de Ramón se quejó del hándicap con el cual juega la industria española y reclamó la interconexión con las redes europeas de gas; Alvaro de la Haza se refirió a la oscuridad en la fijación de los precios. Sobre este particular, se produjo desde el público, una interesante intervención de Marc Crespí de Exclusivas Energéticas, que se quejó de la falta de competencia real y de transparencia en el mercado energético.
2.3- Sobre el TTIP, siglas en inglés de la Asociación Transatlántica de Comercio e Inversión, todos los miembros de la mesa redonda coincidieron en que, en sus respectivos ámbitos, la industria española está suficientemente preparada para competir técnicamente con la de los Estados Unidos y que, en consecuencia, el TTIP constituye la apertura de un nuevo mercado como en su día lo fue la incorporación de España a la Unión Europea. Ana Plaza explicó la implicación de la CEOE, a través de Business Europe en el seguimiento de las negociaciones.
2.4.- En la discusión sobre el Medio Ambiente, el moderador, Carlos Mallén, introdujo el tema de la economía circular y la próxima normativa que se presume va a venir de la Unión Europea. Ricardo de Ramón señaló que SAINT GOBAIN se ha volcado en la sostenibilidad y en la mejora de la eficiencia energética de la vivienda. De la Haza, de COSENTINO manifestó que su grupo ha asumido los condicionantes medioambientales como una faceta más de la calidad integral y que en uno de sus productos estrella, el DEKTON, ha volcado su idea de revalorización de materiales.
3.- En la segunda mesa redonda, “Los retos de la negociación colectiva”, moderados por Carlos Martí, Secretario General de CONFEVICEX, se integraron ponentes con un enfoque de la gran empresa (Roca, BAVIDRIO, Saint Gobain y Pilkinton), la perspectiva más académica del profesor Todolí y la visión institucional y de la pequeña empresa del Vicepresidente de CONFEVICEX, Pere Anrubia.
3.1.-Se expresó el temor a una contrarreforma laboral que, en opinión unánime de todos los ponentes, ha sido una herramienta útil durante la crisis que, a unos les ha servido para acometer medidas de ajuste y, para otros, ni ha creado ni ha destruido empleo sino que ha servido para ayudar a mantener la viabilidad de las empresas, como indicaron Rafael Varela y Roberto Adrián. Todos los ponentes coincidieron en que se ha vilipendiado la reforma injustamente; Fernando Amilivia cree que la reforma ha rebajado la capacidad de influencia de los sindicatos al priorizar el convenio de empresa sobre el sectorial, lo que los sindicatos han trasladado a la opinión pública y a los partidos políticos, como un efecto negativo de la reforma.
Pere Anrubia, coincidente en esta opinión, manifestaba, sin embargo, que la empresa y la patronal ha de reconocer el papel imprescindible de los sindicatos, cuya interlocución se estaba viendo afectada por los procesos de fusión interno. Rafael Varela y Roberto Adrián coincidieron con sus compañeros de mesa en que los sindicatos han perdido protagonismo; para Roberto Adrián, además de los movimientos en las federaciones, se estaba viviendo un relevo generacional en los cuadros sindicales a los que no sería descabellado ofrecer un programa de capacitación en menesteres de la negociación colectiva.
3.2.-Sobre el modelo de negociación, Roberto Adrián y Fernando Amilivia coincidieron en que, dependiendo del tamaño de la empresa, el convenio sectorial o el convenio de empresa puede ser la fórmula más adecuada. Pere Anrubia opinó que ambos modelos son complementarios: el convenio sectorial para definir las grandes líneas y el de empresa, que no todas las empresas se pueden permitir, para acomodar las relaciones laborales a las necesidades y circunstancias singulares.
3.3.-Adrián Todolí, desde una perspectiva científica, planteó que los agentes sociales no han de rehuir el debate salarial y en particular el de la flexibilidad salarial, si quieren mantener un papel predominante en la negociación colectiva. Para el profesor Todolí, la flexibilidad salarial es la piedra angular de la negociación. Sugirió, como fórmulas nuevas, vincular la revisión salarial a los beneficios o a la mejora de éstos; utilizar referentes distintos al IPC como el PIB u otras variables macroeconómicas, tal y como apuntó Pere Anrubia. Asimismo, defendió la instauración de conceptos retributivos vinculados a la productividad y criticó la pervivencia de partidas como la antigüedad o las pagas de beneficios desvinculadas de la productividad o de los resultados de la empresa.
3.4.-En cuanto al nuevo convenio sectorial, además de la obvia llamada a la moderación salarial, se pidió atender a los aspectos vinculados a la jornada, su flexibilidad y las licencias y permisos.
Finalizada esta segunda mesa redonda, se dio paso a un vivaz turno de intervenciones del público en el que se refirieron experiencias de cambios en la estructura salarial y en el que alguno de los participantes expresó su interés en alguna de las fórmulas de flexibilidad retributiva sugeridas por el profesor Todolí.
Tal y como expresó Rosa Lladró, presidenta de CONFEVICEX, al clausurar la jornada, el nivel de los ponentes de ambas mesas fue notable y se han podido extraer conclusiones prácticas de enorme interés.

2015 was a good year for volume in some European markets, but margins were generally slim for volume players

Car sales in Western Europe grew by 14.3% in December according to data released by LMC Automotive.
The December selling rate came in at a whopping 14.3m units a year, the best result since the scrappage-inflated result of November 2009. However, the analysts at LMC noted that December can be a ‘spiky’ month in selling rate terms, with incentive pushes helping OEMs achieve year-end targets.
In particular, last month saw a major pull forward in sales in the Netherlands because of taxation change, while the UK market also saw an unusually high selling rate. Adjusting for these ‘outliers’ would see the West European selling rate closer to 13.5m units a year for the month.
For the year as a whole, LMC said the Western European car market reached just under 13.2m units, some 8.9% ahead of 2014. The market was pushed up by a gradually improving economic picture (if still weak, by historical standards) and a positive replacement cycle.
The UK market finished 2015 at 2.63m units — a record result (beating the previous record in 2003) — helped by attractive finance deals and a solid economic performance. LMC noted the December selling rate of nearly 3m units a year was ‘unusually high’, possibly indicating increased incentive activity.
In Germany, car sales in December were up by 7.7%, with the full year up by 5.6% to 3.2m units. The largest car market in the region has gained 170,000 units for 2015 versus 2014, taking it to a level not seen since 2009, when the government heavily incentivised sales on the back of economic recession.
In December there was also double-digit percentage growth again from Italy and Spain, the latter market climbing above 1m units for the full year (the best result in 7 years). Sales in France were also up comfortably for 2015, though, as with Italy and Spain, volumes remain below historical norms.
LMC forecasts that the Western European car market will rise by a further 3% to 13.6m units in 2016. LMC analyst Jonathon Poskitt remains cautious about the outlook. «The underlying car demand picture certainly improved in 2015,» he says. «And there was some resurgence of confidence. But the eurozone economy is stuck in a fairly low gear, despite unprecedented stimulus measures from the European Central Bank. Things are still a bit fragile. Interest rates could even rise in the UK, a market that looks to have peaked.»

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Ructions in the global commodities markets have wrought havoc with demand for both metallurgical and non-metallurgical grades of bauxite. While the demise of the former, used for the production of alumina for aluminium metal, has been well documented, the slowdown in the refractory grade bauxite sector has been less obtrusive. IM’s Acting Editor, Laura Syrett, spoke to the industry about how it is dealing with the downturn in refractories consumption.
While the protracted slowdown in the global price of aluminium is making like difficult for the majority of the world’s bauxite industry, the contraction in world steel output has been hammering producers of non-metallurgical grades of the mineral.
2016 began with a raft of foreboding news for both sectors. China is considering cutting its aluminium output by 11m tonnes after profitability in the sector fell to zero at the end of last year; Brazil reported that its exports of metallurgical bauxite fell by 8% in December; Glencore Plc’s US-based Sherwin Alumina business filed for bankruptcy; and Guyana’s Minister for Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, complained publicly that the country’s bauxite sector had «underperformed» in 2015.
Most of the world’s non-metallurgical bauxite is sourced from Shanxi province in northern China, with smaller volumes coming from Guyana. It is primarily used in refractories for the crude iron and steel industry – which accounts for around 70% of the market – and consumption has followed the negative trend in steel output. Reliable production figures for refractory bauxite are difficult to calculate, but analysis by Roskill Information Services shows that while exports from China have fluctuated, prices have been sliding steadily.
«Chinese exports of refractory grade bauxite are projected to have been 840,000 tonnes in 2015 – compared to 868,000 tonnes in 2014 and 768,000 tonnes in 2013,» Jess Roberts, senior analyst at Roskill, told IM. «Similarly, the average export price for Chinese refractory bauxite was $229/tonne between January and October 2015, down from $252/tonne in 2014 and $260/tonne in 2013.»
Roberts pointed to the demise in refractories output as a contributing factor to the price erosion. «Overall, refractories production has fallen by more than 15% since 2011, when output was 42.7m tonnes, and the majority of the reduction is due to lower production from China. Most Chinese refractories are produced for domestic consumption, hence the decline we have seen in the domestic market is directly linked to the slowdown of China’s crude steel, cement, non-ferrous metals and glass sectors,» she explained.

Rough road for refractories
One market source, who buys refractory grade bauxite from China mainly for customers in North America, told IM that production of Chinese material has not decelerated at the same pace as refractories manufacturing, resulting in oversupply which is putting further pressure on prices.
«The picture of non-metallurgical bauxite is pretty bleak,» the source said. «I don’t see the refractories market ever regaining the ground it’s lost. Even if new markets do open up, like Africa or Iran, specific consumption of refractories per tonne of steel is reducing all the time, so there will have to be some structural cutbacks. I think we can rely on the Chinese government to phase out some capacity, but there will be some pain to get through first.»

Others are more sanguine about the state of the market, at least from a trading perspective. Germany-based trader, Cofermin Group, last year launched a new subsidiary business called M!NERALS, which focuses on sourcing what it calls «classic» Chinese industrial minerals, including bauxite, for international customers.
M!NERALS’ managing partner, Robin Steger, sees China’s move to offload more of its excess bauxite production as an opportunity. «We aim to trade around 50-55,000 tonnes non-metallurgical bauxite per year,» Steger told IM. «It is all Chinese material for the time being. As we only founded M!NERALS in January 2015, we are still ramping up, but have already achieved a significant part of our target in the first year,» he said.
Only around 15-20% of all the bauxite produced globally is consumed by non-metallurgical applications and only a small number of deposits can produce material suitable for use in refractories (source: Ashapura/IM).
Despite their slowing growth profiles, M!NERALS is looking to establish itself as a supplier to traditional bauxite-consuming industries before potentially branching out into more speciality applications. «The markets we focus on are refractories, steel, foundry, insulation and cement. So we are talking about commodity trade and big quantities – we have not specialised in niche markets intensively so far.»
Other industry observers concede that Cofermin’s decision to gain a handle on China’s shift from major market for, to a source of, bauxite makes good business sense. However, one trader told IM that they believed some Western producers of bauxite-based refractory materials invent problems regarding the quality of Chinese and Guyanese bauxite to drive down prices from suppliers, while pedaling myths to customers about the reliability of supply, in order to demand higher selling values.
Such allegations have been roundly dismissed by refractories producers, who said that supply chain transparency is becoming more critical when margins are so tight and industry competition is fierce. «If a customer finds out they have been misled, they can easily switch to another supplier,» one source said. «In a small industry, you don’t run risks like that, not now.»
A desire for transparency is one of the reasons why Cofermin – and its M!NERALS arm – has found a ready market for its services in the industrial minerals industry. Steger suggests that while the sector is undergoing several important shifts, consumers are looking for reliability in areas that previously they may have found difficult to control, such as sourcing.
«2015 was a year of change, with many personnel fluctuations in the management of the key market players,» Steger told IM. «We are the new player in this market and we set ourselves up to be very lean, to be in a position to avoid additional costs – particularly overhead costs, which bigger companies have to factor in – and to pass this price advantage through to our customers. This makes them more competitive in their business with, for example, steel mills or foundries, without changing the source or quality they’re used to consuming.»

Assured from Shanxi
In early 2015, IM reported on allegations of tax evasion among bauxite producers in Shanxi. Companies were said to be conducting cash-only deals in order to sidestep VAT and cut the selling price of their material by up to 20%.
However, according to Steger, these irregularities have so far not affected M!NERALS. «We have never been touched by those issues and, as far as I know, our Chinese partners were not affected or involved in that story,» he said, adding, cryptically: «Sometimes, when people get too greedy they risk their existing business. We run a stable and reliable network and would never risk to harm ourselves or our partners like this.»
As for the allegedly unreliable supply of refractory grade bauxite from China, Steger feels this is more often to do with the supply chain itself, as well as material sources.
«Unreliability is always caused by a various number of uncontrolled sources or when traders change the source to a cheaper one to obtain a lower purchasing price,» he said. «We’ve known our sources for many years and (…) they are very aware of the quality needed and we are very aware that a reasonable and steady quality of course comes at a certain cost. It appears easy to ‘squeeze’ material’s price under the cost level, but the right way to achieve customer’s demand on pricing is to review the costs of the whole supply chain from the mine to the application.»
Prices
Sources reported flat to steadily declining prices for non-metallurgical bauxite over the course of 2015, with the slide in the material’s value accelerating towards the end of the year. Few market participants expect this trend to reverse this year.
In 2014, some suppliers had mooted the idea that the demise in the price of bulk refractory grade bauxite was being partially compensated by a rise in demand for ceramic proppants in the hydraulic fracking industry. Today, with crude oil prices sinking below $30/barrel (bbl), compared to around $120/barrel in mid-2014, these predictions have tailed off.
Steger agrees that bauxite prices are under strain. «Chinese pricing decreased over the whole year,» he said. «What we observed in the refractories industry, is that they face a high price pressure from the steel industry.»
Unlike some, he is hopeful that the market has now at least reached a floor. «We expect that export prices will follow local consumption. Prices have already reached a very low level and it would not be good for the Chinese bauxite industry if prices dropped further. Having reached a kind of bottom, we cannot imagine that the price development from 2015 will continue that much more,» he said.
Looking ahead, Steger also has also noticed shifts in the supply of refractory grade bauxite, which could alter the dynamics of the industry. «We have observed that, after many years, material from Guizhou in southwest China is coming back to the market. Guizhou material was not properly accessible for the last couple of years. It is a little different in quality, but still interesting for the refractories industry, due to its purity and has been used for refractories in the past. This might become a third option, next to Guyana and Shanxi,» he suggested.
Bauxite for ceramic proppants
According to Roskill’s Roberts, one of the notable highlights of the non-met bauxite market in the last five years has been its use in ceramic proppants for fracking. This is despite the sudden drop in oil prices from over 100/bbl in June 2014 to below $30/bbl by the end of January 2015, which had a sharp impact on ceramic proppant consumption – around half of which is used in North America.
The use of calcined bauxite in proppant production grew by more than 35% per annum between 2011 and 2015, Roskill estimates show, and proppants now represent the second largest market for non-metallurgical bauxite.
Most ceramic proppant production based on a bauxite feedstock occurs in China (North American output is primarily kaolin-based). While consumption of ceramic proppants in North America has slowed down, and will likely take a couple of years to recover, there could be good potential for ceramic proppant consumption to increase in China. The largest domestic Chinese hydrocarbon resources in China are 5,000 metres deep or more, and so will require high-strength proppants.