Sun Concept will leave Olhão, where it was born and has been headquartered since its creation in 2015, to move to Setúbal, revealed to Sul Informação João Bastos, commercial director of this Algarve company that builds 100% solar boats.
«We are going to leave our current facilities [in the industrial zone of Olhão] because we need to increase our construction capacity, we need more space, to improve the production lines and to have effective lines, each with its own model», he explained. .
Considering the different alternatives, Sun Concept decided to leave the Algarve, despite the «very fondness» it has for the region, «for several reasons, firstly the limitation of spaces with the conditions that we need. The offers are few and, as such, the values that ask for them tend to be higher».
«We also have, like other shipyards in the Algarve, a great difficulty in getting a specialized workforce», said João Bastos, in an interview with Sul Informação.
«The possibility arose of going to Setúbal, to a good space, with advantageous economic conditions in relation to what exists down here, and we took advantage», he said.
On the other hand, «Setúbal is an area where there is still a lot of shipbuilding industry and a tradition in this sector, so we believe that it will be, somehow, easier to find specialized labor».
This need for change has to do with the increase in requests, mainly coming from across borders.
«Before Covid-19, our market was essentially national, but now, since 2022 and 2023, our export volume is much higher than sales at national level, in the order of 80% of sales abroad» , revealed.
«Logically, exports are here to stay. We are very happy and proud to sell to the national market, but I won't say that the international market is not good for us, because in fact it is, since it is much bigger. Export is fundamental for us, especially when we are increasing production capacity", he concluded.
Photos: Nuno Costa | Sul Informação
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