Founded on April 23, 1974 and almost completing 50 years of activity, SIVAC – Sociedade Ideal de Vinhos de Aveiras de Cima, S.A. received, in the person of administrator José António Vidais, a visit from directors and technicians from AIP, who they were able to learn about the productive strength of this pioneer in “bag-in-box” packaging, the way it translates its investments in technology and faces new challenges, placing it among the best in the sector that supplies the increasingly global market.
SIVAC produces, packages and sells red, white, rosé wines, liqueur wines and pomace spirits for the National Market, for Africa (Cape Verde, Guinea, Nigeria, Gabon, Gambia, São Tomé, Angola and Mozambique), which absorbs 50% of exports, with West African countries taking the lion's share; and Europe (Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania and Switzerland), with 40%. It also exports to Canada, USA, China, Timor and Brazil (10%).
Through the “bag in-box” (it can be open for up to 28 days without altering the quality of the wine because there is no oxygen input), 2.5 million packages are filled, which corresponds to 60% of the wine sold by the company.
It holds a portfolio that brings together some well-known brands such as Capataz, highly appreciated in the “saudade market”. Also highlight the wines Canto da Vinha, Curriola, Condesável, Brejeiro, Sousete, domBago, Entrepontes and Regulo.
“We have long privileged relationships with partners”, highlights administrator José Vidais, explaining that the company continues to grow sustainably in the markets where it is located, but also to expand the sale of its products to new markets.
“Choose a local, and right, operator in each market” is the path outlined. “More than producing, packaging and selling wine, our business is trust”, says the administrator, aware that nowadays “many companies do the same thing and at the same price in the world”, therefore, the differentiating factor “trust gives value to the business, because it lasts over time”.
SIVAC sells more than 23 million liters of wine per year, a number that reflects the commitment of its 48 workers and the investment in new techniques and equipment.
In production, it transforms 7 million kilos of grapes, from around 200 local producers, which are processed in the new SIVAC wine cellar, built in 2008, “but without forgetting the tradition of wine production”, guarantees the administrator.
To expand and enhance the range of offerings, there is a Douro wine production project being developed in Carrazeda de Anciães, in partnership with the company DouroAnsiães, a wine producer and bottler owned by the well-known winemaker Zito Santos.
Currently, the installed storage capacity is 23 million liters, the result of successive investments made over the last 20 years. The “factory floor” operates with three bottling lines, three bag-in-box filling lines and two tetra-pack packaging lines. “They allow us to view any market or any customer as a reality that incorporates certainties in the service provided, thus showing the ability to respond to any challenge and any market”, highlights José Vidais.
The concern for sustainability is constant in every detail and at every step and is well represented by the 244 kW photovoltaic plant, which already becomes autonomous at certain moments or days of the year.
There are challenges to take into account, such as a potential new market made up of the children of Portuguese emigrants, whose preferences and places of consumption are not the same as those of their parents. “We are studying alternatives outside traditional commercial channels, through joint solutions with large distribution that also include the creation of new products”, concludes José Vidais.
