Irizar is a business project based on people, built on a system of self-management and participation, with the goal of achieving Business Excellence through the continuous satisfaction of its customers, people, external collaborators and society at large, thus generating social wealth and employment (MISSION). 
 
Irizar is a luxury coach maker, It is the market leader in Spain, Europe's second biggest producer by volume, and is commercially active in 71 countries. The number of people involved in the Ormaiztegi operation in Gipuzkoa, a province within Spain's Basque Country, currently stands at 731. IRIZAR was founded in 1889.
 
The Irizar Group, founded in 1998 as a consequence of the Irizar partnership strategy, includes IRIZAR TIANJIN (China 1995), IRIZAR MAGHREB (Morocco 1997), IRIZAR BRAZIL (1998), IRIZAR MEXICO (1999), INTERNATIONAL HISPACOLD (Spain 1997), IRIZAR TVS LTD. (India 2001), MASATS S.A. (Spain 2002) and IRIZAR SOUTHERN AFRICA (South Africa 2004) with more than 2.900 people in IRIZAR GROUP.

In 2004 it acquired urban technology with the aim of marketing the CS 40 CITY model in all markets except Spain over the next ten years and in the 14 remaining EU countries, the Czech Republic and Israel during the next four years.
 
In September 2004 Irizar Southern Africa was created. This new venture is owned 100% by the IRIZAR GROUP and its mission is to assemble PKDs from Brazil and provide coaches to South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. 
 
Products and Markets
 
The luxury coach-building sector in Europe serves a market of 9,000 units per year. There are currently 7 manufacturers of more than 400 coaches/year in Europe, among which IRIZAR holds the second position in the market since 1998 (currently Irizar produces more than 1.605 coaches per year). A total of 13 coach-builders supply the Spanish market, where IRIZAR is a clear leader with a 40,5% market share (2005). Unlike most of its competitors in the European market, IRIZAR has followed a strategy of market diversification since 1993, and has focussed its efforts solely on producing one product: long -and medium- distance luxury coaches.
 
IRIZAR has won international recognition and various awards for its coaches, amongst which feature: 
 
 2005: The New Irizar Century designated Coach of the Year in Spain.
   
 2003: IRIZAR PB new coach model votes ??COACH OF THE YEAR 2004??.
   
 2002: The IRIZAR PB, Coach-of-the-Year in Spain.
   
 1998:  Transporte Mundial de Oro / Gold Worldwide Transport prize in the coach section.
   
 1994 and 1997: Coach-of-the-Year in the UK.
   
 1995:  Coach-of-the-Year in Spain, awarded the first year of this competition.
   
 1995: Premio Principe Felipe / Prince Philip Prize for Business Excellence in Industrial Design, awarded by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
 
The manufacturing of a coach begins with the acquisition of a chassis from one of the leading industrial vehicle manufacturers (MERCEDES, VOLVO, SCANIA, IVECO, MAN, RENAULT, DAF, SPARTAN). IRIZAR relations with these chassis manufacturers are of a special nature, with important technological and commercial implications, amongst others.

IRIZAR sells its coaches directly to End-Users within the Spanish domestic market, and to Importers (who in turn sell to the end-customers) in the export market. IRIZAR maintains distribution agreements with importers, who in most cases are chassis manufacturer distributors. In the case of the European market, special mention must be made here of the commercial partnership between IRIZAR and SCANIA.

Flexibility is one of the distinguishing features of IRIZAR and one of the keys to its rapid growth since 1991. The IRIZAR Worldwide Web of Services (sales and post-sales) currently extends to 71 countries. 
 
Progress Towards Business Excellence
 
IRIZAR's spectacular progress towards Business Excellence began in 1991 when the company initiated a process which has gradually transformed the organisation from a hierarchic / functional-based system, built around business areas and departments, into self-governed multidisciplinary teams charged with the clear task of ensuring customer loyalty within their principal processes: 'From the moment we first start thinking about customers/markets to the end of the coach's working life'.

This has made IRIZAR the 'BUSINESS PROJECT BASED ON PEOPLE' that it is today, a Project committed to a policy of continuous improvement, both breakthrough and incremental, through the application of Re-engineering, all of which is clearly reflected in the IRIZAR management principles and characteristics.
 
 2006:  ICIL Awards 2006. Logistics excellence: IRIZAR.
   
 2005:  IRIZAR finalist in the 2005 European Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises Study.
   
 2004: Con??tica Prize for corporate social responsability 
     
 2004: IRIZAR praised by BUSRIDE (Transport Resources International-U.K. March 2004) for its impressive performance.
     
 2002:  Christian Ketels, principal Asiciate of Harvard Business School's Institute standouts. IRIZAR as a company in Europe for its strategic decisions 
     
 2001: Prize to the Best Company in The Basque Country awarded by European Business World magazine in its fourth edition.
     
 2001: Koldo Saratxaga, General Coordinator of the Irizar Project received the Top Basque Businessman Award.
     
 2000:  The Economist standouts IRIZAR as the Most Efficient coachbuilder in the world.

"In Spain there is a strong bodybuilding industry, particularly for luxury coaches. The market leader is Irizar, which has expanded rapidly in recent years and is probably now the most efficient coachbuilder in the world"
      
 2000:  First Spanish Company that does not belong to a foreign multinational group to win the European Prize for Business Excellence (European Quality Prize 2000). These prizes, awarded annually by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), are the most prestigious recognition in the field of business excellence in Europe. 
     
 1999: Finalist in the European Quality Award for Business Excellence. The most prestigious award for Business Excellence currently available in Europe, organised by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM.). In 1999, IRIZAR has been judged to be among the 13 best large companies in Europe, and is the first non-multinational Spanish company to be given this recognition for its management excellence. Selection of the finalists for the European Quality Award is based on criteria of the highest possible standards and practices of Quality Management and Business Excellence. This award is recognised as the highest possible accolade for Business Excellence in Europe.
     
 1999: Gold Q Award for Business Excellence in the Basque Country. An award based on the EFQM Business Excellence Model, IRIZAR is the only company in the Basque Country to date to achieve this distinction.
     
 1998: First luxury coachbuilder in Europe to obtain ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Quality Certification.
     
 1996: Premio Principe Felipe / Prince Philip Award for Business Excellence in TQM, awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
     
 1994: First luxury coachbuilder in Europe to obtain ISO 9001 Quality Certification.