LABEIN is a private Technology Centre of recognised prestige at both Spanish and European level, specialising in the Automotive, Construction, Energy, Environment, Iron and Steel and Innovation s markets. It was founded in 1955 with a clear business orientation. Specifically, it began its activity as a materials testing laboratory, attached to the Special School of Industrial Engineers of Bilbao (Bizkaia), and has subsequently expanded its facilities. It has three headquarters, all three located in Bizkaia. The central headquarters is in the Bizkaia Technology Park in Derio and the other two are in the Bizkaia Technology Park in Zamudio and Burtzeña-Barakaldo.
The aim of the centre is to become an ally of the companies working in the sectors within its scope, contributing to their development and competitiveness through innovation and technology. In addition to offering its skills to the client, the centre aims to act as a node of knowledge networks to join forces and skills. Under this approach, the centre promotes national and international alliances and projects with other centres and companies of recognised prestige, and participates in networks of excellence within its strategic areas.
The most significant historical antecedent is the paper by Leandro José de Torrontegui e Ibarra (1888-1977) who, at the first Trade Union Economic Congress of Vizcaya (1949), advocated ‘...the advisability of equipping the School of Industrial Engineers (of Bilbao) with a research and testing laboratory...’. The fact is that this centre was already carrying out this type of work for third parties in a context in which the supply of these services was very limited.
In the history of industrial research and testing laboratories, the School's contribution was decisive in their consolidation and development. After various incidents, they were approved by joint order of the Ministries of Education and Industry on 31 August 1955 (B.O.E. of 6 October). The primary purpose of the laboratories attached to the School was ‘...to cooperate with industry by carrying out, in coordination with the latter, any industrial tests and research that it might require in relation to its specific technical problems’. The legal form of a Foundation was adopted and a few months later, on 15 December, the Board of Trustees was appointed, with leading figures from the political, economic and teaching spheres of Bizkaia becoming members.
The Centre was equipped with the necessary means, partly with American aid, and was organised following the recommendations of a group of professors who visited various European facilities that could serve as a reference. It is worth noting that in February 1957 the start-up of a new activity was approved: nuclear technology, and shortly afterwards a reactor known as ‘Arbi’ became available. It was not until 1962 that an IBM 1620 computer became available. During these years, the activity of the laboratories was remarkable: 1 July 1955 and 31 December 1956, 500 experiments and tests were carried out.
However, in 1966/1967, financial problems began to appear, both because of the reduced activity and the lack of sufficient subsidies or aid, as was usual for this type of entity. In addition, the crisis of the 1970s had a very negative effect on the activity and income of the laboratories, and their continuity was even questioned. Attempts to transfer them to the State also failed.
In 1974, the departments of Construction, Hydraulic Mechanics and Machines, Metallurgy and Iron and Steel, Chemistry, Electricity and Electronics, Statistics and Calculus, as well as Nuclear Energy were established. The staff, which in 1965 was 86, was reduced to 62 in 1974 and to 46 in 1981.
The laboratories were reorganised in an attempt to adapt to the changing situation of demand, with the Construction department (especially the work for the Basque-Aragonese motorway) being an important source of income.
The crisis began to be overcome in the early 1980s. The most notable event of this period was the transfer of the industrial testing and research laboratories to the ACBC (16/12/1980), with the consequent changes in the regulations and in the members of the board of trustees and management. In 1982, a collaboration agreement was signed with the Basque Government for a period of five years, which meant an income of 52 million pesetas.
On the other hand, the University Reform Act of 1983 had important consequences as the professors began to work full time at the School, without combining it with the laboratories, which led, not without problems, to the separation of both centres. The laboratories adopted the legal form of a Foundation in accordance with Basque law and the name Labein.
Labein entered a very favourable phase of growth and consolidation, with turnover rising from 1,073 million euros in 1990 to 2,064 million in 1999 and 20.36 million euros (3,378 million pesetas) in 2004. The workforce also grew from 59 people in 1982 to 202 in 1992 and 285 in 2004.
Within its activities, the centre offers solutions to specific customer problems in terms of evaluation, diagnosis, maintenance, etc., but also analyses the opportunities that arise for them in terms of products and processes. It also encourages the creation of spin-offs to deploy the potential of its technological assets.
Among the founding members of the centre or organisations that have lent their support to its consolidation are different public administrations and institutions (Basque Government, Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Bilbao City Council, University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Escuela Superior de Ingenieros), financial institutions (BBVA, BBK, Banco Santander, Caja Laboral of the MCC group), companies (Iberdrola, Cementos Lemona, Vicinay Cadenas, Arteche Lantegi Elkartea, Befesa Maedio Ambiente, BASF Construction Chemicals España S. L., Bilbomática, EPTISA-CINFA EP S.A., ICT, Idom, Inteca, Ingelectric Team, Prefabricados de Hormigón S.L., Procomsa, Repair, Sdad. Financiera y Minera (Cementos Rezola), Sidenor I+D, CIE Automotive, ZIV Aplicaciones y Tecnología, Teusa, Aceralia, Tamoin, Profusa) and other entities (Fundación Metropoli, Bilbao Chamber of Commerce, C.O. de Arquitectos Vasco-Navarro, and the C.O. de Ingenieros Industriales de Bizkaia).
On the other hand, the LABEIN centre has established a solid network of collaborations and different alliances. Among the associations or entities with which it maintains relations are the following; Saretek, Federación Española de Entidades de Innovación y Tecnología (Fedit), Plataforma Tecnológica Española de la Construcción (PTEC), International Union of Testing and Research Laboratories for Materials and Structures (RILEM), ACHE-Asociación Científico Técnica del Hormigón Estructural, Sociedad Española de Acústica (SEA), European Federation of National Associations of Measurement, Testing and Analytical Laboratories (Eurolab), Asociación de Organismos de Control (ASORCO) and APTA-Asociación para la Promoción Técnica del Acero.
In 2002, together with INASMET and ROBOTIKER, it joined the Technological Corporation TECNALIA, a strategic alliance created in 2001 with the grouping of several technological centres specialised in the market and technology. This alliance was created with the aim of contributing to economic and social development, promoting technological innovation through research for development and dissemination. The centres that make it up are AZTI, ESI, INASMET, LABEIN, ROBOTIKER, NEIKER, Fatronik and CIDEMCO.
The centre has participated in numerous strategic projects in the Basque Autonomous Community, especially in Bizkaia, as well as in technological developments in industry. Among the projects developed at European level, LABEIN Tecnalia has been participating in the Framework Programme since 1986. It also participates in projects in other , such as in the steel sector (Research Fund for Coal and Steel). Over the years, it has become one of the most active entities in Spain when it comes to incorporating Spanish companies in these research programmes, mainly SMEs, and has acquired an international dimension in terms of infrastructure, volume of activity, technological potential and human resources.
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