Technology, science and digital cultureThis story begins long before smartphones were born, before Apple, Samsung and any other device that Xiaomi, in its eternal innovation, put on the market.It begins just four years after the very birth of the Internet.In 1987, Spain –and more specifically in the Madrid town of Tres Cantos– had one of the best semiconductor factories in the world.Yes, by then they were already beginning to be an essential resource.Yes, the same one that we are now trying to recreate with European funds in the form of PERTE for microchips or semiconductors.And yes, the same one that ended up being dropped in 2001 to take the business to a much more profitable Asian market.In the late 1980s, Spain was still trying to recover from decades of backwardness.At an economic, social and political level, the country still had many pending accounts.It goes without saying that everything was to be done in terms of technology;for not having one, Spain did not have an environmental policy for new industries.But already at that time the importance of the sector was known.With strong political intermediation, it was possible to attract one of the greats in the semiconductor business.The North American AT&T, probably attracted by a much more lax tax regime than in its homeland, chose Tres Cantos for its first factory outside its borders.One that accepted the most powerful environmental regulation of the moment: that of California.What would later be known as Lucent, a division of AT&T dedicated to the management of communication systems and later renamed Agere in its semiconductor division, marked a before and after for the region.It put Tres Cantos on the map and attracted countless technology companies that, today, are part of the Tres Cantos Technology Park.The semiconductor factory at the end of the 1980s had spontaneously achieved what today is being sought with the help of a checkbook: to create an entire ecosystem.With nearly 1,000 employees, the Tres Cantos semiconductor factory was a landmark in the region.With Jaime Martorell Suárez at the controls to create the factory, it was necessary to create a workforce that, until then, could not be found in the country.AT&T had to send three dozen workers to the United States for training at one of its local semiconductor plants.Later, these would be the spearhead for the following layers of Tres Cantos employees.When the factory closed in 2001, these hundreds of highly skilled workers had to retrain their careers.There was no similar project in the country, so there was no room for his expertise.Neither in the rest of the continent.Already at the beginning of the new millennium, the trend towards technological relocation was a reality and Asia was beginning to be the power that now, two decades later, we are trying to dismantle.Now, more than 30 years after the foundation stone of the Tres Cantos semiconductor factory, the question of talent is once again an issue.With a productive ecosystem migrated to Asia, there are few who dominate this branch of technology in Spain.The challenge of the future plant will be, in addition to finding partners and projects, to have qualified personnel.There were still pesetas.Many of those reading this, perhaps, were not born when these were still in progress.At that time, the Tres Cantos semiconductor factory cost 100,000 million pesetas, which today would be just over 600 million euros without taking into account the change in value of money.Subsequently, Lucent made an investment of 240 million euros (40,000 million pesetas).Of the total investment in the factory, 10,000 million pesetas (60 million euros) were covered by public spending.It was a large public-private investment for a time when the sector, in the eyes of the world, still did not have the importance it has today.Now, the PERTE of microchips wants to revalidate the bet to compensate for the damages committed, also under the hands of Jaime Martorell Suárez.In an attempt to revalidate his success of more than 30 years ago, on this occasion he knows how necessary and complicated the matter is."Asia can grow faster because they have the base already created and in Spain we have to do it from scratch, but I am convinced that we will have something solid in 5 years' time", he told the Ametic meeting in Santander at the end of the summer at the media.The drop in Asian production due to the coronavirus crisis, as well as the increase in transport prices, has given European politicians a lot to think about.The mission now is to create their own microchip factories.In the case of Spain, this is expected to mobilize 12,250 million euros in investment until 2027, and thereby encourage private investment.Problem?It remains to be seen which private companies are the ones that apply to set up their semiconductor factory in Spain.Because if the Tres Cantos case worked for a while, it was precisely because the factors followed the opposite course.First the company, then the funds.In addition, the detail of the time it takes to make a factory like the one needed at this time is forgotten.Asia has been preparing for this for decades, and it was precisely the lack of innovation – in addition to other factors – that swept away Agere's dream.Despite the fact that in 1987, the Tres Cantos headquarters was pure innovation, by the year 2000 its facilities were already becoming obsolete to new market trends.Getting it ready would have cost $2 billion at the time.Nobody, and history has shown it, wanted to undertake an investment that, today, would be mandatory for any semiconductor factory that wants to remain at the forefront.The closure of the Tres Cantos semiconductor factory could be said to have happened overnight.In November 2000, Agere had its offer 100% covered.They closed a record year for the plant with a turnover of 180 million euros and 18 million euros in income.His focus on the creation of semiconductors for the telecommunications and personal computer sector had its benefits.And that was long before the standardization of Nokia, Alcatel or Motorola as mobile phones.But in June 2001 his figures descended to hell.They could not exceed 25% of their total production.And with totally tight margins, the decision for Agere – which was still 58% owned by Lucent – ​​was not long in coming.Sale of the facilities, which does not transfer personnel, or closure.Either option ended the same way for the employees.Back then a possible public bailout was mentioned, but the die was already cast with the migration of semiconductors to Asia, which meant much better production costs.In other words, the demand crisis was far from being the one we have on the table today.It was a cost issue that, at that time, could hardly be combated.Manufacturers, attracted by economic improvements in Asia, had it clear.What's more, 2005 was announced as the record year –at that time– in the sale of semiconductors, surpassing the unbeatable year 2000. The iPod shuffle and Nano began to flood the market, Intel, Samsung or Hynix were already bringing out more and more products. sophisticated.It was finally BP that acquired the facilities of the Tres Cantos semiconductor factory for a very different purpose: a solar panel factory.When the bubble of the sun began to appear in the energy sector.The reality is that, today, what was the pride of an incipient national technological ecosystem has ended up being a corpse.Neither semiconductors, nor solar panels.Only the memory of what could have been now that the world is experiencing its greatest technological crisis in history.Of interest: Whatsapp tricks What Xiaomi to buy Install Windows 11 for free iPhone 14 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania See Star+ for free Disney+ Offers 127.0.0.1 Screenshot in Windows Deep web Theory of evolution