Niepoort is one of the six finalists in this year’s edition of the COTEC SME Innovation Awards – BPI

Niepoort, Vinhos S.A. was nominated for the ‘PME Inovação COTEC-BPI 2022 Award’, being the only company in the agri-food sector among the six finalists this year, all of them protagonists of the innovation economy. The brand is also, since the genesis of the competition, the first company in the world of wine to be selected for this award, whose central objective is the promotion of consistent and continuous business innovation in Portugal.
This iconic brand was selected as a producer of world-renowned wines of excellence, which demonstrate respect for the terroir and identity of the grape varieties in the various regions where it is produced. The philosophy of the company and of those who collaborate in it combines the history and knowledge of the winemaking tradition with an inspiring vision of the future. Niepoort is committed to sustainable production through a biodynamic approach, which adapts to the different contexts of the territory.
Created in 2005, the COTEC-BPI SME Innovation Award is an initiative that annually distinguishes small or medium-sized companies (SMEs) in all sectors of economic activity that are notable for their culture, leadership, management practices and profitable economic growth based on the use of knowledge and innovation. This award represents a stimulus to the reputation of companies and the relationship with partners, suppliers and customers, involving brands that operate in areas of added value, such as information technologies, engineering, agri-food, mobility, technical textiles, robotics, automation and pharmaceuticals.
«It is with great pride that Niepoort reaches the final stage of this competition. It is the recognition of a sustained work, and thought in the long term, that did not start now. In that sense, it is very encouraging to realize that the investment plan we made, thinking about the next 20 years, and which no one seemed to understand, given that everything was evaluated on a two-month basis, turned out to be the right one. I thank COTEC for valuing this path, which, although not immediate, has led us to a better place, and to a sustained brand and company», comments Dirk Niepoort, fifth generation of the family and president of the Niepoort house. «Our presence in such a limited number of companies of excellence is the result of our constant focus on innovation and Niepoort experience, which follows our philosophy of quality, sharing and differentiation, and which has been transmitted throughout the various generations of the Niepoort family . Our recent bet on Enotourism is proof of that», reinforces Dirk Niepoort.
This year’s edition received more than two hundred applications from national companies and, after a rigorous selection process and in-depth analysis, six finalists were selected from different sectors of activity, which were presented to the Jury for the award. The winner of this edition was the project developed by Addvolt and, in addition to this and the production of ‘perfect wines’ by Casa Niepoort, the other finalists include, namely, high-value functional food, technical sports clothing for high competition, control machines industrialization and human language processing, all examples of a new front of structural transformation of the business fabric and its competitiveness.
The jury for this edition was chaired by Pedro Barreto (Banco BPI), and made up of Ana Teresa Lehmann (FEP – University of Porto), António Portela (BIAL), Carlos Oliveira (European Innovation Council), Joana Mendonça (National Innovation Agency) , João Bigotte (MIT Portugal), José Carlos Caldeira (INESC TEC), Lua Queiroz Pereira (Semapa), Manuel Mira Godinho (ISEG – University of Lisbon) and Manuela Tavares de Sousa (Imperial).