La Salle School Hosts Bathco

First contact between La Salle school and the company Bathco within the framework of Diario Montañés' STARTInnova program.

The La Salle school in Los Corrales de Buelna received a visit from Mr. José López Cortés, manager of the company Bathco, in accordance with the program designed by Diario Montañés for the educational center's participation in the STARTinnova competition.

One of the keys to the success of the STARTinnova Program is to serve as a meeting point between companies in the region and educational centers. In this phase of the competition, the support provided by the mentor company to the participating groups is very important, as students gain firsthand knowledge of the importance of innovation for building the industrial fabric, and on the other hand, the business world gains access to the talent that students are capable of showcasing through their ideas.

With this in mind, the Director of the Educational Center, Mr. José Manuel Merino Gil, and the Head of Studies for the Vocational Training Cycle stage, Mr. Francisco Javier Robles Cuesta, welcomed Mr. José López, who expressed his joy at supporting a center he described as a ”winning horse” due to the recognized work it has been carrying out for 125 years in the valley.

Precisely these days, the school celebrates its anniversary, and the businessman thanked them for the invitation to the commemorative event that will take place on November 13th at the Municipal Theater of Los Corrales de Buelna.

It soon became palpable, the closeness offered by this successful entrepreneur, who encouraged the students to address him informally, and who expressed his affection for the Buelna valley, because his wife was born in the nearby town of Somahoz and a good portion of his friends are linked to this region.

Next, the different teams participating in the competition presented their ideas, not without first warning that there is still a lot of work ahead to shape the projects and, in some cases, even to reformulate or change ideas if necessary. In any case, these are interesting ideas in the opinion of the Bathco manager, as they focus on crucial aspects such as sustainability, social values, and ergonomics, without neglecting the economic interest that their implementation could undoubtedly bring.

 Some service innovations in the form of smartphone applications and other product innovations useful for workshops and for people with reduced mobility seem to be gaining traction around the workbenches.

After Don José López's positive evaluations of the different projects, students and professors were able to recognize in his words the keys that have made Bathco one of the leading companies in the sector. Offering something different, knowing how to diversify the product, and opening up to international markets have been the main strategies that have allowed his company to avoid suffering the effects of the economic crisis, unlike its competitors.

In this same vein, businessman Don José López recommended approaching a market as competitive as the current one with a quality product, without forgetting that, in his opinion, this is not enough. This is where doing something different comes into play. Surrounding yourself with good professionals and knowing how to showcase that product, with artists demonstrating their work live, and making yourselves visible to a large number of users through social media are some ideas that have proven successful from his company.

In any case, everyone's unanimous opinion has been the need to continue working together, the mentor company and the school, so that the creativity shown by the teams so far can take shape and become attractive innovation proposals for the STARTinnova jury in the coming months.