SERVICES

International promotion

Promoting and strengthening the presence of our members in third markets is our reason of being. Our objective is to contribute to the identification of new commercial opportunities by reinforcing the positioning of the sector.
To achieve this goal, we use strategic actions such as the organisation of:

Trade delegations
Group participations in the most representative exhibitions of the sector
Reverse trade delegations
Bilateral meetings and Technical visits

STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE

We provide sectoral information and support the identification and analysis of the markets of greatest interest.

The objective is to support members companies in the search for opportunities, as well as in the decision making relating to priority geographic markets.

To achieve this, we develop different activities and services related to market intelligence:

Own/exclusive intelligence platform with the most relevant news and publications in the sector
Daily newsletter with the news of the sector at an international level sorted by subsectors and countries
Focus On reports, focused on the railway market of countries of interest
Opportunities map with the identification of the markets of greatest interest to the railway industry
Personalised information service on tenders and bids for railway projects around the world

Trade policy

The fairness of trade relations between countries is one of the concerns of any industry.

That is why at Mafex we closely observe the access of our companies to public procurement markets (and vice versa), tariff and non-tariff barriers, national instruments to support internationalisation, foreign subsidies and any protectionist measure that limits the competitiveness of the sector at European and global level.

R&D Project Office

We work on the identification of calls at national and European level. We boost and manage consortia for the presentation of projects promoting the participation of partner companies in R&D projects in a collaborative way.

We support the communication and dissemination activities of the projects and the exploitation of the results.

Cartera de proyectos

Working Groups

The Working Groups are made up of a set of interested entities that have the objective of developing an initiative, project, or activity in cooperation to respond to a specific and shared challenge.

These Working Groups can be focused both on topics related to technology and innovation and on geographical markets of interest.

Each Working Group has specific objectives and a definition of scope, deadlines, and resources, with the leadership of a company or associated member that drives its development.

Forums

The Sectoral Forums aim to facilitate contact and mutual knowledge between companies in the value chain and to promote collaboration. They are a key instrument for sectoral dynamisation and networking, both amongst our members as well as with operators and other non-member organisations and companies, as well as for the identification of collaboration opportunities.

In addition to the International Markets Forum, focused on the priority countries for the Spanish railway industry, these meetings are aimed at Digitalisation, Intermodal Mobility and Sustainability, in line with the challenges of the sector.

These meetings address the following contents and themes:

Plans, regulation, challenges, etc. by members and/or third parties
Trends and key technologies by scientific-technological agents
Business cases, projects, and initiatives by member companies
Strategic intelligence: calls for grants, reports, news, experts in technologies and/or markets, etc.
Member´s pitch presentations

At the moment we have:

Sectoral forum on digitalisation

Sectoral forum on markets

Sustainability forum

Institutional Relations

Mafex represents and defends, since 2004, the interests of the Spanish railway industry. This can only be achieved in close collaboration, both nationally and internationally, with the main stakeholders, operators, and authorities of the sector, among which are worth mentioning:

Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism
Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda
Spain Export and Investment (ICEX)
Renfe
Adif
UNIFE
Alamys
Metrotenerife

Innovation & Skills

One of the main challenges facing the railway industry is the development and management of talent, of new specialised profiles, more cross-cutting roles and training that meets the needs of the sector.

To respond to this challenge, we develop different activities in terms of training and employment to help all associated members in their needs for employability, attraction, and retention of talent:

Identification of the challenges of the sector related to training and employment, as well as the knowledge and new skills required
Implementation of the Master in Railway Engineering, in collaboration with the University of Cantabria
Organisation of training sessions in technologies and skills of interest to member companies
Participation in conferences and events at universities and training centres
Creation of a job board
Specific communication campaigns
Identification of training needs in existing technologies and programmes at European level
Development of a training plan at European level based on the needs of the industry and operators
Open days at universities

Marketing and comunication

From an online and offline strategy, we reference the products and services of our members and promote the image of the Spanish rail industry as a successful brand. Able to offer a “turnkey” service that covers from the first steps of planning and financing to the final commissioning. And this is precisely where the value of Spanish companies lies, their high level of knowledge and experience, capable of designing, building and maintaining metro, tram or high-speed rail lines anywhere in the world, with national technology, but adapting to the needs and particularities of each country.

Among the tools we use to carry out this positioning:

Mafex Magazine
Positions papers
Corporate website
Social media
Press office