The Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Machine Tools, Accessories, Component Parts and Tools, AFM, Advanced Manufacturing Technologies is organising the tenth edition of the National Prize for Design and Innovation in Machine Tools and Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, in collaboration with BEAZ (Bizkaia Innovation Agency) and BEC (Bilbao Exhibition Centre). The prize is awarded on a biennial basis to coincide with the Biennial Spanish Machine Tool exhibition held in Bilbao.

From 1990, the year it was launched, until its ninth edition in 2008, this prize was organised by DZ (later BAI and now BEAZ) in collaboration with AFM and BEC (Bilbao Exhibition Centre).

The 10th edition includes two prize categories with their respective special mentions: Prize for Design and Innovation in Machine Tools and Prize for Design and Innovation in Machine Tool Accessories, Component Parts and Tools.

The Machine Tool Sector has for many years considered the technology-design pairing to be a fundamental element for competing in the global market. The manufacturers of machine tools, accessories, component parts and tools understand that, together with technical innovation, improvements in the quality, efficiency, safety, reliability or beauty of their machines, and the establishment of a strategy based on the concept of sustainable development, are key to survival.

That is why, the National Prize for Design and Innovation in Machine Tools and Manufacturing Technologies would, once again this year, like to recognise those companies in the sector who continually strive to improve, by investing in design and innovation, placing importance on the technological improvements they incorporate and putting them on show at the next edition of the Biennial Exhibition to be held in Bilbao from 28 May to 2 June.