Alicante Province Family Business Association presents its annual awards at Benidorm Cultural Centre

The Association of Family Businesses of the Province of Alicante (AEFA) presented at midday at the Cultural Centre of Benidorm its annual awards considering the track record of family businesses in the province. These awards were established to highlight the activity carried out by family businesses in the province as agents that contribute to the creation of wealth and employment in the territory, as well as for their commitment to innovation, internationalisation, entrepreneurship, competitiveness and involvement with society.

The ceremony to present the XXIX AEFA Awards was attended by the Mayor of Benidorm and President of the Provincial Council, Toni Pérez, the regional Secretary for Employment and General Director of Labora, Antonio Galváñ, the regional deputy José Ramón González de Zárate, the provincial deputy for Productive Sectors, Carlos Pastor, as well as members of the municipal corporation of Benidorm and a large representation of businessmen from the province and local.

The event was opened by the president of AEFA, Maite Antón, who placed Benidorm as “an enviable reality thanks to the good work of many people and many entrepreneurs” and stated that the family business “is committed to the future of society”. Antón called for “everyone to defend companies” and advocated “highlighting the work, value and talent of family businesses in the province”.

The first award to be presented was given to the businessman Francisco Gómez Andreu, founder and president of the Marjal Group, who was recognised with the Manuel Peláez Castillo Honour Award for his career as a family businessman, for his social contribution to sectoral associations both in the province and in the closest environment and, as a person, for his great entrepreneurial character and his close ties to AEFA and the world of family businesses in general. The distinction was presented by Carmen Robles, president of Manuel Peláez Foundation.

Magic Costa Blanca group has received the Caixabank Award for its prestigious representation of one of the main sectors of economic activity and for having known how to diversify and innovate in its activity, growing and maintaining its family values, being an example of adaptation to complex and changing environments and commitment to the territory. The award was presented by the bank's territorial director, Olga García, and collected by Francisco García, founder of the business group, Aurora Cuenca, Javier García and María García.

The Generalitat Valenciana Award was received by the footwear brand Hispanitas in recognition of its family business career both nationally and internationally, for its contribution to the prestige of Spanish footwear and to the Spain brand, for its ability to adapt to new trends and materials and make sustainability one of the keys to its activity. A distinction presented by the regional secretary Antonio Galváñ and collected by Carlos and Luis Chico de Guzmán, founders, and their children Rocío and Pablo Chico de Guzmán.

In his speech, Galváñ highlighted “the courage, tradition and values” of the award-winning companies; he said that Francisco Gómez “is one of the pillars of the solidarity action of the companies in the province”. He highlighted his “honesty, commitment and integrity” and the family business “which is the model that generates the most employment and the structural part of our economy”. Galváñ has advanced the creation of a map of the region for employability and an improvement of the intermediation system “so that no effort is lost”.

The last recognition was the Provincial Council Award, given to Quinton for its exceptional career as a family business, for its strong commitment to R&D&I and its internationalisation strategy. The president of the Provincial Council and mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, presented it to Francisco Coll Sánchez, CEO of Laboratorios Quinton, and closed the event.

In his speech, Pérez welcomed “all those present” to the city and thanked AEFA for choosing the city for its congress. Toni Pérez referred to companies as “those that offer the opportunity to develop a personal project and to offer the best” even though, at times, “we see headlines that wrongly and intentionally point to companies as the cause of negative situations”.

The mayor acknowledged all those honoured today and said they “represent a way of understanding life and they do so through a project in which they put all their enthusiasm and effort”. “A project that is a company and that, in the end, is to make others happy” he concluded.