Queen Máxima stepped out for the award ceremony of the King Willem I business prizes, one of the most prestigious acknowledgements in the Netherlands.
The ceremony took place in the evening of Monday, 23rd May, at Groningen’s Forum, in the presence of Her Majesty, the CEO of De Nederlandsche Bank and chairman of the Koning Willem I Foundation, Klaas Knot, as well as representatives for the three businesses that received the awards.
2022 marked the first time that the ceremony was held in a hybrid model. Since the 2020 online edition was a massive success, the Foundation decided to hold this year’s event in a way that made it possible for people to also follow it online.
The prize is handed out every two years in three different categories: Large Business, Small and Medium Business and Sustainable Business.
In 2022, the award for Large Business went to NXP Semiconductors, an Eindhoven-based firm that works in the production and transformation of semiconductor metals, which are used for many different sectors, including transport and software chips.
The prize for Small and Medium Business went to Maan Group, a business that, throughout various steps in its history, is today made of three divisions: Maan Engineering, the original concept with which the group was founded in 1996; Maan Special Products, a line dedicated to the production of the newest technologies in building grade materials, and Maan R&D, the Group’s Research and Development branch, where “issues are resolved with practical solutions that result in customer-specific production processes.”
And finally, the plaque for Sustainable Business was handed out to Mud Jeans International, a sustainable and fair trade clothing company that has based its entire business on the concept of the circular economy. In 2013, they launched their “Lease A Jean” campaign, which essentially allows customers to rent trousers for a year and then decide if they want to return them and rent more or keep them. Customers are also guaranteed that all Mud products are made with at least 40% recycled materials, mostly coming from older discarded denim, and all jeans come with free unlimited repair services.
Queen Máxima handed out the prizes in her role as Honorary President of the King Willem I Foundation, which was created in 1958 on the initiative of De Nederlandsche Bank with the aim of giving “the national economy new impulses and thereby increasing the prestige of the Dutch business community,” according to the Royal House’s website.
