His Majesty King Felipe VI presented Citrosol, the Valencian company, the Cepyme business confederation’s 2020 Technological Innovation award, to add to the one already obtained in this category in 2015. At the same time, Citrosol was also a finalist in the 2020 SME of the Year category, as was also the case in 2018. In doing so, the business world is recognizing Citrosol’s determined commitment to R&D+i and its contribution as a front runner in such a strategic sector of the Spanish economy as is citrus fruit and horticulture.
Behind the nominations for Technological Innovation are years of research and scientific application. This has been Citrosol’s philosophy right from the outset; for decades the Valencian company has kept ahead of the game with our desire to be able to respond to our clients and the sector as a whole, with new solutions to successfully face the constant challenges of agriculture and the markets.
“Our company, in this collective task, has always borne the standard for R&D and we feel very grateful and proud that this dedication and effort has been recognized with such a prestigious award as that granted by Cepyme, now for the second time in just five years”, said the CEO of the Valencian company, Jorge Bretó, who accepted the business award last Thursday from King Felipe VI (see photo). The awards of the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises and the Spanish Federation of the Sole-Trader, Cepyme, are a great showcase in which to project business excellence in a context in which the talent of companies and sole-traders is more necessary now than ever to overcome the challenges of the Covid Era.
“At Citrosol we have always been very clear that progress comes hand in hand with science. This is reflected in our staff and in the fruits of our endeavours and research translating into new, innovative, tools that always provide additional value to professionals in the sector”, added Benito Orihuel, CEO of the company until 2020 and now Postharvest Advisor at Citrosol.
In the nominations for ‘Pyme Innovación Tecnológica 2020’, in which it was the winner, Citrosol was up against two other outstanding companies, Intercomet and Aoife Solutions; while in the ‘SME of the Year 2020’ category, Citrosol was a finalist along with Algaenergy and Airtificial Intelligent Robots, the latter being the one awarded this distinction.
What did the judges take into account when naming Citrosol as the most innovative company of Cepyme 2020?
“If it were to be summarized in a single sentence; I understand that they recognized our contribution to maintaining freshness, commercial life and the food safety of fruit and vegetables“, outlined Jorge Bretó.
For this award, the judges valued Citrosol’s identity, its capability and scientific nature engrained within its DNA and its commitment to sustainability and the circular economy, coupled with the growth and projection of the company in Spain and around the world, backed by the new developments born from its continual research and innovation. Citrosol’s presence at the main fairs globally in which it has contributed to reinforcing the ‘Spanish brand’ synonymity with scientific progress and across numerous international seminars and symposiums in which Citrosol has played the same role through the imparting of technical knowledge.
“Reducing industrial variability is one of our hallmarks, so that there isn’t a chasm between the results that we obtain in our laboratories and those that clients later obtain in their citrus or fruit and vegetable plants” is what we call “precision postharvest“, underlined Benito Orihuel, “and in a way this award reaffirms that we are on the right track. So, we will continue along this same path with even more enthusiasm, if that’s possible” and equally “For over 10 years we have been setting ourselves the challenge of improving the sustainability of our products and systems and trying to achieve the circular economy, or get closer to it in some manner” he said. In the case of consumption, sustainability is measured in terms of reducing fruit and vegetable food losses, located between 12 and 25%; and for the packinghouses, sustainability is in the reduction of energy consumption and carbon and water footprints.
This proudly Spanish company from the La Safor region of Valencia is a European leader in post-harvest treatments with a turnover of 25 million euros, almost 10% of which is reinvested in new research projects.
Citrosol boasts almost a hundred employees, new facilities and an R&D+i center at its headquarters in Potríes and is present in 22 countries, thus covering all of the world’s main citrus and fruit growing areas.
In the last decade Citrosol has introduced many important technological advances to the market, such as Citrosol AS UE, Citrosol Zero Waste System®, Citrocide® Systems, Fumispore® for cleaning and disinfection, and, more recently, Easy Kit®, Sunseal® and Biocare by Citrosol and within this ecological range our Plantseal® and Plantseal® shine-free coatings.
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