The Association for the Commercial Promotion of the Port of Huelva celebrates the third edition of this consolidated award.

Huelva, 12th of December 2022 – The Association for the Commercial Promotion of the Port of Huelva (HuelvaPort) has held today in Las Cocheras of the Port of Huelva the III edition of the HuelvaPort Logistics Awards, in which it has awarded the companies Cepsa, Bergé, and the shipping companies that make up the Route1400 (Fred. Olsen Express & Baleària, Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea and Alisios Shipping Lines).

At the opening of the ceremony, the president of HuelvaPort, Antonio Ponce, congratulated all the award winners and emphasised that all the award-winning projects represent the impulse and the enormous growth that the port community is experiencing. “A momentum that is committed to improving competitiveness, and which adds value to the global logistics chain, with new challenges that lead to the creation of business opportunities and which position the port of Huelva as a strategic logistics hub in Europe and the rest of the world”.

Ponce also took advantage of the event to thank the companies of the port for their willingness to strengthen alliances and generate synergies at all times, and he is grateful for the  efforts and cooperation of all the operators involved in industrial, energy, mining, bulk logistics, maritime services, engineering, road transport and auxiliary services, among others, which are without doubt the fundamental link to strengthen the port of Huelva as the economic engine of the province.

For her part, the president of the Port Authority of Huelva, Pilar Miranda, after congratulating the award winners and the port community, wanted to highlight the added value of these awards, which already serve as a showcase for the entire business community in the different market sectors. All these companies remain firm in their commitment to the Port of Huelva, making it a reference port not only at national level, but also at European and world level and promoting the positioning of the port in the global logistics chains with a wide range of services.

Similarly, Pilar Miranda wanted to emphasise that the award-winning projects are a clear reflection of the development and evolution of the activity registered by the Port of Huelva in recent years, creating new business opportunities, wealth and employment, which have a positive impact not only on the port environment, but also on all citizens”.

Awards Ceremony

This edition of the HuelvaPort Logistics Awards has two categories and an honorary mention in memory of Manuel Vega.

Therefore, the Manuel Vega Honourable Mention for Strategic and Commercial Initiative is aimed at organisations and companies (not necessarily associated with HuelvaPort) that have stood out for promoting a strategic and commercial initiative that contributes to the growth of activity in the Port of Huelva.

This year, the Manuel Vega Award was given to the Ruta1400 brand, which includes the shipping companies Alisios Shipping Lines, Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea and Fred. Olsen Express and Baleària, which was created only a year ago. This union represents the integrating value of all the actors that make it possible and their commitment to the development of the Huelva-Canary Islands connectivity, with a clear and priority focus on the Customer, both for passengers and cargo. All this effort and cooperation is reflected in the new weekly services and the continued growth in the volume of passengers and freight, which has been increasing steadily since it was put into operation. The representatives who were presented with this award were: Gerardo García, Commercial Director of Alisios Shipping Lines, Jaime Cabrera, Cargo Commercial Director of Naviera Armas and Helena de Paz, Coordinator of the Huelva Delegation.

The Sustainable Logistics Award, oriented to the different business initiatives of HuelvaPort associates that contemplate in a balanced way results related to energy transition, environment, business sustainability and social impact, was given to Cepsa, a benchmark company in energy transition and leader in sustainable mobility, biofuels and green hydrogen in Spain and Portugal.

In this context, the jury valued the polyduct project presented by the company, which is a key aspect in achieving the optimisation of the logistics of incoming and outgoing products, adjusting to the highest standards in terms of operability, efficiency and safety at its facilities. This project is directly related to the heavy investments that CEPSA is making in Huelva to turn its Huelva facilities into a benchmark in the production and distribution of the alternative fuels of the future, and which have been implemented in line with its Positive Motion strategy. In this regard, the company recently confirmed that Cepsa’s green hydrogen plant in Huelva will be operational in 2026. Antonio Joyanes, Vice President of Cepsa’s energy park, and Jorge Acitores, Director of the La Rábida energy park, received the award.

Finally, the award for efficient, intelligent and connected logistics, aimed at the business project undertaken by a company associated with HuelvaPort, which contemplates, in a balanced way, outstanding results in the field of management, operations and business model, through innovation, digitisation and operational efficiency has gone to the company Bergé, a logistics operator of reference in transport services and solutions and with a track record of over 150 years,

The jury has highlighted the company’s commitment to growth in the Port of Huelva, with the inauguration of a new mechanised bulk terminal, which will undoubtedly improve the performance of logistics operations, betting on Huelva as a reference entry point for goods in southern Spain. The facility has an 11,700 square metre warehouse with four silos and a storage capacity of 78,000 tonnes for all types of bulk agri-foodstuffs. The award was collected by Pedro García Navarro, General Operations Manager of Bergé, and Ramón Moreno, Director of the Operational Centre in Huelva.

The jury for this edition is formed by the president of HuelvaPort, Antonio Ponce, who chairs the jury, the president of the Port Authority of Huelva, Pilar Miranda, the head of the HuelvaPort Technical Office and head of the Business and Commercial Development Department of the Port Authority of Huelva, Jaime Beltrán, the director of the newspaper Huelva Información, Javier Ronchel, the Maritime Captain, Alejandro Andray, the head of the Provincial Customs and Excise Department, José Carlos Ruibaldeflores, and the secretary of the Jury and technical-commercial manager of HuelvaPort, Jennifer García.

The event was conducted by the Teleonuba journalist, Pepelu Bonaño, and the technical-commercial manager of HuelvaPort, Jennifer García.

HuelvaPort Board of Directors

Before the awards ceremony, HuelvaPort held a meeting of the HuelvaPort Board of Directors in which various matters of interest to the port community were discussed, such as the commercial activities carried out in the last four months, as well as other internal issues of the association. In relation to the commercial actions, it is foreseen that during the next six months of 2023 more than fifteen actions will be carried out aimed at the commercial promotion of the Port of Huelva and the companies of the port community.