Last December, the Grupo Castrosua Awards ceremony was held at our traditional Christmas dinner. These awards, endowed with a cash prize, are one of the actions promoted by our Internal Communications Team with the aim of motivating and fostering continuous improvement. Today we want to hear the impressions of the winners of this latest edition, the fifth. Let’s remember that it is their own colleagues who choose them as candidates for the award, and that, we believe, is the best recognition.
Winners of the D. José Castro Award for Companionship
The D. José Castro Award is aimed at employees who best embody the group’s corporate values, such as companionship, respect, or fostering teamwork.
At Castrosua, the winner was Esteban Freire, from the Structure section. He joined Grupo Castrosua in 2004.
“I didn’t expect it at all,” says Esteban, “it was a total surprise!”
On the other hand, for Abel García González, winner of the award at Carsa, it was a little less unexpected: “Honestly, at first, and not knowing how many nominees there were, I didn’t even consider it. Then, when I saw there were only two of us left, and from the same section, I started to see it more clearly and felt I had a chance.”
Abel is not as veteran, as he joined in May 2017 in the Finishing section, but that doesn’t matter when it comes to recognizing companionship, respect, and a positive attitude in the factory’s day-to-day operations. And it is for these values that they have been awarded. But do they feel identified with them?
Esteban is clear: “Yes, I identify with them; I always try to create a pleasant work environment and help my colleagues as much as possible, and vice versa.”
“I am pleasantly surprised to see that my colleagues have that opinion of me,” Abel considers. “For my part, I always try to help and lend a hand in everything I can.”
When voting for the winner of the award, it is requested that a quality be highlighted of the person who, for each voter, is deserving of the award. On this occasion, the praise for the winners has been directed towards their willingness to help and teach anyone, interact with both their section and others, collaborate, train new employees… In short, to be excellent colleagues.
We ask them if they want to dedicate a few words to the rest of the staff.
“I would like to tell them that we continue to have good companionship and collaboration for many years to come,” reflects Esteban, “that we value what we have and that we remain united. And in particular, I applaud the nominated colleagues, who are as deserving of the award as I am.”
Abel says goodbye by thanking his colleagues: “I simply thank them again for their consideration, as I feel very comfortable among my colleagues.” And, to finish, he gives us the following phrase: “You never go to bed without learning something new.”
Winners of the D. José Manuel Castro Award for Professionalism
The second category of the Grupo Castrosua Awards, the D. José Manuel Castro Award, is aimed at highlighting the best professional practices among the Group’s employees.
Florentino Pena is a veteran: he joined Castrosua on October 1, 1974, and has worked in the Sheet Metal section all these years. He has won the D. José Manuel Castro Award at the Castrosua factory, of which he feels “super proud and happy.”
We ask him if he ever imagined he could win: “No! Just as I won, any of the nominated colleagues could have won, as professional and deserving of the award as I am.”
At Carsa, the award has gone to Alberto Cores, who is responsible for assembling the bodies and other work in the Structure section. In his case, the surprise has been, if possible, even greater, as this is the second time he has received this recognition: “It is a great honor for me to receive this award again. I never imagined it, as I was already happy after having previously received the Companionship Award.” He continues: “It is very gratifying to know that my colleagues value my work and my effort in carrying out tasks, as we function as a team.”
Let’s remember that this award recognizes values such as the pursuit of efficiency for a job well done and identifying problems and opportunities for improvement in the production process or tools. Florentino says he identifies with these values. And it’s no wonder, as he states that he wakes up in a good mood every day and goes to work happy, something that undoubtedly has a very positive impact on developing his work professionally and achieving the best results.
In the same vein, Alberto reflects: “The truth is that I have a job that I like and in which I always try to give my best, contributing new ideas to improve both quality and efficiency.”
They conclude the interview by dedicating a few words to their colleagues.
“I will say that I am proud of my colleagues, who are magnificent ‘workers’ and even better people…”, Florentino concludes, “that I am happy to work with them and that the day-to-day is manageable with people like them, and that I finish the day feeling great and full of satisfaction for the work done and the good atmosphere and relationship that exists between colleagues. That is the key.”
And Alberto: “I thank you all for the recognition because I think it is a merit of all, since, being a team, we all contribute our effort and dedication to make it better every day. I am proud to belong to this company that transmits values and responsibility.”
From here, we want to congratulate Esteban, Abel, Florentino, and Alberto for this recognition, and also all the nominees in the latest edition of the Grupo Castrosua Awards. It is an honor to have such excellent colleagues, professionals, and people.
