WHICH company is seen as the biggest, most significant, most lucrative, and best-known in each province in Spain? And do these correspond with the ones that report the highest earnings? Recent research sought to identify the corporations that are considered to be the most representative of their geographical area.
Turnover, size, number of employees, visibility, and perception of ‘local and cultural tradition’ or ‘roots’ were factors taken into account when identifying the most significant, or representative, company in each province (photo: DataCentric)
DataCentric's study was largely objective and quantitative, but also partly subjective, with other professionals and with private consumers asked for their views.
Interviews and statistics, evaluation of their presence online, size in terms of employees and turnover, and other factors that attempted to identify 'commercial relevance', 'cultural identity', and 'how deep-rooted they are socially' were compiled, and a map has been produced detailing what DataCentric concludes to be the 'most important' firms in every province.
'Most representative' in 2023 and 'highest turnover' in 2019
A similar map was created in July 2019 by Business Insider, based entirely on turnover – which corporation had the highest in its province – and some of these match the 'most important' as listed by DataCentric.
One such example was the supermarket chain Mercadona, in the province of Valencia, which features in both; another is Airbus Helicopters, which appears on the two maps for the province of Albacete in south-eastern Castilla-La Mancha.
An Airbus helicopter under construction (all pictures from the brand or company websites unless otherwise stated)
Additionally, Cosentino – a construction supplier specialising in different types of stone – is both the 'most important' as at February 2023 and had the highest turnover as at July 2019 in the province of Almería, whilst in the same industry, the tile firm Pamesa Cerámica fit both descriptions in the province of Castellón, directly north of that of Valencia.
Continuing up the north-east coast, clothing chain Essity appears on the Business Insider 2019 and DataCentric 2023 maps for the province of Tarragona, as does the motor manufacturer Seat for the province of Barcelona.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com