The Iris Ceramica Group at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards

The final evening of the 21st EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards was held on November 9 in Milan’s Palazzo Mezzanotte, where Remo Ruffini of Moncler was named Entrepreneur of the Year and seven winners were announced in seven categories, in addition to the Special Jury Award and the Start-up Award.

Romano Minozzi, Founder and Chairman of Iris Ceramica Group, and Federica Minozzi, the Group’s CEO, were awarded the Innovation Prize “for succeeding in exploring new ways of broadening the confines of ceramics in Italy and all over the world, creating products combining innovation in materials and colours with advanced technologies, study of new combinations of materials and an ability to rethink styles and functions, making sustainability a key to the company’s competitiveness”.

This recognition was much appreciated by the Group’s governance. Ever since the Group’s foundation in 1961, its management has made innovation one of the key concepts in the company’s mission. Romano Minozzi summed this up in his statement: The future holds great things for those who believe, innovate and rethink their concepts.
Federica Minozzi recalled that innovation is present throughout the company, always in connection with a focus on the environment and on sustainability. Numerous examples range from innovative production formats such as maxi-tiles only 6 mm thick to products such as Active Clean Air & Antibacterial Ceramic™ technology, introduced in 2009 to create eco-active ceramic coverings which help cut pollution, or in the brand new Dys technology for creating 100% customised ceramic products using industrial processes. Innovation in the production chain, too, with automation of logistics, and, in the near future, zeroing of harmful emissions from kilns. In an interview after receiving the EY award, Federica Minozzi stated that tests conducted suggest that the plant will be producing zero air pollution by the spring of 2018.

The EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards are presented by <

---

GALLERY