His Majesty King Felipe VI presided over the national final of the SME of the Year Award 2023, an award awarded by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Banco Santander. At the event, Felipe VI presented the 2023 National SME of the Year Award to Meltio, an SME from Linares (Jaén), which is revolutionizing the industry with a pioneering method of metal 3D printing.
His Majesty the King highlighted that “SMEs support and move the economy, contribute to its growth, promote or extend innovation and create most employment. Recognizing—and valuing—your work, in addition to contributing to your strength and resistance, your adaptation or transformation, is essential to promote business development.”
In addition to the National SME of the Year Award, the national second prizes were awarded: from Internationalization, to Ecoforest Geotermia, from Pontevedra; from Innovation and Digitalization, to Multiverse Computing, from Guipúzcoa; of Training and Employment, to Vera, from Barcelona, and Sustainable SME to Tresca Engineering, from León.
The Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Carlos Body, assured that “the good moment of the Spanish economy is largely the result of its SMEs, which represent the majority of our productive fabric.” The president of the Chamber of Spain, José Luis Bonet, praised the role of SMEs and thanked H.M. for the presence. the king.
For his part, the CEO of Santander Spain, Ángel Rivera, pointed out that “companies should not only be the engine of the economy and material prosperity, they must also play a role as bearers of justice and social protection, humanizing work and leading technological progress.”
Ángel Llavero, CEO of Meltio, highlighted in his speech the transformative power of companies and that “from Andalusia you can be a technological leader on a global scale. We are the generation in history with the most opportunities, there have never been so many changes in such a short period of time,” he said.
From Vera, the Barcelona-based operator that won the Second Prize for Training and Employment, Jordi Compte, general director of the company, explains the reason for the award. In relation to employees, “we work from the perspective of a value proposition for talent that makes Vera an attractive community for those who are part of it and for those who will be part of it. This value proposition is structured in four dimensions: material compensation (salary policy based on merit and equity, flexibility, smart working, social benefits, annual bonus…); development (opportunities for professional growth through an annual and individual training plan, internal promotion…); community (environment of belonging and constructive interrelation based on respect and diversity); and purpose (ensuring that everyone knows the purpose of the company, to connect and find meaning in their work). He also highlights the importance of investing in management training in people leadership. “They are the ones who put the value proposition into practice.”
Measures that have a positive impact on results. “In generating a level of commitment that contributes to individual and collective performance,” explains Compte. The business results obtained so far are, indeed, the best quantitative data, as well as a general satisfaction of 8 out of 10 in the employee satisfaction survey.”
The jury was chaired by José Luis Bonet, president of the Chamber of Spain, and included, on behalf of Santander Spain, Ángel Rivera, CEO, and Olga Abad, director of Companies and Institutions; the general director of the Chamber of Spain, Inmaculada Riera; the head of the Business supplement of El País, David Fernández; the general director of Prensa Prisa Media, Juan Cantón, and the president of the SME Commission of the Spanish Chamber, Isabel Puig Ferrer, in her capacity as secretary of the jury.
Since the creation of the Award, 9,176 SMEs have participated. The SME of the Year Award, organized annually by Banco Santander and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, recognizes the performance of small and medium-sized Spanish companies, which is essential for the creation of jobs and wealth.
In this seventh edition, 1,740 companies from 50 provinces registered. 52 territorial Chambers of Commerce and 13 Territorial Directorates of Banco Santander participated in its organization, as well as the main newspapers of the Spanish press. Since 2017, 9,176 SMEs have already participated.
