Making floors and sanitaryware can be as intellectually demanding as writing code
En un país donde la innovación solía asociarse con las finanzas o los hidrocarburos, una empresa antioqueña de cerámica y sanitarios acaba de redefinir el mapa. Corona Industrial encabezó el Ranking de Innovación 2026 de la Andi, desplazando a gigantes de la energía y la banca en una competencia que reunió a 303 empresas de 50 subsectores. El resultado no es solo un galardón corporativo: es una señal de que Colombia está aprendiendo a competir con conocimiento, no únicamente con costos, aunque la pregunta de si ese esfuerzo alcanza para rivalizar con competidores internacionales sigue abierta.
- Una fábrica de pisos y sanitarios derrota a bancos y petroleras en el ranking de innovación más importante del país, sacudiendo los supuestos sobre qué industrias pueden liderar el futuro.
- El debate nacional sobre automatización e inteligencia artificial encuentra una respuesta inesperada: las empresas del ranking generaron 5.887 empleos nuevos vinculados a ciencia y tecnología solo en 2025.
- Antioquia concentra 12 de las 30 empresas más innovadoras, con nombres que van desde dispositivos médicos y agrotecnología hasta tecnologías emergentes, señalando una diversificación productiva real.
- Las firmas participantes invierten en promedio el 5,61% de sus ventas en I+D, un dato que la propia Andi convierte en pregunta incómoda: ¿es suficiente frente a rivales internacionales con bases de ingresos mucho mayores?
- La taxonomía del ranking —Inventores, Rebeldes, Visionarios y Héroes— desafía la idea de que innovar exige laboratorios de vanguardia, reconociendo también a quienes transforman con recursos escasos.
Cuando se piensa en innovación empresarial, los azulejos y los sanitarios raramente vienen a la mente. Sin embargo, Corona Industrial, fabricante antioqueño de cerámica, ocupó el primer lugar del Ranking de Innovación 2026 de la Andi, superando a instituciones financieras, energéticas y de alimentos. El anuncio se hizo durante la XII Cumbre Tierra de Innovadores en Medellín, en la edición más nutrida de la historia del ranking: 303 empresas de 50 subsectores y 13 departamentos.
Detrás de Corona quedaron Alpina en segundo lugar y la Fundación Cardioinfantil en tercero, un podio que reúne manufactura industrial, agroindustria y salud. Ecopetrol y Promigas completaron el top cinco, mientras que el resto del top diez incluyó a Colsubsidio, ALSEC, Comestibles Ricos, Banco Davivienda y Alianza Team, demostrando que el compromiso con la innovación no respeta fronteras sectoriales.
Uno de los hallazgos más reveladores es que las empresas participantes destinaron en promedio el 5,61% de sus ventas a actividades de ciencia, tecnología e innovación. Para una compañía mediana, eso equivale a miles de millones de pesos dedicados exclusivamente a investigación y desarrollo. La propia Andi, sin embargo, plantea la pregunta que los datos dejan sin responder: ¿es ese porcentaje suficiente cuando los competidores internacionales operan desde bases de ingresos incomparablemente mayores?
El ranking también ofrece una respuesta matizada al temor por la automatización: en 2025, las empresas participantes crearon 5.887 empleos nuevos ligados a ciencia y tecnología, desde ingenieros de datos hasta investigadores aplicados. Y su metodología clasifica a las empresas en cuatro arquetipos —Inventores, Rebeldes, Visionarios y Héroes— reconociendo que innovar no requiere laboratorios de última generación, sino determinación institucional.
Geográficamente, Antioquia domina con 12 empresas en el top 30, entre ellas nombres como Industrias Médicas Sampedro, Guane Emerging Technologies y BASICA, que fabrican dispositivos médicos, desarrollan tecnologías emergentes y crean soluciones agrícolas respectivamente. Su presencia junto a grandes corporaciones habla de una diversificación productiva que va más allá de los sectores tradicionales del país.
When you think of innovation in business, your mind probably doesn't land on ceramic tiles and bathroom fixtures. Yet Corona Industrial, a manufacturer based in Antioquia, just proved that making floors and sanitaryware can be as intellectually demanding and forward-thinking as writing code.
The company claimed the top spot in Colombia's 2026 Innovation Ranking, released by the National Association of Entrepreneurs (Andi), surpassing financial institutions, energy companies, and food producers that had competed for the same honor. The announcement came during the 12th Innovation Land Summit in Medellín, an annual gathering where Andi takes the pulse of how the country's largest firms are creating and developing new capabilities. This year's competition drew 303 companies from 50 different economic subsectors across 13 departments—the most robust turnout in the ranking's history.
Behind Corona Industrial came Alpina, a dairy company headquartered in Cundinamarca, in second place, and the Cardioinfantil Foundation, also based in Bogotá, in third. The podium reflects a deliberate mixing of industrial manufacturing, agroindustry, and healthcare—three distinct worlds united by a shared conviction that investing in knowledge and research translates into real competitive advantage. Ecopetrol, the state-owned oil company, placed fourth, followed by Promigas in fifth. The broader top ten included Colsubsidio, ALSEC, Comestibles Ricos, Banco Davivienda, and Alianza Team, a roster that spans energy, compensation funds, food production, and banking, underscoring that innovation commitment crosses sector lines.
One of the ranking's most telling findings concerns how much money these companies actually put toward research and development. On average, participating firms dedicated 5.61 percent of their annual sales to science, technology, and innovation activities. That figure carries real weight: for a mid-sized company with annual revenues of 100 billion pesos, that translates to more than 5.6 billion pesos spent exclusively on research, product development, and technology adoption. The percentage serves as a thermometer for something deeper—evidence that a cohort of Colombian businesses is choosing to compete through better tools rather than lower costs alone. Yet Andi itself poses an uncomfortable question the data leaves open: is that investment level sufficient to challenge international competitors who spend similar proportions of their revenue but operate from vastly larger income bases?
The 2026 ranking also captured the ongoing national conversation about automation and artificial intelligence, a debate that has circulated through Colombia for years with one persistent anxiety: how many jobs will technology eliminate? The data offers a more textured answer. During 2025, the participating companies created 5,887 new jobs directly tied to science, technology, and innovation activities—positions for data engineers, automation specialists, product developers, and applied researchers. These are not the same roles that vanish when a machine replaces repetitive work, but they demonstrate that the cycle does not end in pure destruction.
Another layer of the ranking's design involves classifying companies into four archetypes based on how they approach innovation. Inventors pursue their own research and patent development. Rebels challenge established business models. Visionaries anticipate market trends and build capabilities before demand materializes. Heroes advance innovation despite scarce resources, relying on institutional determination. This taxonomy matters because it dismantles a widespread assumption that innovation requires cutting-edge technology or sprawling laboratories. A compensation fund that redesigns how healthcare reaches peripheral neighborhoods is innovating. A food producer that reformulates a product to match shifting consumer habits is innovating too.
Geographically, Antioquia emerged as the dominant region, claiming 12 of the top 30 spots. Corona Industrial leads the charge, but the list also includes ALSEC, Renault-Sofasa, Industrias Médicas Sampedro, SURA, Essity, BASICA, Haceb, Comfama, Incolmotos Yamaha, Postobón, and Guane Emerging Technologies. Cundinamarca follows with substantial representation: Alpina, Cardioinfantil, Ecopetrol, Colsubsidio, Comestibles Ricos, Banco Davivienda, Alianza Team, Alquería, Monet, Schneider Electric, Bancamía, and Compensar. Valle del Cauca contributes three companies, while Santander and Bolívar each add one. Some names on the list carry particular weight because they signal something about Colombia's economic evolution. Guane Emerging Technologies, ranked 30th, is a small Antioquia firm competing on equal footing with much larger enterprises. BASICA, at 18th, develops agricultural solutions from the same region. Industrias Médicas Sampedro, at 13th, manufactures medical devices. Their presence in the top thirty speaks to a productive diversification taking root beyond the country's traditional sectors.
Citas Notables
Innovation is not synonymous with cutting-edge technology or sprawling laboratories—a compensation fund redesigning healthcare delivery to peripheral neighborhoods also innovates, as does a food producer reformulating products for new consumer habits— Andi's ranking analysis
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a ceramics company beating out banks and oil companies matter so much?
Because it breaks the assumption that innovation belongs only to finance and energy. Corona Industrial proves you can be genuinely sophisticated in how you think about manufacturing, materials, processes. It changes what counts as innovation.
The 5.61 percent investment in R&D—is that a lot?
It's substantial for Colombian companies. But here's the tension: a mid-sized firm investing that percentage is still operating from a much smaller revenue base than international competitors spending the same proportion. So the question becomes whether volume matters more than percentage.
What about the jobs number—5,887 new positions in tech-related roles?
That's the answer to the automation anxiety people carry. Yes, machines replace repetitive work. But the companies creating new jobs for data engineers and product developers show the cycle doesn't end in pure loss. You get different work, not no work.
Why does Antioquia have so many companies in the top thirty?
It's not random. The region has built clusters in manufacturing, medical devices, food production, and now emerging tech. When you have that density of capability and investment, innovation compounds. One company's success attracts talent and capital that fuel the next one.
Does the ranking suggest Colombia can actually compete globally?
It suggests the ambition is there. But Andi's own question is honest: ambition and investment aren't enough if your competitors are investing similar percentages from bases ten times larger. Scale matters.