2017 Annual summary | JIOrings, The quickest way to find a seal

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2017: giving the best of ourselves

F I G U R E S

It has been a good year and we have now had several such in a row. Each year, the objectives set company-wide by the Management team are more ambitious and it is, therefore, doubly satisfying when they are achieved. We have done this once again in 2017. This year we have grown, both in terms of stock and staff. We have broken the barrier of 30 million seals in the warehouse:

• 30,000,000 O-Rings • 1,000,000 X-Rings • 225,000 Back-Up Rings (BUR) • 200,000 V-Rings • 70,000 Bonded Seals • 40,000 Rotary Shaft Seals • 40,000 U-Rings • 25,000 Wiper Seals • 6,000 Axial Seals or Gamma seals • 1,650 Spools of Cord-Ring

We have also broken the 12-employee barrier. First, with the hiring of Iñaki Bilbao in January in the Export Department and then Unai Pereda in September in the warehouse. Both have adapted very well both to the intense work rate and to the environment.

In September, we broke records left, right and centre in terms of order backlog, which we broke once again last November (with sales totalling €220,000). This year, each quarter has been the best in JIOrings‘ history, indicating that we have maintained a very high work rate among all departments throughout the course of the year.

A major investment was made to improve shared facilities at JIOrings this year. We now have a new meeting room, where we can welcome our clients in a comfortable and convenient manner; a kitchen for everyday use by the employees and for our regular coffee and potato omelette event on Fridays; as well as a multi-purpose leisure room, which will soon host the first edition of our ping pong tournament. The new JIOrings offices are designed to be open and comfortable spaces in which to carry out all the day-to-day commercial and administrative work and to receive clients and suppliers.

Q U A L I T Y

At the beginning of the year, we obtained ISO 9001:2015, issued specifically on the 21st of February, following the successful conclusion of audits by BUREAU VERITAS, which certified that our Quality Management System had been appropriately implemented in accordance with the latest version of UNE-EN ISO 9001:2015. This is another step that has allowed us to adjust workflows, redefine strategic objectives and see that we are well on our way to excellence.

At JIOrings, we work to ensure that our seals meet quality, health, safety, environmental and social responsibility standards in virtually any market. For this reason, in addition to complying with REACH and RoHS standards, we hold major official approvals from our suppliers and we are making an extra effort to obtain in-house approvals for some of the most successful mixtures.

In this respect, we have taken a significant step forward with the certification of JIOrings Nortap® silicone plugs, which, in addition to being FDA compliant, comply with the requirements established by the BfR, Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (Federal Institute for Risk Assessment).

C O M M I T M E N T

It is a word that defines us. With each new client we try to reach the degree of commitment necessary to satisfy their expectations. For us, making sale means convincing them that we are the best option (the quickest way to find a seal) and for that, we must earn the trust of each one of our clients each and every day. To offer a quality product with excellent service. With more than 1,500 customers (of which 169 are clients gained this year), we sell to more than 30,000,000 seals to 35 different countries, this year we have included expanding our sales to countries such as South Korea, Hungary and Estonia. All this without neglecting the national market, which accounts for 80% of our total client portfolio.

For us, the commitment is reflected in the quality of the product, in the sales processes and in the marketing of each and every one of our seals.

This year, in addition to all the loyalty activities we have been carrying out, we have placed special emphasis on the scheduling of orders. This is because it is the way in which we can improve prices, guarantee stock, avoid unforeseen events and meet all delivery dates agreed with each customer.

S P E C I A L D A Y S

We sincerely believe that the company influences and is influenced by its environment. Hence, a great deal of our efforts is focussed on achieving the most positive working environment possible, where each and every person feels part of the company and, in addition actively partners in local projects of various kinds.

To achieve the first objective, we carry out specific activities to promote teamwork and unity among employees with the aim of improving coordination between everyone and the relationship with the company: meals outside the working environment, celebration of birthdays, an annual ping pong championship, participation in popular races etc., and an annual activity, which this year saw us sampling wines in La Rioja.

As for the second area, it should be noted that during 2017 we continued to support sports via the JIOrings Cycling Team and the JIOrings Running Team, as well as via sponsorship of several sports teams (Club de Ajedrez Conteneo Bilbao Haitzak [Chess], Galdakao Boleibol Taldea [Volleyball] and Jon García Tagle’s participation in the 2017 Kneeboard World Championship, among others.). Apart from all these not-for-profit link-ups, throughout the year we have carried out a range of activities to raise awareness of Tourette Syndrome. By means of “Un paso más por el síndrome de Tourette” (Amaya Álvarez) and “Pedaladas por el Tourette” (Ángela Domínguez ), we want to do our bit in terms of raising awareness of and normalising this disorder.

F U T U R E

As every year, we will work hard to expand the stock of the seals most in demand by our customers: seals made from blends with in-house approvals, different sizes of plugs for export to the French, Portuguese and Latin markets, cord-ring in various materials….

In addition, in 2018 we want to redouble our efforts to shorten manufacturing lead times and improve agreements with our logistics suppliers, always with the aim of remaining the quickest way to find a seal. In addition, by 2018 we have challenged ourselves to improve the website experience and boost online shopping, a way to save both time and money. In January, we expect to conclude this first phase of improvement in our facilities. We do all of this without losing our focus as a young and dynamic company and one that meets the needs of our clients.