Organic olive oil producers Oleastro Enterprises was awarded for setting up the Olive Park Oleastro in the Limassol village of Anogyra and for boasting the only organic olive oil production in Cyprus.

Pharmaceutical company Medochemie was awarded for developing a new freezing technology aiming to reduce those hefty electricity bills by cutting down on energy consumption. The move contributes to energy saving, helps the environment, and increased the company’s competitiveness, OEV said. Industrial consumers in Cyprus pay a steep tariff with pharmaceutical companies facing major production costs because of the energy-intensive nature of their industry.

Tech company SignalGeneriX was awarded for developing Wisense, a wireless sensor network platform that can be integrated in existing systems that monitor and control indoor and outdoor conditions in industrial, commercial and environmental settings. The platform is a reliable and low-cost solution against expensive alternatives.

Finally the postal services were awarded for introducing their round-the-clock parcel delivery service, Parcel24. People can opt to receive their parcel whenever they want via automated postal boxes that liberate recipients from fixed working hours and takes away some of the pressure from the postal services’ staff.

Established in 2006 by the Employers Federation (OEV) and supported by the commerce ministry and the cabinet-appointed Research Promotion Foundation (RPF), the annual Innovation Awards look back to the previous year’s accomplishments of public or private entities deemed successful in implementing innovative ideas or practices. President Nicos Anastasiades presented the awards at Nicosia’s Hilton Park hotel.

The RPF has also introduced research awards for two age categories, the over 45s and the under 45s, who each get a €50,000 grant for research purposes. These were awarded to University of Cyprus engineer Ioannis Krikidis and to University of Cyprus cognitive psychologist Fofi Constantinidou for work in the neurocognitive aspects of aging.

Find out more at www.innovationaward.oeb.org.cy