The Zaragoza Chamber of Commerce and Banco Santander have announced the ninth edition of the Small Business of the Year Award in Zaragoza. Kalfrisa, a company specialized in heat recovery and gas purification equipment, has been chosen as the winner of this edition. Alongside it, four companies have received awards in the categories of sustainability, training and employment, digitalization and innovation, and internationalization.
Kalfrisa: Innovation and Leadership
Kalfrisa is an industrial company founded in Zaragoza in the 1960s as a family business dedicated to heating and cooling equipment. The company has specialized in providing solutions for heat recovery, gas purification, process air heating, energy valorization, and crematory ovens.
Key Facts:
- Exports 60% of its production to over 50 countries
- Is a recognized leader in the global industrial sector
- Continuously invests in research, development, and innovation to create combustion and gas treatment solutions with a lower environmental impact
Selection Criteria: The jury chose Kalfrisa for its economic results, employment creation policy, export volume, and its progress in innovation and technology.
Awarded Companies with Honorable Mention
Sustainable SME: Querqus Sustainable Packing
Dedicated to the classification, repair, and recycling of pallets and packaging to extend their useful life in logistics circuits. It has over three decades of experience and has six centers across Spain.
Training and Employment: Cartonajes Barco
A company in the corrugated cardboard packaging sector with more than 60 years of history. It has shown a significant increase in personnel since 2020, especially in 2024, and stands out for its commitment to gender equality and training.
Digitalization and Innovation: Industrial Systems and Applications Automation (ASAI)
Engineering company specializing in industrial robotics. Approaching its 25th anniversary, it excels in artificial intelligence and computer vision applied to quality control. It is the only Aragonese SME participating in technological research projects for the electric vehicle sector.
Internationalization: Aragonese Agricultural Cooperative of the Ebro (Cadebro-Agroveco)
Manufacturer of high-quality feed for elite horses and industrial livestock. It is present in 58 countries and is the only company in the sector that vacuum packs for competition horses, reaching all the countries in the Gulf region.
2025 Edition Statistics
In this ninth edition, 32 companies were presented that met the eligibility criteria: fewer than 250 employees, annual turnover below 50 million euros, and headquarters in the province of Zaragoza.
Since its inception in 2017, the Small Business of the Year Award has had 12,532 participants. In this new edition, 1,717 companies from all productive sectors registered.
Heading for the National Award
As the winner in Zaragoza, Kalfrisa will represent the province at the National Small Business of the Year Award 2025. The national results will be announced in the early months of 2026 at an event held in Madrid. The winners of the honorable mentions will also compete in the national final in their respective categories.
