IBERDROLA today held its 7th Supplier of the Year awards ceremony. The objective of this event is to promote and recognise the work of the company’s suppliers. The event, staged this afternoon in the Palacio Baluarte conference centre in Pamplona, was attended by Javier Villalba, General Manager of IBERDROLA’s Networks Division for Spain. 

After offering his congratulations to the winners, finalists and participants, Javier Villalba emphasised that “these awards demonstrate IBERDROLA’s appreciation of the invaluable endeavours of our suppliers. They are a reward for everyone’s commitment to quality and the ongoing quest for improvement.”

Mr Villalba went on to underline the key role played by IBERDROLA’s suppliers in attaining the company’s objectives, which are based on quality, excellence, respect for the environment, workplace safety and sustainable development.

He also stressed the importance – particularly in today’s challenging economic conditions – of a strong customer-supplier relationship and a commitment to innovation to create better products and streamline processes.

Concluding his speech, Mr. Villalba thanked the companies present for their professionalism and encouraged them to continue to strive for business excellence. He underlined that “along with its human capital, a company’s partners, suppliers and contractors are pivotal to its success.” In short, you, our business partners, play an indispensable role in the attainment of our objectives.”

The IBERDROLA Supplier of the Year Prize was awarded in 11 categories in 2008: Equipment and Materials Manufacturers (Large Company and SMEs); Works and Services Supplier (Large Company and SMEs); Non-Energy Services (Large Company and SMEs); Quality; Innovation; Environment; Social Responsibility; and Workplace Safety.

2008 prize winners by category

This year’s winners in the Equipment and Materials Manufacturers category were the Basque company Vasca Ormazábal (Large Company) and the Catalonian group AKO Electromecánica (SMEs).

In the Works and Services Suppliers category, Elecnor, also of Basque origin, won in the Large Company category while the SMEs prize went to the Valencia-based firm Pinach.

Madrid-based Publicis won the Non-Energy Services prize for Large Companies while Lince Asprona from Castilla y León emerged victorious in the SMEs category.

The British supplier Phillips Lighting won the Quality award, Navarra-based Trefinasa was considered the most innovative company and Madrid-based Tecnoresiduos took first prize in the Environment category.

Finally, the winners in the Social Responsibility and Workplace Safety categories were Limpisa (from Castilla y León) and the Basque company GES respectively.

The award ceremony was brought to an end by the regional Minister for Innovation, Business and Employment, José María Roig Aldasoro, who also awarded the prize for Innovation.

As in previous years, the winners in the 7th edition of the IBERDROLA Supplier of the Year awards received a sculpture by Alfonso Amaya. This work symbolises the company’s commitment in promoting quality and excellence at its suppliers.