Alejandro Ávila Fernández, Industrial designer at Tecnimusa, is that cheerful and talkative person with the ability to brighten up the day for those around him, to joke until he makes us laugh out loud at lunchtime, to unite the team through good vibes and to turn problems around with a proactive attitude and a positive outlook.
Professionally, he is a very creative person, likes to explore and learn new things. He is very social, which is why, for example, he moves around trade fairs very well and, as he likes to detect new things, he enjoys them very much.
Question.- How long have you been working in Tecnimusa and what tasks have you carried out?
Answer.- I’ve been working for almost 9 years now, both with the Humexe exoskeleton and in the design of intralogistics machinery. In this field, I’m in charge of machinery design, new developments, and part of production management.
Q.- How have you seen the evolution of the company since you joined?
A.- From the beginning, the company has made a 360-degree turnaround, not only because of the evolution of its products, but also because of the expansion of its capacities. It has evolved into an organisation with larger, more structured departments and with greater specialisation and standardisation of processes.
Q.- How do you tell or would you tell your children what you do for a living?
A.- That’s the hard part. Since when they were little I had to explain it in a simple way, I’ve always told them that I’m an inventor, that I invent machines because I’ve been doing it since the 1990s. I’ve worked across very diverse sectors inventing machinery, from the aeronautical industry, automotive, metal, food, and healthcare, to the machinery at Tecnimusa. That’s why I tell them: “I invent machines: I draw them and I build them.”
Q.- How do you value your work experience in Tecnimusa?
A.- I like the fact that it is a very dynamic experience. It has allowed me to face very different design challenges, from Humexe, which has implied an important change of concept and activity due to the medical sector and the very purpose of the project, to the challenges of industrial machinery in an increasingly demanding and competitive sector.
Q.- If you could give professional advice based on your experience, what would it be?
A.- My usual advice: look for specialization in something specific and try to stand out in it. For example, in the case of design, mastering tools like SolidWorks.
Q.- If you weren’t doing this, what would you have liked to do?
A.- It’s difficult to answer that, because I’ve liked design all my life. In fact, when I was a child my passion was drawing. That’s why I decided to go into draughtsmanship and channel my professional career in this direction.
The only thing I can think of, apart from design, is that I would have liked to be a comic book artist.
Q.- If time gates existed, to what period in the past would you like to travel?
A.- To the beginning of my life. To my 15 years. To have all that time ahead of me again. Even more so knowing what I know now, of course.
Q.- Tell us an amusing anecdote related to your work.
A.- Well, I probably have a thousand, things always happen to me that later you say ‘that’s good’ but now I can’t think of any specific one.
Q.- Recommend a film, a series, a song and a book.
A.-
- Film: Seven.
- Series: I’m not much of a series person.
- Song: Qué bonita la vida, by Dani Martín.
Q.- That country or city that you are looking forward to seeing.
A.- USA and Qatar, mainly for the architecture.
Q.-What would you like Tecnimusa to achieve in the coming years?
A.- Greater diversification, consolidating the leap to e-commerce, which we have already started, or additive manufacturing, promoting greater autonomy in production, and increasing manufacturing challenges.
