Cosentino, Aquilón and Novartis win the Cinco Días Awards for Business Innovation 2014

The winners of the 2014 Cinco Días Awards for Business Innovation have been announced.

Cosentino is the winner of the award for Most Innovative Business Initiative in the field of New Technologies for its material Dekton. This is an ultra-compact surface developed by the Spanish company and launched commercially in 2013, for a total investment of 128 million euros. The jury praised the "spectacular" development of a "discreet, family business, yet one that is open to the world, that is capable and innovative". Investment in technology, job creation and the international impact of the product were among other aspects highlighted by the jury: "Cosentino has managed to bring about a change in the production model, generating value for Spanish industry and investment in innovation."

The award for Most Innovative Business Initiative in Association with a University went to the company Aquilon, for its efforts to develop products and patents, in partnership with educational institutions, with applications to animal health. The company from the Castilla y Leon region carries out research and investigation into antibiotics, vaccines and probiotics in the veterinary field. The jury explained that the project "meets all the criteria for this category: it emerged and was developed in collaboration with a University; it is not merely technical but has a wide application; and it enables a reduction in the use of antibiotics among animals -- while also generating revenues." The jury stressed the importance of the project’s field, its innovative component, and the financial return for the academic institution, primarily the University of León but also a number of other Spanish Universities.

Finally, the pharmaceutical company Novartis won the award for Most Innovative Business Initiative in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility for its project to combat malaria. The jury noted that since 2001, the company -- working alongside a range of organizations -- has provided more than 600 million treatments for adults and children, on a non-profit basis, in over 60 countries where this disease is endemic. The jury highlighted the "epic scientific" proportions of the initiative, aimed at a population with limited resources and that "focuses on one of the main challenges facing healthcare in poorer countries: improving logistics."

The awards will be presented on October 29 in Madrid at the Repsol Campus’s new auditorium, with Ferran Adrià giving the keynote speech on innovation

This year’s jury was composed of Inés Juste Bellosillo , president of the Association of Family Enterprises and president of Grupo Juste, who acted as president of the jury; Jose Carlos Diez, economist and blogger at Cinco Días; Efren Miranda, CEO of the Club del Emprendimiento; Javier Moreno, editorial director of Grupo PRISA; Jorge Rivera, editor in chief of Cinco Dias; and Pedro Zuazua Gil,  communications director at PRISA Noticias, who served as non-voting secretary.