Renault Cacia celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and, to mark this date, the French brand organized a special event which was attended by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the Group's World Director for Industry Renault and General Director of the Renault Group in Portugal and Spain, José Vicente de Los Mozos.
During the event, José Vicente de Los Mozos insisted on presenting the factory to the President of the Republic, specifically the new assembly line from which the new JT 4 gearbox (six-speed manual) for 1.0 gasoline engines comes out. (HR10) and 1.6 (HR16) on the Clio, Captur and Mégane models by Renault and Sandero and Duster by Dacia.
Since the end of last year, the Cacia plant, which also produces oil pumps, balancers and other components in cast iron and aluminium, has guaranteed the exclusive production of this gearbox, in an investment that exceeded 100 million euros . The annual production capacity is around 600 thousand units.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who also had the opportunity to "walk" through the industrial complex behind the wheel of a Renault ZOE, highlighted the importance of the factory for the region and for the country, especially in the impulse it generated after the 25th of April.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Portuguese RepublicThe establishment of Renault in Portugal was a very important step towards development and European integration. It was an investment of great significance. It brought a European partner, France, which the future would show to be increasingly important for Portugal, as happens today.
"Now, at a distance of 40 years and after everything we've been through, it seems natural, it seems easy, it seems obvious, and there is a tendency to downplay, at the time, what was a gesture of courage, audacity, of long-term vision . The difficult thing is to understand what it was, where it was, and it was hard to imagine what it would become. And it would become a group with 2000 direct jobs and more than 1800 indirect jobs, market leader in 35 of the last 42 years and for 23 consecutive years", said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who ended his speech saying:
To the Renault workers of today, yesterday and tomorrow… Very grateful for what they helped to change Portugal. To the investor, the managers, those responsible, my acknowledgment.
Worker honored with Order of Merit
This was followed by a tribute “to one worker, as it is not possible to honor them all”, in which Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa awarded the Order of Merit to Hipólito Rodrigues Branco, one of the oldest workers in this factory.Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Portuguese RepublicHe has 40 years at Renault Cacia and another six at a company that she has bought in the meantime. By awarding it with the Order of Merit, I pay homage to all the others, the entire past, present and future of the institution.
José Vicente de Los Mozos, World Director for Industry of the Renault Group and General Director of the Renault Group in Portugal and Spain, also spoke, recalling that “with a turnover of 213 million euros in 2020” Renault Cacia “is a of the largest exporting companies in the country”.
“Since 1981, Renault Cacia has played a fundamental role in the development of this region, as well as of the national economy, currently having more than 1100 people who ensure a qualified workforce”, he stressed.
eyes set on the future
During the ceremony, there was still time to talk about the future of that production unit, which will soon start taking its first steps towards decarbonisation.
At the end of this year, the “largest photovoltaic self-consumption system in Portugal” will begin to be installed, which will be able to generate “an energy autonomy of 13% and avoid the emission of 1.8 thousand tons of CO2 per year”, announced José Vincent de Los Mozos.
The project, developed with ENGIE Hemera, will have 13 thousand photovoltaic modules and will occupy a total area of 46 000 m2, equivalent to more than four football fields. The system will have an installed capacity of 6 MWp (megawatt-peak), generating, on average, an annual energy production of 8 GWh.
In operation since September 1981, Renault Cacia is the second largest industrial unit of car manufacturers in Portugal, surpassed only by Autoeuropa, and one of the most important units in the area where it is located, in Aveiro.