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1. What is the long-term vision you have regarding the development of your municipality?
We are a municipality offering quality of life for its inhabitants and holding infrastructures capable of attracting national and foreign investment, with particular relevance for services, and cultural and business tourism. Santa Maria da Feira brings together excellent conditions to improve in the short term the economic development that is already visible for some years.
In this context our ongoing projects of technological and environmental innovation have of course a major importance, as we assume them to be strategic. I refer here, for instance, the expansion project of the Europarque (a project classified as of National Interest), the Cork Business Park and the Business Park for recyclable materials. We are in a highly competitive territory whose future lies unquestionably on diversified businesses and on a large investment in the tertiary sector.
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2. Why do you consider your municipality to be attractive as a location for companies and businesses?
Santa Maria da Feira is in first place a privileged municipality in terms of location. It is strategically situated at an intersection of a number of important communication means that ensure the proximity to large urban centres like Porto, Aveiro and Coimbra. Moreover the access of people and goods is facilitated by the proximity to the Sá Carneiro International Airport (Porto) and the ports of Leixões (Porto) and Aveiro.
The municipality is the largest centre for cork processing in the world. The volume of exports of cork products competes with the one of major factories like the Car Factory Auto-Europe, where a vast majority of the raw material is of domestic origin. It is not only the most industrialised municipality of the district of Aveiro (with about six thousand companies) but as well one of the most industrialized of the whole country; a position that brought us know-how regarding investment attraction, which we intend to reinforce in new business sectors.
Furthermore, the integration in the metropolitan area of Porto has enabled integrated and sustainable development policies in key areas such as accessibility, facilities and environment, and thus ensuring even greater capacity for decision and negotiation before the national government.
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3. Do you think that the municipality has a vocation and is in the position to receive Foreign Direct Investment?
Santa Maria de Feira not only has the vocation but is as well interested in receiving foreign investment. We aim at the diversification of the existing industrial texture and the implementation of new companies with an innovative profile, especially on the technological and environmental level.
Besides, our experience with foreign investors is not a new one, especially in the shoe sector, where we have some successful examples in the municipality. On the other hand, we receive foreign investors and business people on mission to whom we have the chance to make evidence of Santa Maria da Feira’s potential.
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4. And concerning Domestic Investors?
The vocation and interest is the same for domestic investors. In these times we look for innovation in productive processes and products, on a permanent search for quality, in order to establish a strategy for economic development and regional planning. Thus our doors are open to national and foreign investors.
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5. Is there any person or service available with the task to support potential investors who are considering establishing their production units in your municipality?
The responsibilities regarding development, innovation, modernisation, management and tourism of our municipality is in charge to accompany potential investors, through the Entrepreneurs Support Cabinet and the Municipal Cabinet for Development. The Office for International Relations assumes as well a fundamental role in this process, as it has experience in the organisation and monitoring of business missions in Portugal, and also abroad accompanying national entrepreneurs.
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6. Which specific incentives could be offered to entrepreneurs who intend establishing their units in your municipality?
Apart of the support we offer for the selection of the most adequate location for the installation of companies in the municipality, investors will, among others, benefit of a reduction of taxes and logistic support.
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7. What is the availability of labour in the area?
Apart of specialised manpower in the municipality’s traditional sectors, the municipality and the region have a young and entrepreneurial population educated in our universities, especially in Porto, Aveiro and Coimbra, in fundamental areas like engineering, management and new technologies. These qualified human resources are eager to stay in the region, reason why direct investment attraction is mandatory.
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8. How is the municipality being promoted so as to attract investors?
The new information and communication technologies are without any doubt a privileged channel, of which the where-to-invest-in-portugal.com platform is one of various examples. Additionally the role of the portal Entre Douro e Vouga has to be noted as well and the various thematic sites we regularly feed, as well as the actions of communication directed to the entrepreneurial public and as already mentioned before the entrepreneurial missions.
On the other hand, and because we believe that that the promotion of the municipality as a whole enhances the attraction of investment, Santa Maria de Feira participates in several clusters, of which the Tourism Bourse in Lisbon should be highlighted, where we clearly work hard on Cultural and Business Tourism.
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9. Is there a specific message you have for potential investors?
Santa Maria da Feira is a quiet and welcoming municipality, which is closely accessible from large urban centres due to the excellent means of communication offered which enable easy flows of people, trade and business.
We have a long and strong entrepreneurial tradition, motivated by the entrepreneurship of our people, and we are committed to attracting new business, boosting our economy, generating more wealth and providing skilled human resources to enable all this.
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