Luís Simões was awarded the Vasco da Gama 2019 Prize for Business Excellence, in a ceremony held in Madrid. The Spanish-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce awards this prize every year to a Spanish company and a Portuguese company for their contribution to the growth of the Iberian market and the relationships between Portugal and Spain.

Recognition of the excellence of companies and business people

First awarded in 2001 and now on their 18th edition, these prizes are the recognition of the excellence of companies and business people who add great strategic and economic value to the Iberian market. As such, in each edition, a prize is granted to a Spanish company in Portugal and a Portuguese company in Spain, with Luís Simões being awarded in this year’s edition for the latter category for its performance throughout 2018, and company Abanca, an online bank for businesses and private individuals, in the former category.

This award is a recognition of the efforts the work we have done for over 70 years, when we first began operating in Portugal. In the beginning of the 1980s, we began moving towards internationalisation by expanding our operations to Spain, becoming a link between the markets of the two countries and acting as a key player in the logistics operations in the Iberian Peninsula.

José Luís Simões expresses that ‘it is extremely rewarding to see the work we do every day be recognised for having a positive impact in the countries where we operate’. Additionally, the investment on strengthening the Iberian market has become visible in the last few months, with the opening of the new Logistics Operations Centre in Puerta Centro’s Polygon, in Guadalajara. ‘The good harmony and strong ties connected to the proximity between Spain and Portugal are important factors that enable us to continue strengthening our distribution network and, thus, contribute to the dynamism between the two regions’, concludes the president of Luís Simões.