Photo: Pedro Ballester, previous president of Itene; the general director of IVACE, Julia Company; the new president of Itene, Marta Codoñer, and the managing director of Itene, Javier Zabaleta. The businesswoman Marta Codoner, managing director of Aglolak, has been elected by majority as the first president of Itene, position that he will hold for at least the next four years, in a Board of Directors held at the technology center on March 8, and also becomes the first woman to hold this position in a technological institute of the Valencian Community.
Graduated in Business Sciences, Marta Codoñer, who since 2021 held one of the seats on the Itene Board of Directors, will succeed the businessman Pedro Ballester, CEO of Logifruit SL, who has been in charge of the presidency of Itene for the last eight years , the maximum period allowed.
In her appointment, Marta Codoñer has highlighted that Aglolak has participated in Itene since its constitution as an institute. “It is an honor to be able to continue this collaboration that my father, Roberto Codoñer, began and that I continue at Itene”, she declared. The businesswoman has also stressed that "it is relevant that women access these positions of representation."
Currently, Codoñer is the managing director of Aglolak, a company dedicated to the production and marketing of wooden pallets and located in Silla (Valencia). She is also a member of the Governing Council of the Packaging Cluster of the Valencian Community and serves as vice president of Faproma (Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Pallets and Wooden Products for Maintenance). The Faproma association is the Spanish representative in FEFPEB (European Federation of Wooden Pallet and Packaging Manufacturers) and a member of FEIM (Spanish Federation of Wood Industry).
During his election, the general director of the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE), Julia Company, who is also a member of the Itene Board of Directors and who has expressed her satisfaction at the appointment of Marta Codoñer as the first president of a technology center while also defending the presence of more women in positions of responsibility.
Renewal of the Vice-presidencies and Odd Members
In the Board of Directors in which Marta Codoñer has been elected as president, the second, third and fourth Vice-presidencies have also been renewed, which will be occupied by Gracia Bordeaux, from The SPB Global Corporation; Carlos Virosque, from Virosque Transport & Logistics; and Francisco Vidal, from Heineken Spainrespectively.
Likewise, the 10 representatives of companies that were chosen from among the 17 candidacies presented to the elections for the odd-numbered members of the ITENE Board of Directors, whose results were communicated this February 28 in an online Extraordinary General Assembly, have accepted their positions.
Specifically, these have been Rafael Castilla, from Waters of Solán de Cabras (Mahou-San Miguel Group); Jose Adolfo Balaguer, from Anecoop S. Coop; Fernando Arrufat, from DS Smith Tecnicarton; Maria Rodriguez, of Emsur Saymopack (Lantero Group); Francisco Vidal, of Heineken Spain; Mireia Garcia, from Hinojosa Group; Jose Luis Olmedo, from ITC-Packaging; Nuria Luna, from Blatem Paintings; Jorge Gresa, from SP Berner Plastic Group; and Carlos Virosque, from Virosque Transport & Logistics.
The new members join the representatives of companies that since 2021 have held the even-numbered seats: Jaime Agramunt, from ADE Logistics; Juan Ignacio Piquer, from AFCO; Marta Codoner, from aglolak; Joaquin Rodrigo, of CarVolum; Ricardo Mari, from Consum Valencian Cooperative; Maria Cardona, from Embutidos Martinez; Elena Pons, from important; Amaya Fernandez, from irisem; Pedro Ballester, of logifruit; Blanca Erum, from Erum Plastics; and Gracia Bordeaux, from The SPB Global Corporation.
Together with them, the ITENE Board of Directors is completed with four representatives of the Generalitat Valenciana: the Director General of Industry, Silvia Cerdá -who occupies the First Vice Presidency-; the General Director of the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE), Julia Company; the General Director of Innovation, Sonia Tirado, and the General Director of Public Works, Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Roser Worker.
Itene growth
This renewal of the Presidency and the Board of Directors coincides with a moment of expansion for ITENE. In 2022, The technology center increased the volume of its income by 11%, exceeding 12 million euros, and registered a new increase in its workforce to reach 188 professionals. Specifically, his income from economic activity increased by 5% to 4,5 million euros, while those from non-economic activity rose to 7,6 million euros, 15% more.
In that same year, Itene carried out 111 R&D projects of economic and non-economic activity, 326 projects of technological assistance and innovation and about 700 test services.
In addition, in 2022 the construction of a new building for industrial pre-scaling projects began, which is financed by the IVACE (Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness) and whose inauguration is scheduled for the end of 2023.
