Grupo Calvo, winner of EY’s 2016 Family Business Award of Excellence

Madrid, 3 March 2017

International food group Calvo was named winner of the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in the Family Business Excellence category. This initiative of the global EY organisation seeks to acknowledge the enterprising endeavours of top industrialists and the most successful corporate practices.

“It is a great honour for Grupo Calvo to receive this recognition of the work conducted by all of our people over the course of the company’s 76-year history. We embrace the same passion and dedication we started with back in 1940 in our work day after day with the aim of growing, innovating and offering quality products to an ever-growing number of households”, stated José Luis Calvo, son of the founder of Grupo Calvo and the company’s acting Honorary President.

As a product of innovative business management, Grupo Calvo, which started out as a small canning company, has evolved into a global food provider that enjoys a presence in more than 70 countries, a portfolio of over 700 product references and an employee headcount of over 5,000.

Noteworthy among the Group’s milestones was the introduction in Spain of the round tin at a time when 95% of the products found in the market employed an oval format. Another innovation highlight was the three-can pack, the most widely used packaging format in the industry today. Grupo Calvo was also the first company in the sector to bring low-sodium tuna to the market. More recently, Calvo launched its light yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil and in sunflower oil, with 50% less fat, in 2016.

Over the course of its 76-year history, the company has grown in a sustainable, diversified manner and today has plants in Spain, El Salvador and Brazil, where it continues to invest with the aim of achieving operational excellence and total quality. This total quality is grounded to a large extent in the Grupo Calvo commitment to people and the social and natural environment that has remained intact since the company was founded. For the company, this commitment is strategic in nature and key to profitable and sustainable Group development. Thanks to this commitment and the company’s efforts and continuous innovation, Grupo Calvo is today an industry leader in the tuna segment in Spain and Brazil.