Alicante business groups unite for competitiveness

Alicante’s business story here is not a merger, a factory opening, or a funding round. It is something more basic — the province’s main employer groups are trying to act like a single bloc. That matters because competitiveness in Alicante has often been framed less as a lack of companies and more as a lack of coordination, scale, and political weight. On May 7, UEPAL used a public-private forum in Ciudad de la Luz to argue that this gap is finally narrowing, with the provincial council, Banco Sabadell and CEV-Alicante all in the room. ### What actually happened in Alicante? UEPAL — the Unión Empresarial de la Provincia de Alicante — convened a forum titled “El asociacionismo empresarial como motor de la competitividad en la provincia de Alicante.” The venue was the Sala 101 space in Distrito Digital 1 at Ciudad de la Luz, and the point was straightforward: get the province’s main associations to talk openly about why collective organization matters for growth, productivity, and bargaining power. (uepal.es) ### Who was in the room? This was not just one chamber event. The attendance list matters because it shows how broad the alignment was. UEPAL said the forum included Cámara de Comercio president Carlos Baño, AEFA president Maite Antón, JOVEMPA Alicante president Alfonso Calero, Asaja Alicante president José Vicente Andreu, GTV president Blanca Francés, FOPA president Javier Gisbert, INECA president Alfredo Milla, and IBIAE director Héctor Torrente. That is a cross-section of industry, young business, agriculture, infrastructure, family firms, and territorial associations. (uepal.es) ### Why are they talking about “associationism”? Because “associationism” is basically the unglamorous machinery of influence. A single company can complain about permits, power supply, transport links, or labor shortages. But an association can turn those complaints into a provincial agenda. César Quintanilla, UEPAL’s president, argued that Alicante is in an “exceptional” moment of business unity and that this improves how the province is perceived both internally and from outside. (uepal.es) The pitch is simple — firms are stronger alone, but they get heard faster together. ### Why does the provincial council matter here? Because this was not framed as business talking only to itself. Carlos Pastor, the provincial deputy for economic sectors, used the event to back the idea that business unity benefits the whole province. That matters because Alicante’s competitiveness debates usually run through public infrastructure, planning, and economic development policy — areas where business groups need government allies, not just good networking. (uepal.es) ### Why is Banco Sabadell involved? Sabadell’s role shows this is also about building a practical support network around the local productive base. Ana Ponsoda, the bank’s regional director in Alicante, described business association as part of the local DNA. UEPAL and Sabadell already had a working relationship around events and support for the provincial business fabric, so this forum fits into a broader pattern rather than a one-off sponsorship. (uepal.es) ### What problem are they really trying to solve? Not a single crisis — more a chronic weakness. Alicante has plenty of companies and sector groups, but fragmented representation makes it harder to push “structural needs” with force. UEPAL’s own framing was that associations help address issues the administration does not reach quickly enough. That is a polite way of saying the province thinks it has long-standing bottlenecks and needs a louder, more coordinated voice to move them. (uepal.es) ### So why is this news now? Because the organizers are claiming a change in posture, not just repeating an old slogan. The forum’s main conclusion was that provincial employer groups are in a notably strong and united moment. Even if that sounds soft, it is the kind of thing that can matter later when Alicante pushes on infrastructure, industrial land, financing, or energy constraints — the less fragmented the message, the harder it is to ignore. (uepal.es) ### Bottom line? This was a show of alignment. Alicante’s employer groups are trying to convert unity into leverage — and in provincial economic politics, that can be the difference between asking and getting. (uepal.es)