Spanish automotive supplier receives €26m EU funding

Biscay, Spain – Spanish rubber and plastic automotive parts supplier Cikautxo Group has received a €26-million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to bolster its ‘innovation strategy’.

In a 5 Feb statement, the European Commission announced that the financing will go towards R&D investment at the company’s Berriatua, Biscay, facility.

The company will research fuel efficiency and lightweighting in hybrid and electric cars with the so-called “EU Junker Plan loan”, said the EC statement.

Among others, the investment will see the launch of a new production processes “using recyclable alternatives to rubber”, it added.

Part of Mondragón Corp., Cikautxo is an industrial cooperative supplying rubber and plastic solutions to the automotive and domestic appliance sectors.

Cikautxo has production plants in Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Mexico, China and India.