Charo Pascual AIMPLAS
AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, closed financial year 2023 with an 11% increase in revenue, which amounted to €21.3 million. This growth, which also included an increase in its workforce to a total of 250 people and the expansion of its facilities, was carried out sustainably, as endorsed by renewal of its presence in the Great Place to Work in Spain ranking, its listing in the Register of Socially Responsible Valencian Companies and revalidation of the EFQM +500 seal, which recognizes management excellence.
The source of 70% of this income was the activity carried out for the 280 R&D projects that it developed with 532 companies, 75% of which were SMEs, while about 30% of the projects were international. As a whole, these projects generated a direct economic return of €73.6 million for participating companies. Moreover, 23% of AIMPLAS’ income in 2023 corresponded to activities related to the more 7,500 technological services provided to over 1,000 companies. Turnover for these services increased by 26% to almost €5 million. AIMPLAS’ training and conference activity increased by 26% and represented 5% of the centre’s income. A total of 200 training actions and 23 conferences were held, where 3,578 professionals from more than 1000 companies took part. They gave these activities an average score of 8.7 out of 10.
The remaining 2% of the Centre’s income stemmed from the fees of member companies, whose number increased to 840 in 2023. Members enjoy a number of discounts on services, projects, training and conferences, as well as some free services, including consultations on legislation, which saved them more than €820,000 last year. AIMPLAS’ impact on the technological community in the region increased by 7% in 2023, with client companies in the Valencian Community generating turnover of €2.34 million for the Centre, a 4.4% increase over 2022.
This increase in AIMPLAS’ activity and income was accompanied by expansion of its facilities through the support of IVACE+i, with the addition of a new research building boasting more than 12,000 square metres of floor space. With these new facilities and increased recognition of its DIN CERTCO (European market) and BPI (United States) certification of its biodegradability laboratories, the Centre has increased its ability to meet the needs of companies in relevant areas for the plastics industry such as the circular economy.
Additionally, as part of its commitment to support companies in the area of standardization, AIMPLAS sits on different committees in which its professionals collaborate on drafting national regulations and the transposition of European directives in national regulations. In fact, on 19 June 2023, Eva Bejarano, Head of Tenders and Standardization at AIMPLAS, was elected chair of UNE Technical Standardization Committee 53 on Plastics and Rubber, whose secretariat is held by ANAIP, the Spanish Association of Plastic Converters.
Recognition of excellence in management
In 2023, AIMPLAS also made progress in the development of its Customer Experience project and launched its Client Portal with the aim of achieving excellence in relations with client companies. As a result, the Centre once again earned the EFQM 500+ Seal of Excellence from the Club Excelencia en Gestión, which is especially noteworthy because it was the first time AIMPLAS has been assessed under the 2020 excellence model. When it was recognized in 2020, it was assessed under the 2013 model with a result of 500+.
Other awards received by AIMPLAS in financial year 2023 included the Retina ECO award from the Prisa Group and Capgemini for its EFFICIENTHEATING Project, the Club Excelencia en Gestión award for best management practice for its Misiones Participadas Project, the Diversity Foundation Award in the SME category for gender equality and cultural and generational diversity, and the award from the Sustainability and Transparency Observatory in the category of Workplace Wellbeing. It was also named runner-up in the SFS Awards for Healthy, Flexible and Sustainable Companies for its ESG and Healthy Company Policy, earned the LCBA Colombia and Europe 2023 Low Carbon and Circular Economy Business Seal for the PETCOL Project, and won the Construction Technology Platform Award for the best national innovation project of 2023 for its ZERO ACCIDENTS Project.
Sustainable management
The AIMPLAS Governing Council approved the 2023 accounts in a session in which the budget for the current year was also approved. The second workshop on the reflection process the centre is carrying out to prepare its Strategic Plan until 2030 was also held during the session with the participation of all stakeholders.
Other AIMPLAS milestones in 2023 were its registration in the new Register of Socially Responsible Valencian Entities, created by the Regional Ministry of Finance, Economy and Public Administration, and which recognizes commitment to social responsibility and excellent management in conjunction with sustainability, and the REDUZCO - CALCULO seal after reducing its emissions by 83% since 2019.
In addition, for the second time, the centre was recognized by the Best Workplaces Spain. In 2023, it was ranked in 18th position as one of the Best Companies to Work For in the 101 to 250 employee category as a result of the audit carried out by the Great Place to Work® consultancy firm.