Do you know what the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas in Spain, the Sarkisla Muhsin mosque in Turkey, the Kril hospital in Kenya, the Byzantine and Christian museum in Greece, the Ocean Coral Spring resort in Jamaica or the Astoria Riverside restaurant in Belarus have in common? These are just a few examples that are united by an invisible but powerful thread. All have relied on Fonestar public address technology. And they are all sound projects with a strong international focus.
At Fonestar we believe that our greatest success is based on the smallest details. Every day we are present in the lives of millions of people around the world. And that’s a big responsibility. From certified products that help save lives in emergency situations and help our healthcare system to be more operational to enjoy live sound in our leisure time or at work. In short, providing our lives with a new voice. Because sound is our purpose.
Another way of understanding public address systems.
We were born more than 75 years ago with a commitment to manufacturing and today we are the benchmark in sound, public address and microphones. In fact, our first venture into the world of sound was in the barracks of the Plaza de Pombo in Santander with the manufacture of the first valve radios. Later, we went on to manufacture needles in one of the three most important factories in Europe at that time.
From the beginning, we have always had a very international vocation. In 1975 we were already importing the latest technology at the time from the United States, Taiwan and Japan, and we travelled to China for the first time in 1980. From those years onwards, we expanded nationally, opening branches and moving to what is now our headquarters in Revilla de Camargo in Cantabria.
^ Images of the ICEX-NEXT Cantabria session.
Innovation in products and services
The creation of our own R&D&I department in 2008 provided us with a leap in quality in terms of generating our own technology. The development of high added value products and services explains, to a large extent, the reason for our current international positioning.
Evacuation systems, audio over IP or the future public address SaaS, on which we are currently working, have a global vocation from the beginning and a technological potential that is recognised beyond our borders.
Internationalisation, the foundation of our current and future growth.
A lot has happened since we started exporting to Portugal,our neighbouring country, in 2010 until today, where we export to more than 60 countries in 5 continents. Today our international business represents more than 26% of our total turnover. Only 12 years ago this figure was 2%. The growth over these years has been sustained and very prolonged, and our goal is to reach 40% of our international turnover by 2025.
By areas of greatest activity, Europe, Latin America and Asia are currently our areas of expansion. Our main country outside Spain continues to be Portugal, with 24% of international turnover, followed by France with 7%. In both countries we have offices in the territory.
By areas of greatest activity, Europe, Latin America and Asia are currently our areas of expansion. Our main country outside Spain continues to be Portugal, with 24% of international turnover, followed by France with 7%. In both countries we have offices in the territory.
The rest of Europe represents 21% of our export activity and America, mainly Latin America, with a special mention to Cuba, which is an important market for us, 10%. On the other hand, Asia, with only one year of commercial presence, represents 5% of our international turnover and the growing Middle East market represents 1%. These are regions to be taken into account in the near future.
In terms of international strategic goals, we would like to highlight Mexico, Italy, India and the aforementioned areas of the Middle East and Southeast Asia. We believe that our technology can have a lot of potential here and, with our own commercial presence and the alliances we have established, we have no doubt that they will be very important in the upcoming year. As well as very important European markets such as Germany or Great Britain, which we have in mind to develop.
We believe that one of the keys to this international success is the fact that we have been able to promote “made in Spain” in all our products and solutions. For us this is a source of pride. Selling the “Spain brand“. Trying to generate economy and take a piece of our land to other parts of the world showing the great quality of the work we do here. We are committed to what is ours as one of the fundamental pillars of our business vision: Solutions developed in Cantabria to sell all over the world.
“In 2010 we started with the ICEX Next programme and we were exporters to only one country: Portugal. Twelve years later we are present in more than 60 countries and 5 continents”.
Tuca Vallejo
CEO Fonestar
ICEX, our engine for internationalisation
In 2010, ICEX gave us the boost we needed. Today it is a partner with whom we work regularly and whom we would like to thank for all their services. From the strategic support at the beginning of our international journey to the subsidies for the recruitment of personnel, the specialised training received, the aid for the production of marketing materials or the actions to identify potential business partners and technology monitoring.
Our success is also your success.
