For years, residents have protested smoke emissions from the factory
Cork company Corticeira Amorim has announced plans to close its factory in Silves and move its expanded cork production to Vendas Novas, citing operational efficiency and proximity to raw materials as the primary reasons.
However, the decision follows years of tensions with local residents over persistent smoke emissions from the Silves facility.
“After evaluating the existing production capacities of several Amorim Cork Solutions industrial units, it was decided to transfer, as of June 9, the Silves industrial unit to the Vendas Novas unit (which also produces insulation products),” the company said in a statement sent to the Portuguese stock market regulator (CMVM).
Centralising its operations in Vendas Novas means the company “will benefit from being closer to the raw materials used in production and will allow investment efforts to be concentrated in achieving greater productivity and competitiveness in relaunching the expanded cork business,” the company says.
Despite the years of protests from local residents, Amorim guarantees that “the decision was based solely on operational efficiency, considering only market-related factors, installed capacity versus market size, and the location of the cork oak forests.”
It also noted that the transfer is part of “major investments in new technologies” currently underway “with a view to relaunching the expanded cork business,” which at the beginning of this year was integrated into a new business unit called Amorim Cork Solutions.
This new business unit was created to combine the company’s flooring and insulation activities, bringing together Amorim Cork Flooring, Amorim Cork Composites, and Amorim Cork Insulation. The goal is to “ensure a more integrated management of operations and to boost industrial, commercial, and support synergies, strengthening the ‘non-cork stopper’ segment of the business.”
In the statement, Corticeira Amorim’s chairman and CEO, António Rios de Amorim, said that the creation of Amorim Cork Solutions “marks a new chapter in the company’s history.”
Meanwhile, Amorim confirmed that 31 employees currently working in Silves will be offered the option to relocate to Vendas Novas. A company representative acknowledged, however, that relocation may not be possible for everyone and said fair severance terms will be discussed with those who choose not to move.
The news will be music to the ears of residents near the factory, who for years have contested the smoke emitted from the Silves factory. Just last year, the residents, who created a civic group called “The Factory Neighbours”, claim that Corticeira Amorim Cork Insulation did not follow the plan presented to the Silves municipal council and the regional development commission (CCDR) of the Algarve to eliminate smoke by the end of August 2023.
Citing problems with the installation of special filters to eliminate smoke, the company vowed however that it would end the smoke emissions by June 2025 – curiously, the same date which the company will now shut down the Silves factory to move to the Alentejo.
