NUEVA HERRAMIENTA DE CORTE, S.A.

Their core work

NECO is a Spanish SME specializing in cutting tool manufacturing, based in Elorrio in the Basque Country — one of Spain's most industrialized regions. Through their H2020 participation, they have been actively digitalizing their production processes, adopting zero-defect manufacturing strategies and product-service business models. Their work bridges traditional precision tooling with Industry 4.0 technologies, making them a practical testbed for applying digital manufacturing concepts in a real factory environment.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

NECO's H2020 activity spans a compact window from 2015 to 2017 (project starts), all concentrated in manufacturing digitalization. Their earliest project (PSYMBIOSYS, 2015) focused on product-service models and symbiotic collaboration — exploring new business models for manufacturers. By 2017, their participation in MIDIH signals a shift toward digital innovation hub ecosystems, suggesting they moved from internal digital transformation toward connecting with broader manufacturing digitalization networks.

NECO appears to be evolving from a traditional tool manufacturer adopting digital tools into a company embedding itself within manufacturing digital innovation ecosystems — a useful trajectory for consortia needing an industrial SME end-user.

How they like to work

NECO participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as an industrial SME providing a real manufacturing use case rather than leading research. With 45 unique partners across just 3 projects, they have operated in large, multi-country consortia (averaging 15+ partners per project). This suggests they are comfortable working in complex international teams and likely serve as an end-user validation partner.

Despite only three projects, NECO has built a broad network of 45 partners across 17 countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes typical of Innovation Actions and manufacturing-focused projects. Their network spans much of the EU, with no obvious geographic concentration beyond their Basque Country base.

What sets them apart

NECO brings something many manufacturing research consortia need but struggle to find: a real SME factory floor where digital concepts can be tested in production. As a cutting tool manufacturer in Spain's industrial Basque region, they offer a credible, hands-on industrial environment rather than a simulated lab setting. For consortium builders, they represent the kind of end-user partner that makes demonstration and validation work packages convincing to evaluators.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PSYMBIOSYS
  Largest EC contribution (EUR 301,250) and earliest project, exploring how traditional manufacturers can adopt product-service business models through digital collaboration tools.
• Z-Fact0r
  Directly relevant to NECO's core business — applying zero-defect strategies to real manufacturing lines, with clear potential for measurable quality improvements in cutting tool production.
• MIDIH
  Positions NECO within the broader EU Digital Innovation Hub ecosystem, signaling their interest in connecting with regional and European manufacturing support networks.