It was in 1991, in September, upon the signature of the contract for the Design, Manufacture and Erection in Chile of the four Telescope Structures of the Very Large Telescope (VLT), that we coined the payoff we still have today and which has led us through many battles: “The Power of Creativity”.

We had been working on ESO VLT Project for a few years, the most innovative big telescope in the world. We were awarded that contract after defeating some big European competitors by proposing original, quite pioneering solutions. We obtained the contract because we had been able to convince two industrial groups (Ansaldo Componenti and Soimi (Gruppo ABB)) to follow us into an adventure, which not only exceeded our knowledge, but our real capacities. Yet we were all well aware that our peculiarities couldn’t be offered by the big industrial groups of the time. We had a special talent for conceiving innovative ideas, and we did that by matching our experience with our knowledge. Also, we were skilled in analysis and synthesis. In other words, during the years of study and work that made up our education, we developed the most “subversive” factor that makes a man an entrepreneur: creativity. This was the smart move which took us to the celebration of our first 25-year anniversary.

Creativity is not an inborn quality, but rather an ability that blossoms and develops over time.
Nietzsche used to say that “All great artists and thinkers are great workers”. Milton Glaser - one of the greatest designers and illustrators of our times - has the following sentence carved on his office-door: “Art is work”. Innovation belongs to those who are able to embrace different experiences and knowledge, and who go beyond their limits. Our technicians and engineers know it very well: in EIE we design the best performing telescopes and observatories which operate in extremely harsh environments, yet the goal is managing the entire process, from the manufacturing, to the transport and the assembly of a perfectly working machine, on the peak of some lost mountain, out in the desert.

EIE people know that creativity means responsibility, awareness and coherence. Creativity is an arduous task, and it requires a certain rigor. Being creative also implies constant improvements. And in fact, EIE has restructured itself, forging suitable company processes for the new needs of the markets and their renovated financial challenges. All of this has brought forth three operative entities: EIE GROUP, which is focused in Management & Contracting; EIE, celebrating 25 years of Engineering & Design; and the soon-to-be-born EIE Fabrĭca, dedicated to Production & Services. We also covet an old passion: EIE Design, the art of beauty wisely applied to high-technology.