The Consortium of Waters Bilbao Biscay and Xabier Maidagan, Prizes Devises 2013

The Consortium of Waters Bilbao Biscay and the engineer Xabier Maidagan have been awarded with the Prizes Devises, the recognition to the work of companies and people related with the engineering that concedes the Foundation School of Engineers of Bilbao. The Gala of Delivery of the Prizes Devises 2013 celebrated the past Monday 2 December, to the seven of the afternoon, in the Classroom Magna of the Upper Technical School of Engineering of Bilbao.

The Consortium of Waters Bilbao Biscay is the responsible entity of the management in primary network, so much of the supply of drinkable water as of the saneamiento of the waste water of, roughly, one million inhabitants, what represents 91,26% of Biscay and 48,20% of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. Created in the year 1967, is integrated by eighty municipalities, in addition to by the Deputation Foral of Biscay and the Basque Government, and keeps agreements of collaboration with diverse local entities. The Consortium has been protagonist of the regeneration, cleaning and saneamiento of the fluvial courses of Biscay along the last 30 years, one of the most notable initiatives that have taken place in the Basque Country in environingingmental matter in the last decades, especially in the basin of the estuary of the Nervión.

By his side, Xabier Maidagan Larrunbide (Bilbao, 1950) is doctor industrial engineer by the Upper Technical School of Engineering of Bilbao. It initiated his professional activity in the year 1975 in Ona Spark-erosion, like manager of the Department of Machines of Thread, and from 1990 occupied the charge of director of the Department of R&D in the same company. In 2004 it was appointed general director of CIC marGune, centre of cooperative investigation in manufacture of high performance. In 2008 it became director of Internationalisation of the Basque Agency of Innovation Innobasque, and from 2012, simultanea his work like director of Operative Development in CIC marGune with the steering of Internationalisation of Innobasque. It is author of numerous projects of investigation and technical publications, in addition to having registered diverse patents in the sector of the machine tool. Also it has formed part of diverse scientific committees and technicians of international field, especially in the field of the spark-erosion, and has integrated diverse cuttings of thesis doctorales.

The present is the eighth edition of the Prizes Devises, an initiative set up by the Foundation School of Engineers of Bilbao, whose main aim is to recognise the professional and human work realizar by people, equipment of work, companies or institutions related with the engineering. The awards in the previous editions have corresponded to the companies Idom, Iberinco, Sener, Panda Software, Group Ormazabal, ITP and Metre Bilbao. And regarding professional path, Santiago of Ybarra (Vocento), Luis Cañada (Vicinay Chains), Juan Celaya (Cegasa), Josu of Lapatza (Amurrio railway industry industry), Javier Madariaga (Ingeteam), Joseba Jaureguizar (general director of the Corporation Tecnalia) and Baltasar Errazti (Group Tamoin) have been the awarded until the moment.