Talgo

The board of directors of train manufacturer Talgo has appointed a new CEO, Ricardo Chocarro, following the resignation of Rafael Sterling, the man whom the new Basque shareholders and SEPI had placed in charge of management last December, replacing financier Gonzalo Urquijo. 3 billion euros. Sterling, who served as general manager, had been the industrial profile figure chosen by chairman José Antonio Jainaga to lead the company day-to-day. A statement sent to the CNMV simply indicates that he will begin “a new professional activity” and thanks him for his services.

His replacement, Ricardo Chocarro Melgosa, also an industrial engineer, emerges from the company's decision-making body, which he joined in February as an independent director. His experience in managing companies in high-tech industrial sectors, especially aeronautics and renewable energies, spans 30 years. The new Talgo CEO assumed the position of CEO of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy's Onshore business in 2017. In 2019, he joined Aernnova Aerospace as Chief Operating Officer (COO), where he later became CEO between 2020 and December 2025. In this latter company, he was in charge of the financial area, planning control, and mergers and acquisitions policy.

” From Chocarro, factory profitability control and the ability to establish alliances that multiply industrial capacity are expected. Talgo recently agreed with Renfe to postpone the payment of 116 million euros due to a delay of more than two years in the delivery of 30 Avril high-speed trains, finally launched in May 2024. Subsequently, industry sources assure that the manufacturer was late with its proposal, again based on the Avril model, to fulfill a new order for 30 units from the public operator. Talgo is expected to present its industrial strategy between September and October, but the company is already seeking to optimize its production processes and has announced investments in the Rivabellosa (Álava) and Las Matas (Madrid) plants.

The goal is to double production capacity before the end of 2028. At the shareholders' meeting on June 2, Jainaga had warned the Spanish Government about the advantages of the Avril train: lightness and lower impact on infrastructure thanks to a weight between 70 and 120 tons less than that of competing trains; 35% more energy efficiency; adaptation to different track gauges; accessibility; and compatibility with third-party traction systems.