The choice of Amarante as the location for the new factory was supported by AICEP, Portugal’s Trade and Investment Agency. Factors such as industrial history, cost structure, work environment and the availability of qualified labor were decisive. Furthermore, the proximity to three local universities offers significant advantages in terms of recruiting and retaining talent, and facilitating continued growth in Portugal, according to Conextivity group.
"The new Portuguese facility is the first of its kind outside of Switzerland," said President Sabrina Brossard at the inauguration ceremony. "It is a cornerstone of our vision and growth strategy as a global, full-service connectivity partner. The Amarante plant also supports the industrialization of our latest products and solutions."
The Conextivity group plant extends over 4,600 m2, encompassing several buildings within an 11,600 m2 campus in Amarante in northern Portugal. Operations at the new Amarante unit began in October 2023, and to date, the factory has produced more than 2.4 million connectors, representing 70% of the production volume of Fischer Connectors, one of the group's companies.
The new facility was designed by architect Alexandre Burmester of A. Burmester Arquitectos Associados Lda, based in Porto, and built by Braga-based construction company DST. It enhances the Group’s production capacity to meet the growing global demand for the connectivity solutions offered by its two businesses, Fischer Connectors and Wearin’.
Since the family company was founded in 1954, the connector assembly operations had always been centralized at the Swiss manufacturing facility, R&D center and headquarters. However, the Portuguese plant will allow the Connectivity Group to increase its cable assembly production capacity and to leverage an efficient and resilient industrial setup consisting of two connector assembly production lines, namely at the historic site in Saint-Prex, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, and at the new site in Amarante, Portugal.