Felipe VI visits Porcelanosa's facilities
15 October 2023On the occasion of the company's 50th anniversary, the king unveiled a commemorative plaque, alongside the founders Colonques Moreno, current Chairman and founder of the Porcelanosa Group, had the honour of welcoming His Majesty. The Deputy Chairman, Silvestre Segarra and the CEO, María José Soriano, were some of the board members who were present during the visit.
During the official visit, Felipe VI was able to learn more about the history and trajectory of the Porcelanosa Group. At a private and informal event, Héctor Colonques stated: "Although innovation and quality are two very important values for us, the principles on which the company is based are trust in its staff, made up of over 5,000 people, and the service it provides as a business".
For her part, Soriano noted that: "The origin of our company is white-body ceramics, which remains the soul of Porcelanosa's present and future". The CEO also underscored the role played by the organisation's staff: "The most extraordinary part of this enterprise is its people, who, through their honest, professional and passionate work every day, make this business the great company we all want it to be".
Before starting the tour of the ceramic flooring and tile production plant, Felipe VI had a brief conversation with the members of the Works Council and the Equality Committee.
The Head of the State then visited one of the four Porcelanosa manufacturing centres: the company's first operational centre, which has an area of 135,000 m2. Along with the other three factories and thanks to the automation of the facilities and the use of the most advanced machinery, the Spanish multinational has an average daily production capacity of 75,000 m2, and more than 20 million a year.
A representative of the plant's workers was responsible for explaining to Felipe VI the five stages of the production process: the preparation of the body, the shaping (pressing and drying the ceramic pieces), the decoration (enamelling and digital design), the firing, and finally the post-production, which entails the grinding, polishing, sorting, packaging and palletising processes.
His Majesty also learned about some of the environmental policies that Porcelanosa has been implementing since its founding in 1973: 100% reuse of industrial water and raw materials, the installation of solar panels for electricity production, and improved decarbonisation processes.
Together with Manolo and Héctor Colonques, and Asunción Manzanet, the widow of José Soriano, the king unveiled a plaque commemorating his first visit to Porcelanosa on the occasion of the firm's 50th anniversary. He then had this photo taken with 70 workers from the different departments of the company.
Some members of the Porcelanosa Group board presented a personalised bicycle to the king, a model like the one used by company staff to travel around the facilities, and a ceramic piece printed with the coat of arms of the Royal House.
Felipe VI visited the headquarters of the Porcelanosa Group accompanied by the Secretary of State for Trade. Also present during the visit were numerous regional, provincial and local officials, such as the President of the Regional Government of Valencia, the government delegate in the Valencian Community, the President of the Valencian Parliament, the President of the Province of Castellón, and the mayor of Vila-real.
The Porcelanosa Group is a business holding company with 50 years' experience in the comprehensive design and management of technical solutions for the residential, hotel and retail sectors. Consisting of seven companies, the Spanish multinational has a commercial network that spans 1,089 points of sale in 137 countries.
The company was founded in 1973 in Vila-real (Castellón), as José Soriano, Héctor Colonques and Manuel Colonques promoted a revolutionary project that relied on manufacturing ceramics with white clay, a material that had not been used until then.
In 2020, Felipe VI presented the National Innovation Award in the "Large Company" category to the Porcelanosa Group, bestowed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation in 2019.
