2023-11-02 03:36:05
AVS, Cimico, J. Huete, WorkandLife, Civitatis and Jana Producciones (accsit) are the award-winning companies. Paul Victoria Mancy, founder of Balene, wins the award for best entrepreneur.
Los 2023 SME Awards They already have winners. The companies awarded this year are AVS (in the Technological Innovation category), Bedbug (Environment), J. Huet (Internationalization), WorkandLife (RSC) y of the State (Job Creation). Additionally, the jury has considered Jana Productions deserving of an second prize for her performance in the field of internationalization. For her part, the award for best entrepreneur has gone to Paul Victoria Mancyfounder and owner of Whales.
It’s about the XVI edition of these awards, organized by EXPANSIN and Ifema Madrid with the collaboration of Orange, SGR-Cesgar and Bankinter, which have established themselves as the reference awards for small and medium-sized Spanish companies. These distinctions recognize the work carried out by companies that represent 98% of the Spanish business fabric, are responsible for 75% of employment and generate 65% of the national GDP.
The candidatures evaluated by the jury must fit the definition of SME. That is, they will be companies with fewer than 250 employees and whose turnover has not exceeded 50 million euros in the last year. Likewise, the participation criteria required that the majority of the capital be in Spanish hands, rejecting the applications of those companies integrated into holdings that exceeded the maximum size allowed.
Although due to their size they are usually relegated to the background, heSMEs are the engine of the Spanish economy. All companies that are large today were at some point small businesses, which managed to grow thanks to the efforts of their leaders and employees. The award ceremony for these awards, which highlight their dedication, will take place at the facilities of the Ifema fairgrounds, in Madrid, on November 13.
Technological innovation
Science for space
The Basque SME AVS has participated in projects such as NASA’s Perseverance rover rover.
A small Basque engineering company has been chosen to develop several of the components that make up the complex robotic arm of the Perseverance rover, the vehicle designed by NASA to explore and collect samples from the surface of Mars. Born in 2006 in Elgoibar (Guipzcoa), Added Value Solutions (AVS) has become a benchmark in the development of mechanisms, instrumentation and robotics for various fields of scientific and space activity. One of its main areas of action is the creation of solutions to solve problems in large scientific facilities through the design of high-precision components, mechatronic systems and thermal control systems, among others. In this sense, it has worked with institutions as renowned as the ESA (European Space Agency). In addition, AVS has developed projects in large scientific facilities for entities such as the ISIS neutron source in Oxford and has collaborated on initiatives with CERN. Among its numerous innovation projects, it plans to launch in 2024 the first satellite developed and assembled completely in the Basque Country.
Environment
How to treat water better
Dr. Luis Larrea and his daughter Ins Larrea are the founders of Cimico.
Focused on the development and supply of solutions for the biological treatment of wastewater, Cimico began its activity in 2021 with a project at the Riumar treatment plant in Deltebre (Tarragona). The innovation of this biotechnology company focuses on the elimination of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus dissolved in wastewater through bacteria, thanks to a technology developed by Dr. Luis Larrea, one of the most recognized professionals in this field. in Europe with more than 45 years of research. However, it was his daughter, Ins Larrea, who turned this promising innovation into a company with great expectations. An architect by profession, she had previously worked in the textile sector for brands such as Loewe and Carolina Herrera, in a career that she decided to leave behind to launch this project. Some studies estimate that treatment plants account for between 2% and 3% of global energy consumption and, compared to conventional technologies, Cimico’s proposal minimizes consumption and optimizes the design of the stations.
Internationalization
From Murcia to the world
J. Huete has designed and built greenhouses in 37 countries.
In 1995, Javier Huete García founded a company in Alcantarilla (Murcia) to provide equipment to greenhouses in the region and neighboring Almera. However, his intention was to run the company, J. Huete Greenhouses, much further: it proposed to merge high technology with agriculture and protected cultivation to grow until reaching a global dimension. He did it step by step, starting by distributing greenhouses to other autonomous communities. After establishing himself in the national market, he created his export department in 2001 and in just two years he carried out his first projects in Africa and Central America. Currently, J. Huete operates in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, Mexico, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Chile. He has designed and built greenhouses for the production of fruit, vegetables or medicinal cannabis in 37 different countries, to the point that 70% of his turnover is international. Adaptation to different crops has been a key strength for the company, along with the commitment to sustainability with the development of hydroponic equipment and the reduction of the need for pesticides.
Job creation
The success of guided tours
Alberto Gutirrez, CEO and founder of Civitatis.
Since its birth in 2008, Civitatis has gone from being a small personal project launched by Valladolid entrepreneur Alberto Gutirrez Pascual to becoming the leading company in the distribution of excursions, guided tours and activities in Spanish, with a growing capacity to attract funds. international companies such as Vitruvian Partners, which entered the company on a minority basis last year. Alberto Gutirrez was the only Civitatis employee until 2014, when he opened the first corporate office and added five people to his team. From that moment on, the creation of direct employment by the company has been exponential. The number of employees has grown from six in 2014 to an average of 193 in 2022. And if the company’s projections are met, this year its workforce will rise to 250 employees. It is a young team – with an average of 33 years old – and with high diversity: it is 64% women and has 14 different nationalities. Furthermore, 99% of the profiles that come to the company as interns stay.
RSC
Kindergartens for conciliation
Claudia Caso (in the image), Mara Pilar Casado and Victoriano Casajs are the founding partners of WorkandLife.
When M Pilar Casado and Claudia Caso became pregnant in 2000, they considered the need to reconcile work with raising their children. That concern gave rise to an innovative project: creating nursery schools in the workplace. Two years later, WorkandLife was born, with the aim of being the first company in Spain to provide solutions for work and family conciliation in the face of the growing demand from working mothers and fathers who needed to balance their professional responsibilities with the care of their children. In particular, its initiative to include people with intellectual disabilities in early childhood education is an example of this work. From WorkandLife they highlight that this project has generated important advances in terms of equal opportunities for people with disabilities in this work environment, an improvement in the quality of education for children and a positive impact on the community. Likewise, it has given rise to strategic alliances with foundations, universities and other companies, while the company has incorporated this integrative vision into its own strategy.
Best entrepreneur
A revolutionary brush
Paul Victoria Mancy is the founder of Balene.
After two decades of experience as a manager in companies such as L’Oral, Isdin and GSK, Paul Victoria Mancy realized that many health problems had their origin in dental plaque. This conviction led him to leave the world of big business and he was encouraged to start a business. He did it with Balene, a company born to reinvent the toothbrush, a product that was as used as it was little evolved. The revolution proposed by the entrepreneur is a new brush capable of cleaning teeth both inside and out. This is possible thanks to its double side, its moving head and its new generation filaments, to which it adds an antibacterial that prevents moisture retention and eliminates 99.9% of the bacteria present in bathrooms. Paul Victoria Mancy worked for years on the idea with dentists, industrial designers and engineers. In 2018 he applied for the world patent for the brush and, finally, in 2021 he began manufacturing the product in his Alicante factory. Balene has already sold more than 235,000 units and in 2022 it will have a turnover of more than one million euros.
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