Tafalla Iron Foundry is proud to announce that our Director of Human Resources and Legal Affairs, Ignacio Ugalde, has been unanimously re-elected as President of ANEL, the Association of Social Economy Enterprises of Navarre, during its 43rd General Assembly held last week in Pamplona.
The event, which brought together more than 200 cooperative members and institutional representatives from across the region, reaffirmed the strength and vitality of Navarre’s social economy. Among those in attendance were representatives from all political groups, the Government of Navarre, and leading actors from the business, social, and cooperative sectors.
During the Assembly, Ugalde highlighted the continued growth of the cooperative model in Navarre. In the first four months of 2025 alone, 35 new cooperatives and 120 new cooperative members have joined the regional network. This growth builds on the solid foundation laid in recent years, which has seen a 76% increase in the number of cooperatives and a tripling of cooperative members over the past five years. These numbers position Navarre as a national leader in the development of the social economy.
In his acceptance speech, Ignacio Ugalde emphasized the transformative potential of the cooperative model, describing it as a second opportunity for many people and a path toward building companies that are more inclusive, democratic, and rooted in the realities of their communities. He noted that nearly half of new cooperative members come from unemployment and that more than half are women, with a significant portion being young people under 35. For Ugalde, these figures reflect not only economic dynamism but also a deep social commitment.
Tafalla Iron Foundry was well represented at the event, underscoring our ongoing commitment to the values of the social economy. We firmly believe that industry and cooperation are not only compatible but mutually reinforcing. Our company is proud to be part of a movement that places people at the center of economic activity and promotes sustainable and equitable development.
The re-election of Ignacio Ugalde as ANEL President is both an institutional recognition of his leadership and a reflection of the confidence placed in him by the cooperative community. At Tafalla Iron Foundry, we extend our sincere congratulations to Ignacio and reaffirm our support for ANEL and the continued advancement of the social economy in Navarre and beyond.
