The Beneteau Group announced, this Wednesday, the establishment of an industrial pole in Alto Minho, for the manufacture of motor boats, expecting to create about 700 jobs. To complete the project, it proceeded with the acquisition of two existing shipbuilding and ship repair plants in Vila Nova de Cervera and Valenza.
According to a statement from the Valença Chamber, the French group bought the former Rodman Lusitania factory, inactive for several years, in Gandra Business Park, and Starfisher, in the industrial area of Campos, in Vila Nova de Cerveira. It will then install a “production center for motor boats of less than 40 feet” in the region.
“In the highly dynamic daily boat market (powerboats less than 40 feet in length), the Beneteau Group continues its industrial development and consolidates its presence in Portugal, along with its Polish and American units dedicated to these markets,” says Jerome de Metz, President and CEO of the Beneteau Group. Group, mentioned in the above statement. He added, “In the end, we plan to produce 1,000 boats annually in this new center [no Alto Minho]With a workforce of about 700 people.
The two plants purchased by the French company are located about ten kilometers apart, and their merger will lead to the emergence of a Portuguese subsidiary of the Beneteau Group, called GB Portugal Lda.
The Mayor of Valença, José Manuel Carpentera, welcomed the new investment, considering “the excellent news the resumption of Rodman’s previous activity and the fact that Valença is one of the members of this industrial centre, giving rise to Group GB Portugal Lda., will contribute to job creation and the economic dynamism of the province.”
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