It fills us with great emotion to remember our friend and workmate Manuel Barranco who passed away, aged 45 years, in a mountain hiking accident last Sunday 29th March.
He was an Industrial Engineering graduate from the School of Engineering of Seville and was awarded the Real Maestranza de Caballería prize as top of his class. Over the last 20 years he had been devoting his professional life to Research and Development within MP Industrial group; in 1989, he founded the first Elevation R+D centre and, in latter years, he had been MP Industrial Corporation’s R+D and Engineering Manager.

Manuel Barranco was, all his life, prescient in his consideration of Technology and Quality as pillars in the creation and maintenance of success in business. His commitment to the development of his company’s technology, ahead of the field in Andalusia, was fundamental for the expansion of Mechanism and Accessories (MAC) during the 90’s and for strengthening the current position of MP Industrial Group. His happy demeanour and his genuine enthusiasm and motivation were contagious.

Thanks to this work, in November 2000 MP Group was awarded by the Department of Employment and Technological Development the “Special Mention for Innovation Management and Industrial Design”, in the First Andalusian Prize for Excellence. In May 2003, MP Group was awarded by the University of Seville the prize "Innovar con la Universidad", in recognition of a long and productive cooperation between the Enterprise and the University.

In recent years, he had been actively participating in several Andalusian technological assemblies, since he was member of – among other entities – the Andalusian Technological Corporation. He lent his support to outstanding projects in a wide number of technological sectors, i.e. Elevation, Railways, Aeronautics and Renewable Energies. He was also member of the Andalusian Institute of Technology.

He combined his professional life at MP with his passion for the mountains. Last Summer, he scaled Mount Elbrus (5.647 m), and at the time of his death he was preparing for an ascent of the Lenin Peak (7.134 m) in the Caucasus.

From this little place, we want to publicly offer our deepest sympathies to his family.

May these lines be a worthy memorial of a great changing force, a great professional and a very close friend.