WEG has just announced the construction of a new electric motor factory in Santo Tirso, Portugal. The company intends to invest 23.5 million euros to build 22,680 m² of manufacturing facilities on the same area where WEG already has a 16,300 m² low voltage industrial motor factory.
WEG´s plan with the new unit is to expand the production of large electric motors and transfer its factory located in Maia to Santo Tirso, centralizing all operations in a single manufacturing site.
Increasing production capacity
WEG started its own operations in Portugal in 2002 with the purchase of an electric motor factory in Maia
“We are not only making investments to increase production capacity, but also improving our operations in Portugal. In addition to moving the production of medium and high voltage, flameproof motors, electrical panels, automation solutions and service support to Santo Tirso, we are also planning to increase electrical motors range for larger sizes in the country,” says Alberto Kuba, Managing Director of WEG Motores – Industrial Business Unit. As stated by Alberto, this is a strategic investment and represents a very important step for WEG's business expansion in the European market.
The new factory in Santo Tirso should start operating in the first quarter of 2024 and will allow the creation of around 100 new jobs. WEG started its own operations in Portugal in 2002 with the purchase of an electric motor factory in Maia. In 2015, the company started the construction of a new electric motor factory in Santo Tirso, 24 kilometres away from Maia.
This unit was inaugurated in 2018 and incorporates a verticalized production line that counts on machining processes, rotor manufacturing, winding, assembly and dedicated electrical testing laboratories. Currently, WEG employs more than 700 people in Portugal.