Juan-Miguel Villar Mir receives the Business Leader of the Year Award in New York

Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, chairman of the Villar Mir Group and OHL, was in New York yesterday to receive the Business Leader of the Year Award conferred by the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce. This award distinguishes business leaders who have made a significant contribution to the economic growth of Spain or the United States of America and to improving business ties between both countries.

The awards ceremony brought together renowned figures from the world of finance, business, politics, culture, charity and social organizations, to whom, in his speech, Juan-Miguel Villar Mir expressed his “great satisfaction” in that “the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce, a private nonprofit institution for fostering trade and investment between Spain and the United States, has decided to bestow this honor on me”.

While opening the awards ceremony, Xavier Ruiz, chairman of the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce, affirmed that: “The purpose of our annual gala is to honor a business leader from Spain or the United States of America with the Business Leader of the Year Award; a leader who has contributed to improving commercial relationships between the two countries and who exemplifies the benefits and opportunities arising from the long history of confidence and trade between the United States of America and Spain. The Chamber can think of no leader more deserving of the 2013 Business Leader of the Year Award than Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, chairman of OHL”. “The Chamber -he added- is honored that Mr. Villar Mir has accepted our annual recognition”.

Visit to the White House in 1976

After expressing his gratitude, Juan-Miguel Villar Mir then spoke of his recollection of when, as Vice President of the Spanish Government for Economic Affairs and Minister of the Treasury Department for the first government of the Monarchy, he visited the United States in June of 1976 and was welcomed at the White House by US President Gerald R. Ford.

“That trip, suggested by His Royal Majesty the King Don Juan Carlos I of Spain to foster cooperation between the United States of America and Spain occurred at a very crucial moment for my country. Spain was entering a new phase sustained by two monumental pillars: democracy and the monarchy, and we needed economic and political support, more than ever, from the greatest power in the world, the United States of America. And I would now like to thank this great country for not only her willingness to establish economic relationships with Spain, relationships that even today continue to be highly successful, but also for her deep support and moral understanding insofar as the measures that were adopted to bring about such a transcendental political transition in Spain”.

Business activity in the USA

Within the scope of his activity as a businessman, Juan-Miguel Villar Mir underscored that the Villar Mir Group was created in 1987 with zero equity and is now one of the largest Spanish industrial groups, operating in 34 countries on five continents with 29,000 employees, 63% of whom are working outside Spain, and forecasts to close out 2013 with USD 9,300 million in sales.

Along these lines, he stressed Villar Mir Group’s relevant activity in the United States with the following words:

“Ladies and gentlemen, from the moment Villar Mir Group was created, we have kept business with the United States of America as a priority objective with a view to contributing to the country’s growth and serve its citizens.

It is a great satisfaction to be able to provide US citizens with our services, which are reflected in major projects. The Villar Mir Group subsidiary, Inmobiliaria Espacio, has promoted and constructed one of the largest condominiums in Texas, The Austonian, which spans a height of 208 m.

We are also proud to see that the main company of the Villar Mir Group, OHL, considers the United States of America as a relevant market. Thus, OHL has been operating in this great country, contributing to the development of its infrastructures for over a decade”.

OHL USA, in the construction sector, works directly from their offices in New York, Miami (Florida), Austin (Texas) and Los Angeles (California) and integrates various deeply-rooted US subsidiaries: Arellano Construction (specializing in building hospitals and universities), OHL Building (general building projects), Community Asphalt (civil engineering), based in Miami; and Judlau Contracting (civil engineering), based in New York.

With approximately 1,200 employees in the United States of America, OHL also works in this country through OHL Infrastructure, in the field of transport infrastructure concessions, and through OHL Industrial USA, in the field of industrial engineering.

The growth of the primary economic parameters of the OHL Group in the United States of America has been constant since 2006, following the purchase of Florida construction companies Community Asphalt and The Tower Group, now integrated in OHL USA. Thus, sales from 2006 to 2012 have grown by 190%, the short-term portfolio has advanced by over 140% and staff has increased by 20%.

Juan-Miguel Villar Mir likewise underscored the important recognitions that he has received as a result of the commitment of the OHL Group and his own with the United States of America. In November 2006, the Miami City Commissioner Ángel González, presented him the keys to the city; and in 2012, OHL was recognized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Spain (AmChamSpain) with the Best International Expansion Award.

Within the framework of this commitment with the USA, in 2012 OHL closed a collaboration agreement with the Florida International University (FIU), specifically with its College of Engineering & Computing to create the OHL School of Construction, the first in the history of this university to bear the name of a company and that offers one of the best programs in the field both in and out of the United States.

The chairman of the Villar Mir Group and OHL concluded his speech by reiterating his appreciation for the Business Leader of the Year Award and affirming that “the United States of America, the world’s greatest superpower, is an exceptional place to establish oneself and grow. And thus, it is a matter of eminent pride for the Villar Mir Group, for the OHL Group, and for me, to be able to contribute to the growth and development of this country, as we feel increasingly more American and we shall keep doing so with our greatest sense of duty and with the dedication of our best efforts to develop all sorts of infrastructures, contributing to improving the well-being of all US citizens”.

About the Spain – US Chamber of Commerce

Founded in New York in 1959, the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce promotes commercial relationships between the two countries and has become one of the largest transatlantic business organizations. This private nonprofit institution works to foster bilateral trade and investment. The Chamber represents the interests of companies that have established or seek to establish trade and business relationships between Spain and the United States.

Offering a wide array of services to members, the Chamber also serves as a discussion forum where both Spanish companies in the United States and US companies interested in the Spanish market can exchange ideas and information, and seek interests and opportunities to their mutual benefit.