The Fernández-Vega Ophthalmological Institute (IOFV) obtained the VI National SME Award of the year 2022. Convened annually by Banco Santander and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, this award recognizes the performance of small and medium-sized Spanish companies, whose activity is essential for the creation of employment and wealth at the local level.
“This recognition encourages us to continue working on our commitment to patients, research, training and high quality care. And all this without ever neglecting our land, Asturias, where every year we receive more than 110,000 patients from all over the world”. expresses the Dr. Luis Fernández-Vega Sanzmedical director of the Institut Oftalmológico Fernández-Vega, of which he highlights the fact that “it harmoniously integrates the clinic, surgery, research and teaching, a fact for which there are few precedents in the field of private medicine, not only in Spain, but also in neighboring countries”.
since birth 135 years ago and after five generations of ophthalmologists, the Asturian institute, which has two foundations, the Fundación de Investigación Oftalmológica (FIO) and the Fundación Fernández-Vega (FFV), has established itself as one of the world reference centers thanks to its commitment to for the quality of care, excellence, innovation and teaching. Currently It has 240 employees indefinitely in Asturias and Madrid.
A national level contest
In this sixth edition of the SME of the Year Award, in whose organization 49 Chambers of Commerce and 13 Banco Santander Territorial delegations have been involved, all small and medium-sized Spanish companies could participate less than 250 employees and with a turnover of less than 50 million euros, at the end of the 2022 financial year. Specifically, 1,766 companies from 50 provinces and the Autonomous City of Ceuta registered.
To choose the winning SME, the jury had to value aspects, such as the creation of permanent employment, training actions for employees, the internationalization of the company, digitization and innovation initiatives, and sustainable projects.
In this edition, together with the Fernández-Vega Ophthalmological Institute, companies were national finalists AVS Added Value Industrial Engineering Solutions (Guipúzcoa), Cívica Software (Granada), Grupo R Queraltó (Seville) and Bodega Matarromera (Valladolid).
