Throughout her career, Alicia Lusarreta, Plant Manager at Loxin, has always held the conviction that a challenge can also be an opportunity to learn. This firm belief has enabled her to face many challenges, such as the under-representation of women in technical posts, the commitment involved in taking on managerial responsibilities and knowing how to manage talent in a highly specialised sector. Her tenacity and determination have helped her to progress and mark out a career where leading by example is one of the most powerful ways to bring about change.
What challenges have you faced throughout your career, especially as a woman in a technical environment?
Summarising 20 years of a career in just a few words could easily give the impression that it has been an easy process, when in fact it has been marked by challenges that ultimately allowed me to evolve professionally. When I joined the company, there was no female presence on the shop floor, which posed an additional hurdle. I had to face situations where people did not recognise a woman’s leadership in this sector, but I also found truly exceptional [male] colleagues who just valued my abilities and achievements, without caring for anything else. Their support has been instrumental in enabling me to advance in my career.
From your experience, what are the main challenges facing a woman in a leadership position in the automation industry? What changes would you like to see in the future?
The main challenge for women in managerial roles in a predominantly male environment is to confront stereotypes that question our leadership ability or style. Sadly, these situations can lead to inequalities. To bring about real change, I believe it is essential to adopt policies that promote inclusion and diversity and actively work to eliminate prejudice.
It is also crucial to foster a culture that supports work-life balance, to allow women to not have to choose between being mothers and taking on highly responsible roles within a company. It is also essential to guarantee equal pay, ensuring that all people receive a fair income regardless of their gender.
What strategies do you see as effective in promoting gender inclusion and diversity in technical sectors and in leadership roles such as yours?
It is crucial for companies to implement policies that promote inclusion and access to technical fields. The under-representation of women in careers in this field is still a challenge, and it limits recruitment opportunities for these positions. But we should not forget that real change needs to start much earlier, at school, where it is essential to break down gender stereotypes and show girls that they can be engineers, architects or make their mark in any other technical profession. We need to empower them so that they can feel ambitious and see that there are no limits to their professional development, without factors such as motherhood being perceived as obstacles. Although women in technical disciplines are still in the minority, it is vital to motivate coming generations to follow their vocation through education and provide them with the necessary tools to access this training.
The real change needs to start at school to show girls that they can make their mark in any technical profession
Alicia Lusarreta
Plant Manager at Loxin
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to leadership roles in technical fields?
Patience and persistence. We live in a society where immediacy predominates, and expectations of immediate professional success can lead to young people feeling frustrated. Although society and business are evolving, achieving leadership positions requires time, effort and dedication. It is essential to work every day with commitment, to continuously expand your skills and maintain high standards. It is also important to be aligned with the company’s values, as this fosters your personal growth and enables you to contribute significantly to the organisation’s success.
How would you summarise Loxin’s activity?
The origin of our name reflects our passion for tackling complex challenges and developing pioneering projects: “Locos por la ingeniería”, which translates into English as “Crazy about engineering”. Loxin specialises in creating innovative automated solutions. We are experts in doing what has never been done before. We are not afraid of the challenges posed by complex developments; they enable us to come up with new solutions to automate processes.
What innovations or changes have you implemented at plant level that you consider having a significant impact on the robotic solutions you offer or your production process?
Innovations in our products arise from the needs of the projects we work on. Listening to customers and collaborating with the sales team enable us to identify complex problems and seek efficient solutions. With that we achieve innovative solutions to optimise time, quality and costs.
We also constantly seek to improve our own processes in our plant. A key challenge was organising production through work orders, which initially seemed difficult because of the unique nature of each individual project, but it now allows us to standardise and replicate processes. We are also exploring ways to capture data directly from the assembly process, which will improve the quality of information, strengthen communication and increase the quality of our products. We will continue to work on further changes to improve our day-to-day work processes.
You talk about changes in day-to-day processes, can you tell us about some of them?
We have been working since 2024 on implementing a management system called Innovarse. It is promoted by the Government of Navarre and validated by the European Union’s Interreg Europa programme. This system seeks to integrate social responsibility into our business strategy and day-to-day management of the plant.
We are aware of the impact we have on our surroundings: on our staff, their families, society, other companies, customers and the environment. We therefore want to reflect, analyse and define an ongoing action plan to help us maximise the positive impact of our activities.
Achieving leadership roles takes time, effort and dedication
Alicia Lusarreta
Plant Manager at Loxin
Loxin is part of the Aritex Group, how has this influenced the plant? What synergies or benefits have you noticed?
Forming part of a leader like the Aritex Group gives us access to more resources and greater support. We have stronger financial backing. Now that we have centralised some services, we also have the opportunity to access more specialised departments and technical support in key areas. This enables us to focus on our speciality: designing customised automated solutions with the care and dedication that such tailor-made projects require.
How are the robots and automated solutions manufactured by Loxin integrated into Aritex’s international projects, and what benefits do they bring in terms of efficiency and quality?
Loxin and the Aritex Group work together to offer complete and customised solutions to our customers. We supply turnkey automated lines, including machines with robots for complex processes. This approach facilitates integration of the line for our customers thanks to a single point of contact throughout the project.
Our commitment to quality is reflected in our sharing the same objective at every stage of the process, and that aim is to guarantee the best result. We can also optimise efficiency by focusing on our fields of expertise, enabling us to deliver superior performance across the board.
This alliance has enabled us to integrate advanced robotic solutions that respond to market demands, consolidating our presence and leadership in key sectors around the world.
From your perspective, what technological developments do you think will be crucial in the field of automation in the next decade and how is Loxin preparing for these changes within the Aritex Group?
Artificial intelligence and machine learning will transform industrial automation, allowing systems to improve efficiency and optimise processes autonomously, while robots will become more accurate and capable of performing more complex tasks. 5G connectivity and the Internet of Things will be key factors in optimising production and applying predictive maintenance. Sustainability and energy savings will also drive solutions that reduce environmental impact without compromising performance.
In this context, the Aritex Group is integrating these technologies to consolidate its leadership in automation. Not only does it develop autonomous mobile robotic solutions to optimise internal logistics and speed up orders, it has also incorporated tools such as the Industrial Internet of Things and augmented reality, improving real-time monitoring and industrial processes. Its commitment to sustainability is reflected in energy efficiency practices and an ESG (environmental, social and governance) management system that generates long-term value and promotes responsible industrial development.
Looking to the future, how do you envision robot-human collaboration in industry, and what skills do you consider essential for operators in advanced automated plants?
Collaboration between robots and humans is evolving into a more fluid and balanced model. Robots handle tasks that are repetitive, dangerous or require high precision, while humans contribute with their ability to think, adapt and make decisions. This combination improves efficiency, increases productivity and enhances safety and quality of work, and also creates a more optimised environment.
In automated environments, it is vital for operators to have a good technical knowledge base to understand how the technologies and software work. But if we go beyond the technical side of things, it is also essential to develop skills such as the ability to diagnose and solve problems quickly, use critical thinking to make informed decisions, and have an attitude of constant learning to adapt to new tools and processes. Although we work with robots, we should never forget that we are still a human team, so effective communication and teamwork are essential for collective success.
