Navico, one of the largest nautical electronics companies in the world, has announced the transfer of its global marketing and digital transformation divisions to the city of Alicante, with the opening of a new Digital Lab that is key to the company’s international development in the coming years.
The company, that has more than 1,800 employees across the globe, and distributes its products in more than 100 countries, made the announcement following a long period of selection of the city to host the pioneering Digital Lab, which Alicante has ended up winning due to its unbeatable access to the sea, its nautical tradition and the support that it has received from the local authorities.
Jordi Neves, CMO of Navico, said, “We have had extensive conversations with various Spanish and European cities to gauge exactly where we could best meet the needs of this Digital Lab, and in the end Alicante has been the one that has best met all these requirements. From Navico we want to thank all the evaluators that we have had in the different candidate cities for their professionalism and their collaboration throughout the process”.
The mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala, has welcomed the company’s decision to expand its presence in the city. “This corporate decision is of the utmost importance for our city which it confirms our commitment to promote, with partners of excellence such as Navico, the Alicante Futura Port Technological Maritime Cluster, which establishes Alicante as a global innovation hub around the Blue Economy.”
With the opening of the Digital Lab, which is scheduled for spring 2021 in the new business center Panoramis Life & Business, Navico will expand its presence in the port of Alicante, where it has already established the central office of Navico Iberia.
The CEO of Navico, Knut Frostad, former CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, is one of the most respectable professionals in the sector, and an aficionado of the great possibilities that Alicante offers. “Since I got to know Alicante when I was at the helm of the Volvo Ocean Race, I have always believed that it is a city with enormous possibilities for growth and a very attractive point for many international companies due to its excellent communications, its climate and its quality of life”.
Navico is a company owned by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking and Altor Fund IV and has been developing, designing and producing the best marine electronics products in the world for more than seven decades.