The history of PUK Portacables starts in Germany in the late 80’s. There, Francisco Redondo worked as an editor at PUK Werke, part of the current Pohl-Con. Oblivious to his professional life, he was one of the millions of Spanish immigrants in the prosperous German nation.
In 1989 they began the works of the factory of the automotive group Seat in Martorell, a large project built entirely with PUK material and led by Redondo as construction manager. The process went beyond the three months initially planned and this coincided with another ideal situation: PUK Werke sought to expand and broaden horizons. It is at this point that a market study confirms that Spain is a good location for expansion, just in the 1990s. This is how the company PUK Portacables was born in 1992, not without first proposing to Francisco Redondo his direction. Redondo, a great connoisseur of the Spanish product and language and market, represented at the same time the confidence to create a subsidiary of PUK Werke and the figure of a new leader.
In 1992, two particularly important events took place in the history of PUK Portacables: the works were completed in Seat and the PUK subsidiary in Spain, located in a small warehouse in Olesa de Montserrat, was inaugurated. From the beginning, the new company had all the material means necessary to create and maintain the logistics, but it was imperative to reinforce the human team and compose a staff.
As one of his first challenges, it was Francisco Redondo himself who was in charge of interviewing those who would be employees of PUK Portacables in Administration and Logistics. And that’s how Fran, the team’s oldest employee today, joined PUK Portacables 30 years ago, along with other qualified professionals.
First good news
A tight and effective workforce, which only a year later experienced its first big change. In 1993 PUK Portacables faces a great demand that exceeds the physical limits of its operations space and decides to look for a location closer to Seat, its strongest and most constant customer. Thus, in August the transfer to the new warehouse in Abrera takes place, with an extension of 2,000m2 and well located. It is a strategic location of the Baix Llobregat, in a recognized industrial area with excellent access conditions to the main state highways, the port and Barcelona airport.
Through the years PUK Portacables was growing at a financial level, but also human. One of the most important steps in terms of national expansion was the opening of a branch in Pamplona to manage the administrative and commercial plan throughout the northern peninsula.
More areas of activity
The first operations of PUK Portacables were linked to the automotive as the most demanding customer of cable carrier systems. Thus, major brands such as Ford, Opel, Mercedes or Volkswagen became success stories of the Spanish subsidiary, along with the aforementioned Seat. So much so, that for the popular Catalan company were ordered special trays with a perforated base, thicker and blind sides. A proof that the values of PUK Portacables do not have an expiry date, as the adaptation to the customer and custom solutions remain a maximum in the day to day.
But the company’s services were not limited to the automotive sector: PUK Portacables has also collaborated in recognized works, such as the metro station of Trinitat (Barcelona), inaugurated in 1999. And it is that the construction of tunnels is another aspect of business for the firm, capable of assuming large projects that involve a greater period of time and exponentially larger orders.
Resilience as a value
The passing of the years reaffirmed the success of PUK Portacables and, with a wide portfolio and large projects on the way, the Covid-19 arrived.
Faced with the direct consequences of the increase in the price of the product and the production process, PUK can state that no member of its staff was dismissed, since its activity did not cease. The entire staff was involved in the collaboration with Seat between March and April 2020, because the automotive company was working on a prototype respirator that required KSB-G coverings, a product managed by PUK Portacables.
The word resilience is written in the DNA of our company. The company has been able to adapt, manage delivery times in an excellent way and anticipate adversities. Aware of the inevitable price increase of the product, PUK offers alternatives ranging from a tray model with reduced thickness, perfect for small spaces and tight budgets, to other innovations that stand out for their simple assembly and reduction of times.
New stage, new challenges
From September 2021, Daniel Redondo went from being Assistant Director to Director, aware of the challenge of collecting the witness of a leader like Francisco Redondo. Since then the company has been undergoing a process of modernization that involves digitization and the expansion of its workforce, reinforcing the Administration and Finance departments with German-speaking professionals. A path that has only just begun and that keeps its character intact after three decades.
