Bensaude Distribution, through its company CFA - Centros de Fabrico dos Açores, which has been part of the Bensaude Group since 2021, inaugurated a new meat, wild fish, bakery and pastry processing plant in São Miguel, last Wednesday, November 15.
The inauguration was attended by Carlos Filipe Medeiros - Executive Director of the Bensaude Group, Tomás Bensaude Fernandes - Director of Bensaude Holdings, Luís Moutinho - CEO of Sonae MC, the Mayor of Ponta Delgada - Pedro Nascimento Cabral and the President of the Regional Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro.
Carlos Filipe Medeiros made his speech thanking the entire team involved in this project for their commitment and the collaboration of all the producer partners, key elements "in bringing CFA to fruition".
CFA's share capital is 80% owned by the Bensaude Group, 10% by SONAE and 10% by Moagem Terceirense.
Luís Moutinho emphasised "the importance of this project for exporting products from the Azores to mainland Portugal for the more than 300 Continente shops, which are quality products that can be well processed and exported."
This unique industrial structure will be mainly dedicated to the export of fish and beef, incorporating industries that support the main activities of the primary sector in the Azores, such as agriculture and fisheries. It also includes a logistics warehouse, which is a large storage and dispatch structure, essential to support export activity.
Located in Nordela, in Ponta Delgada, it is a large building (over 5,000 square metres of gross construction area) and is a benchmark of excellence in the areas of quality, innovation and sustainability.
The Mayor of Ponta Delgada emphasised "the permanent motivation with which the Bensaude Group has worked throughout its existence in the Azores and which, over the decades, has kept the flame of progress alive, the flame of development, the flame of going ahead lighting the way, going ahead setting objectives and goals for what is the valorisation of the excellence of the identity of the Azores."
CFA's mission is to valorise the products of the Azores with high quality standards, establishing a lasting and trusting relationship with clients and partners. All production is regional, valuing the work of fishermen's associations, cooperatives, agricultural associations, small, medium and large producers, direct contracts with boats, shellfish gatherers, among others. The aim is to create added value in the Azores, reinforcing the importance of exporting Azorean products with an eye on the global market, without losing focus on valorising the Azorean origins.
In his speech, Tomás Bensaude Fernandes assumed that the main objective of CFA and the investment in these new facilities is to help strengthen exports from the Autonomous Region of the Azores: 70% of the total fish purchased and 80% of the total beef cut will be exported.
In total, this new factory has 104 employees, including 22 specialised technicians, and has created 31 new jobs.
The President of the Regional Government of the Azores "recognised the importance of the producers and suppliers of the Azores, who are the basis for the operation and justification of the CFA."
With regard to its commitment to sustainability and, in particular, its concerns about reducing its ecological footprint and energy efficiency, CFA invested €1,710,425.00 in this area of the project. To this concern, the adoption of a state-of-the-art refrigeration plant, using natural refrigerants such as NH3 (ammonia), CO2 (carbon dioxide) and water, which is determined by environmental issues and requirements related to reducing the ecological footprint, also represents an enormous added value in terms of energy efficiency: in terms of its use, it is estimated that there will be savings of more than 25% compared to traditional systems.
The installation of photovoltaic panels will also produce 430,000 KWh/year, thus avoiding more than 230,000 kg/year of CO2 emissions. At the same time, LED light bulbs have been installed throughout the plant, as well as the implementation of ATM (Modified Atmosphere) and skin pack (vacuum tray) packaging, with 100% recyclable composition, and incorporating recycled products, namely the reuse of plastic collected from the oceans.
Nowadays, this large factory currently fulfils all the requirements of the Environmental Management System (EMS). Voluntary certification and international standards (NP EN ISO 14001:2015) allow us to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the planet by managing the environmental risks associated with our activity, with a constant concern for reducing environmental impact.
In terms of innovation, the new factory has its own laboratory for the development of new products, experiments, tastings and sensory tests with a panel of tasters, a pioneering project in the Azores, whose efficiency is the possibility of working on a product from here, from its beginning to the end of production.
In terms of quality, this industrial unit was designed to enable the implementation of a food safety management system, namely FSSC22000, recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
Certification for packaging PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), PGI (Protected Geographical Identification) and BIO (organic farming) products is underway.
The meat processed here is 100% Azorean and this is only possible through partnerships with more than 50 individual producers and meat associations/cooperatives in the Azores. Also, as a factor of valorisation and sustainability, since 2022 CFA has had the WELFAIR Animal Welfare certification, which is transversal to the entire production chain, from primary production, to slaughtering units, processing units and finally the points of sale. This certification is a guarantee of the defence, respect and dignity of animals, as well as practices that promote ethical, thoughtful and sustainable production with the highest levels of food safety. By the end of this year, we hope to have 45 certified producers on our side.
Concerning fish, which is also 100% Azorean, we already have 12 local partners with boats and Lotaçor at the start of this new unit to supply the best fish to the tables of the Azorean people and across borders.
CFA - Centros de Fabrico dos Açores was created in January 2021 with three plants, two in São Miguel and one in Terceira. With this new building, which concentrates the two factories, CFA gains a decisive and relevant scale for the export business. It values regional raw materials and produces according to the strictest quality standards, based on the expertise of Bensaude Distribution’s team and business partners.