Meet AJE – Tesela.

Tell us Eugenio, what is your position in the company? Why did you decide to start it? Tell us a little about your experience.

I am Eugenio Navarro, founder and CEO of the company TESELA, Materiales Innovación y Patrimonio. An SME from Granada located in the Andalusian sustainable construction cluster in Padul.

TESELA is a company dedicated to research and development work on materials in the construction and heritage sector.

For more than 15 years I worked in a building products manufacturing company and discovered the importance of materials and in particular those related to the construction of new structures. While I was working, I met a professor from the University of Granada, Eduardo Sebastián, who had an extensive knowledge of ancient materials and built heritage. It was here that we realised that there was no technology-based company offering its services for those clients who need very advanced and specific knowledge in modern and old materials in the construction sector.

What services and business lines does TESELA have?

At TESELA, we are structured in 4 main lines of business where we offer different services that are highly personalised to the type of client we work with. The main ones are discussed below:

Carrying out preliminary studies for heritage. This type of study is mainly aimed at companies in the construction and heritage sector, such as construction companies and their technical departments (architects and/or restorers, among others), and serves to diagnose the heritage asset before it is intervened. Let’s think about when a surgeon has to operate on a part of a patient’s body and asks the specialist doctor for a “preliminary study” in order to be able to carry out a better intervention. In an intervention in the Alhambra or in any other heritage work, the same thing happens. It is therefore necessary to make a good diagnosis prior to an intervention.
Development of advanced ad-hoc products and materials that can be used in different applications (e.g. limes, plasters, hydraulic binders, cements and microcements, etc.). In many cases manufacturers of building materials do not have the knowledge, time, personnel or facilities to develop new and innovative products, so they turn to TESELA for the development of new materials that they want to incorporate into their catalogues. comerciales. At TESELA we adapt the developments to the market capacities, logistics and facilities of these manufacturing companies, which generates a very differential value with respect to other types of development entities.
Carrying out collaborative projects with public funding (national or European) on materials in the construction sector and with companies of different types, ranging from mining and raw materials companies, materials manufacturing companies, universities, technology centres, technology-based companies and/or waste management companies, among others. These projects usually have an innovative character in different types of themes, ranging from social, technical and economic fields.
Analysis of materials from a scientific-technical point of view. Many customers come to us with materials whose nature is unknown to them, and at TESELA we provide them with in-depth technical knowledge of these materials using high-precision scientific equipment.
Conducting training courses on materials in the construction and heritage sector. Courses that are generally aimed at very different profiles, from people who are looking to recycle their knowledge in the sector to people who are looking for training in order to have a better job opportunity.

What is your differential value?

The absence of technological and innovative companies with such a deep knowledge of the current and old building materials sector in Spain, and in particular in Andalusia, makes TESELA a company that adds value to this sector, as the construction sector is certainly static, not very innovative and very traditional.

TESELA’s value contribution does not only occur through the generation of tangible assets that solve one or more problems, but also through the creation of intangible assets that result in the transfer of knowledge from the university or academy to the industry. This allows end customers to enjoy a high degree of innovation while meeting quality and safety standards.

Why do you belong to AJE, what benefits do you find and how can we help you?

At TESELA, we belong to AJE because we believe that it is a platform that gives us the possibility of creating new synergies between companies in Granada.

We joined the association because we saw that we were doing a very beautiful and unique work, and that we were certainly much better known outside Granada than in the province.

We saw that AJE could be a place where we could make ourselves known and thus gain visibility and, at the same time, help us to meet companies from different sectors and with which we could contribute, and ultimately, generate for and by Granada.

Useful links

Discover the full interview on the official AJE website. Click here.