June 14th, 2011

The Company receives the Innovation Award from the President of the Republic
Minerva, an example of Professional Excellence for the region
President Ruchini says «A stimulus to return to the centrality of our SMEs»

	“Innovation first and foremost: to make the company competitive, to create new jobs, to maintain a high level of employment for specialized human resources as assets, but also innovation as a growth model, not only for the company but for the region, partners, stakeholders and the market. Innovation and social responsibility, as an example for the area and opportunity for sustainable growth. Innovation stimulates growth and leads towards a better society.“ These are among the statements pronounced by Adriano Ruchini, President and Chairman of Minerva Scpa and Confapi Gorizia, on receiving the Enterprise Award for Innovation of Confindustria and of the Prize of Prizes awarded by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. This award was presented to Minerva on Tuesday, June 14 by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano at an exclusive event at the Palazzo Quirinale.
“This victory is the most visible sign of the turning point for Gorizia and the surrounding area. Excellence and sustainability indicate the way for a revival that will engage and energize all SMEs, transforming our business structure into a hub capable of expressing innovation, quality and internationalization in the service of the national economy and the European Union. In addition, SMEs represent a significant share of the global economy, both in terms of employment opportunity and capability of generating value. Basing strategic management on the CSR may be an opportunity to excel in the global context, obtaining competitive advantages on which to build strategies for sustainable growth in the long term. In the wider perspective, Gorizia has the opportunity to become a laboratory of high potentials.”
In addition to the recognition which it has just received, it is worth remembering that Minerva was among the six finalists of the European Sustainability Competition sponsored by the European Foundation of Excellence on the jury for which sit representatives of CSR Europe, the European Organisation of sustainability and social responsibility. With these two awards Minerva strengthens and reaffirms the success of their own personal path in innovation, which has led it to become one of Italy’s most innovative companies, with a highly respected international reputation.
Adriano Ruchini, moreover, has just been selected for appointment as EFQM Valued Professional (EVP), the small and exclusive network of thirty European promoters of excellence in Italy that has just one other representative besides the current president of Confapi Gorizia. EFQM is the body that establishes international reference models of excellence, which includes among its founders the BMW Group, Siemens, Ricoh, EDF, Philips, Nokia, Bosch, TNT and Solvay and is now followed by over 20,000 private and public organizations. “Our aim is to constantly strive for excellence in research and innovation” continued Ruchini “helping to spread the message that these two elements are crucial for growth: without innovation and excellence we risk exclusion from International markets and a halt to the natural evolution of business.” Even greater satisfaction then, for the two awards that brought Minerva to national prominence: The Business Award for Innovation, was in fact established by Confindustria in collaboration with APQI and the Presidency of the Republic, with the aim of making a significant contribution to the process of spreading the culture of innovation across the whole Italian productive system.
“It is strategic” adds Ruchini “to know and share organizational models oriented towards growth through innovation. The focal point is the creation of a corporate culture with a framework for excellence in process management and the improvement of business performance through models that allow for the identification of opportunities for growth based on innovation.“ The model adopted is that of EFQM, a proven, internationally recognized excellence model. “This result” continued Ruchini “was made possible by the total membership of all employees in the path of optimization. These goals are achieved only when the whole structure works to pursue excellence. And so, we would like to extend our most sincere thanks to our employees for their efforts. This award is definitely dedicated to them and to our local area.”

For more information visit the site http://www.convegnonazionaleinnovazione.it/ and http://www.convegnonazionaleinnovazione.it/il-premio/i-premiati/