The International “Aldo Villa” Award is a prestige prize that was established by the Italian Ceramic Society to commemorate the engineer Aldo Villa, who was General Manager of Sacmi from 1958 to 1987 and first President of the Italian Ceramic Society. The award is given to an entrepreneur, manager, technician or researcher who has made a significant contribution to the development of the ceramic industry. Now at its tenth edition, the award has, this year, been assigned to Dr. Ibrahim Bodur, the President of Kale Group Companies.
The award will be presented on 3rd October 2007 (Palazzo dei Congressi, Piazza della Costituzione, Bologna, at 4.30 pm) by the award commission, which consists of the President of Sacmi, Domenico Olivieri, the President of the Italian Ceramic Society, Paolo Zannini, the President of Acimac, Pier Luigi Ponzoni, the President of Confindustria Ceramica, Alfonso Panzani, and the President of the ICF (International Ceramic Federation), Gian Nicola Babini.
The Commission decided to award this prestigious prize to the President Dr.İbrahim Bodur, who was rewarded by Czechoslovakia State Medal in 1985 and “Cavaliere di Lavoro” for distinguished service in the world of business in 1987 and then in 1997 Turkish Republic State Medal, for his extraordinary career as a businessman for the last 50 years in ceramic field. His intelligent and far-sighted managerial skills and policies along with his entrepreneur soul made him a protagonist in the local and international development of ceramic field.
Of Turkish origin, the President Dr.İbrahim Bodur set up his first ceramic plants namely Çanakkale Seramik in 1957 in the province of Canakkale, Turkey and then continued to develop a series of industrial initiatives in Turkey within the Kale Group. In 1972 he established the Kalebodur Floor Tile Ceramic Factory. And now, apart from beingTurkey’s leading tile producer in ceramic business, the Kale Group owns 25 companies with an annual turnover of 850 million USD with 5000 employees. The Group has 3 major divisions namely Technical and Chemical Group comprising of Adhesives and Paints, Insulation Materials, Mould and Dies, Technical Ceramics, Robotic and Automation Systems, Energy and Gas Equipments, Aerospace and Defense; and Ceramic Group dealing with Tile, Sanitaryware, Ceramic Raw materials and Frits, Acrylic Bathtubs, Fittings, Bathroom and Kitchen Furnitures, Natural Stones; and Corporate Functions Group.