Catalonia and Quebec’s transport clusters to develop collaborative projects

The Railgrup Cluster of Catalonia and the Quebec Ground Transportation Cluster in the Canadian province of Quebec have established a cooperation agreement in order to facilitate industrial meetings and economic cooperation. This alliance between Catalan and Canadian clusters covers technological and international areas, and it also represents an opportunity for the Railgrup Cluster to increase its international connexions. The agreement was signed at InnoTrans 2016, the world’s most important rail industry fair, which celebrated its 11th edition in Berlin. 

This two-year agreement will favour technology  transfer and collaborative projects between the Catalan and Quebec clusters, with the exchange of strategic information between their respective leaders. In addition, the agreement will create value and innovation in the transport industry area. The first activity arising out of the contract, which is planned for October, will be a trade mission to the Canadian market by Railgrup companies, such as IDOM, SENER and UNEX. 

Both clusters have already committed to co-designing future projects to ensure the Catalan cluster’s ecosystem. Taking Quebec’s innovation system as a point of reference, the agreement includes an international agenda for the Railgrup Cluster in order to establish and facilitate possible strategic alliances in the future. 

This collaboration started during the fourth edition of the Strategic Training Week 2015, the economic program offered by Catalonia Clusters and celebrated in Quebec organised by Montreal’s office of Catalonia Trade & Investment, at which Railgrup and Quebec Ground Transportation Cluster held an initial meeting. But the agreement was signed during the edition of InnoTrans 2016 event, concretely on the 20th of September in Berlin. The signers were Ignasi Gómez-Belinchón, Director of Cluster Railgrup; Ticó Enrico, President of Railgrup; Martin Dufour, President of the board of the Quebec Centre of Excellence in ground transportation, and Vincent Dugré, Vice President of Operations of the Pôle Québec excellence in ground transportation.

Railgrup Cluster is one of the members of the Catalonia Clusters program, led by Catalonia Trade & Investment. The platform, composed by 1.700 Catalan companies and other organisms, follows the objective to systemise areas and provide strategic information and orientation about competitiveness for companies integrated in to find a clusters. The program also offers initiatives and tools to help Catalan clusters towards becoming a world referee in this area.