Vanguard buys Saint-Gobain factory in Santo Tirso for €12 million

Vanguard Properties in a consortium with Permanente, a Portuguese holding controlled by José Maria Ferreira, have announced the acquisition of Covipor which operates in the glass sector for civil construction from the French Saint-Gobain for €12 million.

“It is with great satisfaction that we welcome Covipor. We work hard so that our projects are recognised worldwide and, for us, we are extremely proud to contribute to the national economy in this phase of the project and execution, using raw materials and Portuguese know-how”, said José Cardoso Botelho, CEO of Vanguard Properties, quoted in a communiqué.
Located in Santo Tirso, the Companhia Vidreira do Porto (Covipor) which belonged to Saint-Gobain, has a turnover of €20 million per annum, employs around 100 workers, and is a benchmark in the manufacturing and distribution of flat glass for assembly on site, mostly meant for the civil construction and decoration.
For José Maria Ferreira “this acquisition has taken place as part of a strategy that was well thought out and studied some time ago in the sense of reinforcing its vision and desire to take construction to a new level that will cater for the needs of the future and be adapted to the evolution and innovation that several other sectors have reached”, it says in a statement.
This is the third strategic investment from Vanguard Properties in Portuguese industrial construction since 2021 and cements the investment from Vanguard’s private-equity division in the Portuguese industrial construction sector which is strategic for the development of future projects and those underway at Terras da Comporta and Muda Reserve. In 2021 and 2023 Vanguard Properties invested €55 million in the companies KŌZŌWOOD (Esposende) and ECOSTEEL (Póvoa do Varzim), respectively.

Photo: L-R: José Maria Ferreira (Permanente S.A.), José Martos (CEO Saint-Gobain, Portugal) and José Cardoso Botelho. (MD, Vanguard)