Monday, May 8th 2000

IRIZAR MEXICO

IRIZAR continues to expand and has grown by 36% in the first four months of the year, with sales totalling 9,900 million pesetas (60 million euros). This increase has come completely from foreign markets, in part due to the recovery in the Brazilian market where IRIZAR BRASIL is taking up a position in Latin America. The start up of IRIZAR MEXICO must also be added to this. From Ormaiztegi, the countries acting as driving forces have been Israel, Italy, Hong Kong and Poland. This means that IRIZAR's international sales now account for 71% of the total, compared with 62% last year.