The entrepreneurial spirit prompted Juan Alfredo Palencia to resign from his position as an elevator installer to found his own business in the sector. This is how Aszende was born in 1976, a company with a family tradition that over the years has been able to find its place in a sector dominated by large multinationals.
In the hands of the second generation, the company expects to invoice 40 million euros this year, compared to 37 million in 2022. Alfredo Palencia, CEO, explains that the company is in a stage of full growth: “In the last five years, we have managed to double income thanks to the opening of an important branch in Madrid and the installation of elevators in old buildings,” comments the founder's son.
Since the beginning, Aszende has worked for individuals, companies, industries and public administrations. His activity is divided between elevator installation and maintenance services.
Furthermore, the company claims that its product is manufactured in the local market. Specifically, in a subsidiary of the company that has a factory in Zaragoza that works for Aszende and third parties. “It is our supplier of elevators, and it manufactures around a thousand a year. Its turnover is 13 million euros per year and 55% comes from foreign sales from countries such as France, Belgium, Ireland, Israel, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Switzerland,” comments the manager, who adds that this subsidiary is controlled by the 30% by the Palencia family and the rest is in the hands of other partners.
With 300 people on staff and several branches in Spain, the company is studying to grow organically and also through acquisitions. “We are studying the purchase of two service companies in the coming months. We reserve between 4 and 6 million budget in these operations,” he details.
As always, the company wants to grow with its own resources, without the entry of financial or industrial partners, with the idea of giving way to the third family generation within a period of 5 to 10 years. The business, adds Palencia, obtains net profit and registers an Ebitda (gross profit) of 15% of total annual sales.
Apart from Aszende, the family is dedicated to the restaurant sector – it has 2 establishments in Barcelona – as well as the world of real estate investment, with assets such as parking lots, developable land and hotels located in Barcelona, the Basque Country and Andalusia. Palencia admits that the second generation has inherited the family entrepreneurial spirit.
