Villa Clara has taken important steps to soon become become the third province in the country to have a Scientific and Technological Park (PCT-VC), only preceded by Havana and Matanzas. This new park will have a unique feature, as it will be the first one to be industry-focused.
The idea stems from Villa Clara's potential to have an entity of this type, based on the existence in the province of a group of companies with a wide capacity for the manufacture of equipment, parts and pieces; for the assembly of production lines and complete plants, to which is added the strength, from the scientific point of view, of having the prestigious "Marta Abreu" Central University of Las Villas.
The constitution of this park will allow the territory to contribute to the industrial development of the central region, by means of the creation, incubation, operation and launching of new entities (new or improved products and companies) that increase the pool of exportable goods and import substitution, and constitute a contribution to the national market.
Danay Álvarez Mesa, MSc, from the Research, Development and Technology Group belonging to the Tecnosime VC Subsidiary Company (majority shareholder of the project), explained that prior to the constitution of the trade company, the file was prepared, and it is now in the review phase, first by the Gesime Group, then by the Ministry of Industries, and then the latter, in its capacity as sponsor, submits it to the Ministry of Economy and Planning.
The head of the project also said that the PCT-VC, which will adopt the organizational form of a trading company with 100% Cuban capital, has the Ministry of Industries as sponsor and the Gesime Business Group, represented by the Tecnosime VC company, as majority shareholder.
The integral automation company (CEDAI), Planta Mecánica, the Ángel Villarreal Bravo industrial company, also known as Ciclos Minerva, and the provincial raw materials company will also participate as shareholders.
The Central University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas and the Interfaz Society (Sicte S.A.), belonging to that university, are also affiliates with the intention of contributing capital and becoming shareholders, said Alvarez Mesa, who emphasized that the Villa Clara park will be a novel ecosystem for the development of science, innovation and incubation; formed by physical spaces in which projects are developed under a special regulatory framework, given by the mercantile society.
Among the potential clients of the PCT are the so-called factory of factories Ciclos Minerva, founded by Che in 1964, the spark plug factory of Sagua la Grande, the electrochemical company of that city, Maquimotor, CEDAI VC, the Luis A. Turcios Lima textile company, better known as Sarex, the UEB Gráfica VC and the raw materials company, among other entities and industries of the territory.
According to the explanation provided by Angel Rubio, PhD, an eminent professor of the Central University linked to the constitutive process, about twenty project ideas have been identified with the intention of incubating in the park to date, among which he mentioned the improvement of the technology installed in the Raw Materials Company for the manufacture of plastic profiles, beams, boards and posts, as well as the manufacture of electric vehicles on an industrial scale in the Angel Villareal Bravo plant in Santa Clara.
Planta Mecánica has also mentioned the possibility of machining drainage holes in Lotus hubs and the development of hydraulic turbines; while the integral automation company CEDAI is planning to forge hardware and software such as the programmable mini-controller, among other ideas.
Rubio González also stressed that the park will have no limitations to accept new members, which may be national companies from anywhere in the country, whether state or private, foreign companies based in Cuba, self-employed workers or individuals (with or without labor ties), including students and young entrepreneurs.
Regarding what sets this Technology Park apart from the rest in the ccountry, Danay Álvarez Mesa, MSc, explained that the incubation of industrial products and companies for different sectors of the economy will be its main feature; iIn addition to the high design capacity based on the modeling of products, processes and systems, based on automation and the search for the development of Industry 4.0 technologies.
He also mentioned the expansion processes with a precise definition of the initial technological maturity levels, as well as the achievement of strong productive linkages between the different entities and the work in multidisciplinary teams with on-site and teleworking activities.
He also said that the Scientific and Technological Park, as a corporation, will be a self-sustainable economic entity, whose income will come from the application of a particular business model. As for the financing for the projects, these may have one or several sources.
Some of the added values that the institution will have for those who decide to incubate in it, he mentioned the assistance for the promotion of research, development and innovation purposes associated with the industrial sector, which includes the search for suitable personnel for the formation of project teams; previous opportunity, feasibility and market studies; and advice for the accounting and financial control of the projects.
They will also be able to access assistance for the definition of business models and financial engineering; facilities with modern equipment for design work; high-performance computing services, as well as web and cloud hosting services.
Another facility provided by the Park will be the provision of customized intellectual property and banking and project management services, as well as legal and financial advisory services, among others.
It is impossible to conceive the existence of the Villa Clara Scientific and Technological Park without the decisive contribution of the main scientific institution of the territory, the Central University, which occupies a privileged place in Cuba in science and innovation activities.
Among its strengths is the fact that it has an enrollment of thousands of students, 368 doctors, 42 master's programs, four specialty programs and 22 doctoral programs, which constitute an invaluable scientific potential that can be linked in different ways with the Park, said Angel Rubio, PhD.
The prestigious university has a broad capacity for the design and modeling of systems, processes and products, as well as a great potential for the automation of industrial systems and processes.
Equally important is the availability of a large computing capacity, one of the largest in the country, to which are added its potential for the development of computer tools, and a privileged geographical position for communications and transportation, being located in the center of the country.
Translated by ESTI
