At the end of the year Caja Laboral celebrated its 25th anniversary. If in the early years it was Caja Laboral which received support from the co-operatives, it was now the co-operatives who were being supported by a credit co-operative, set up at the right time, committed to the consolidation of the Group.
The industrial co-operatives posted a total turnover in excess of €727.22m (121bn pesetas) and the highest level of export activity was recorded by companies operating in the capital goods and intermediate goods sectors. Job creation has been a constant objective for Eroski and, with 168 new jobs the co-operative had a total of 1,246 worker-members by the end of the year. The co-operative was also awarded the research prize for consumer affairs which was given annually by the National Consumer Institute. The following worker co-operatives joined the Group: Artxa, Etorki, Fagor Clima (today part of Fagor Electrodomésticos), Leroa (now in turn part of Danona), and Matriplast.
