The Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Banco Santander have awarded Meltio, a company based in Linares (Jaén), the SME of the Year Award 2023. This company is dedicated to metal 3D printing for the creation of industrial parts and is a employment engine in the Andalusian town. In the VII Edition of the SME of the Year Award, the organizers have chosen this company, founded in 2019, for its “innovation and professionalization.” Meltio has launched a pioneering method of metal 3D printing, after patenting the first head that extracts welding wire from a multilaser.
The company, founded in 2019, employs a hundred people and exports 96% of its production to more than 70 countries. Its products reach the automotive, aerospace and naval industries. With its innovative method in the manufacture of metal components, the company explains, it achieves lower cost and greater efficiency in industrial processes.
“This company has revived the Linares area and I am very proud of it. The workers and our commitment to the industry have led this company to be chosen SME of the year. We believe that we must continue investing in the industry as the driving force of the country,” said the CEO, Ángel Llavero, who, visibly moved, invited the Minister of Economy, Carlos Body, and King Felipe VI to see its facilities.
”This award reveals a success story, but behind it there is effort, work and investment. SMEs are those that drive the economy in specialized, high-value niches and create high levels of employment. Edition after edition we can see how SMEs are making this enormous effort looking towards the domestic and foreign market and adapting to the demands of these times full of uncertainty and the challenges associated with this context. The production system has to ensure that those people who have abandoned training trust it again. Legal certainty is important and requires a firm commitment to technology and innovation. The world is accelerating and companies cannot take the risk of reducing the level of competitiveness and being left behind,” stated Felipe VI.
“We must celebrate the good economic growth data that was published this Tuesday. SMEs are an important part of Spain’s productive fabric and are the bulk of the Spanish economy. The great challenge is strengthening business demographics so that our companies remain competitive. We are working to be able to achieve positive results in the short term in reducing the barriers to regulating artificial intelligence,” Minister Corps pointed out during his speech.
In these awards, in which EL PAÍS collaborates, there have been nearly 2,000 applications and 21 SMEs have become finalists. Innovation, sustainability, employment and digitalization have been taken into account for the delivery of this award.
The president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet, has vindicated the role that SMEs play in Spain and their importance as “the country’s economic engine, as an axis for the creation of jobs and wealth.” He has also appreciated the role of the monarchy as the backbone of constitutionality in the country.
On the other hand, the CEO of Banco Santander in Spain, Ángel Rivera, has claimed the important role of SMEs in Spain that, despite the geopolitical uncertainty, continue working every day to create projects and jobs.