There has been no let-up in the positive trend recorded by the Corporation’s business figures, with the outstanding result for 2017 being the creation of 2,600 new jobs, with the Group’s headcount now exceeding 80,000 people.
In other matters, it is worth mentioning that 2017 marked the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Group’s social welfare provider LagunAro EPSV. Among other events, a moving ceremony was dedicated to some of the leading figures in the organisation’s history.
Another of the highlights in 2017 was the challenge undertaken by Fagor Ederlan Tafalla to mark its tenth anniversary as a cooperative. One of its members, Mr Riki Abad, decided to run from Tafalla to Aretxabaleta, and return riding a replica of the bike belonging to Mondragon’s founder, Father Arizmendiarrieta. In total, a journey of 340 km, 145 on foot and 195 in the saddle. Abad successfully completed the challenge, and the 60,000 euros collected through sponsorship were donated to two charities: the Gerna Association and the Mundukide Foundation.
Three business highlights. The largest ever order placed with the Matrici cooperative for delivering the dies required for making all the inside-outside parts for a major project involving the Volvo Group. The Ulma Group received 50 million euros through a programme of promissory notes, an innovative funding scheme in the cooperative ambit, as it is the first time that a cooperative has adopted this financing arrangement in the capital market. Last but not least, Fagor Industrial has won the tender for all the catering equipment to be installed at Atletico Madrid’s new Wanda Metropolitano stadium.
Mention should finally be made of the publication of number 600 of TU Lankide, the in-house cooperative magazine that Arizmendiarrieta launched in 1960, and which now constitutes a communication project based on its printed version and its website www.tulankide.com.