FAURECIA DOUBLES AREA OF IMPLANTATION AT THE LOGISTICAL CENTER AT SANTA MARIA DA FEIRA

The Business center of Santa Maria da Feira (CEF), an investment of about eight million euros, already has two new investments of Spanish companies in view, one in the steel sector, the other in the construction of large structures.

Faurecia, one of the largest automotive multinationals operating in Portugal, will double the area of its logistics center at the Business Center of Santa Maria da Feira (CEF), thus managing a total of around 6,000 square meters, said the director general of the center, Hugo Pinto.

Also in mind are two new investments from Spanish business groups. One of them is linked to the steel sector and another to the construction of large structures, said Hugo Pinto, without power to reveal the names.

The CEF was created about 18 months ago, from the use of facilities and space left by the old factory Rhode - which was once the largest footwear factory in the country - and occupies an area of approximately 51,500 square meters (of which 27,000 m2 are dedicated to warehouse and 3 thousand m2 to small and large offices) is currently with an occupation rate of about 55%.

But the management entity - where he pontificates the City Hall of Santa Maria da Feira - is already considering the growth of the complex, through the construction of a second office building or of services, said Hugo Pinto.

The CEF represents today for the economic development of Santa Maria da Feira the capture of more than 45 companies, which have already created more than 120 jobs. When compared to the other industrial zones in the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, Hugo Pinto pointed out that CEF has "a differentiated service in terms of fit out and support services, in terms of the functionality of the facilities themselves".

Hugo Pinto also said that given the success achieved so far, they are "considering the replication of this business model to other areas of Santa Maria da Feira or anywhere in the national territory".

Among the companies that are already installed in the CEF, stands out the presence of McDonalds, which locates its operational center there; Napa Codina, a Brazilian tannery sales company; and Intevial, the company that carries out the works under the responsibility of Infraestruturas de Portugal.

According to Hugo Pinto, the core business of CEF, which is a private company, is the capture of technology companies and services to occupy the spaces for offices and value-added services companies for the warehouses.

Emídio Sousa, the mayor of Santa Maria da Feira, said that "the City Hall will follow solutions of this type to other locations, replicating the success it had in the CEF". The municipality does not directly invest in the creation of these logistics centers, "but it promotes this kind of investment with all the support that a local authority can give".

Emídio Sousa also explained that Santa Maria da Feira "will be close to a situation of full employment, so the region is already actively looking for anyone who wants to come to work here". In this situation, immigrants who left Santa Maria da Feira for Venezuela and the Brazil, but also "students from a hotel school in Cape Verde, which I visited recently and that motivated local entrepreneurs a lot".