The PIEP – Centre for Innovation in Polymer Engineering – signed a collaboration protocol with the Póvoa de Lanhoso City Council to strengthen the competitiveness of companies in the municipality.

The two entities formalised the signing of a cooperation protocol yesterday, which falls within the framework of the municipal strategy for economic development and the strengthening of the territorial competitiveness of the Póvoa de Lanhoso municipality, and the strategic scope of PIEP of increasing the competitiveness of companies and industry.

“Our main objective is that this protocol can provide companies with solutions that help solve the challenges they face daily and, above all, that help position the companies currently located in the Póvoa de Lanhoso territory at the forefront of competitiveness at both national and international levels,” explained Frederico Castro, during the signing of the protocol, which took place at the PIEP facilities on the Azurém campus in Guimarães, where he was accompanied by the Councillor for Economic Development, Gilberto Anjos.

The mayor emphasized that the municipality has been in talks with various entities to strengthen the competitiveness of local businesses and that this protocol with PIEP will allow “companies to have access to a service that truly helps make a difference, that helps find solutions, innovate, and explore paths they had never considered before.”

“I know that an entrepreneur’s mind is often much more focused on the day-to-day, on the immediate, and on the solutions and results they need for that moment, that week, or that month, but it’s important to have partners who can help us think and who, simultaneously with all the work being developed in the company, help us find solutions, present suggestions, and help us test them,” he added, noting that these solutions don’t appear overnight, but “this is a path that has to be followed, in this case between PIEP, the Municipality, and the companies.”

In this first phase, a characterisation of the business fabric of Póvoa de Lanhoso and its needs will be carried out, “so that we ourselves, together with PIEP, can draw up an action plan and a plan of intentions, so to speak, for the coming times, which will allow companies to feel this difference in the medium or long term,” therefore, in the coming months.

Frederico Castro hopes that entrepreneurs will take advantage of the opportunities that will arise with this protocol. “The challenge is for companies to seek us out, to seek out PIEP, to be curious to understand this opportunity. We will also seek out companies and challenge them to take advantage of this new instrument, so to speak, that they will have at their disposal. I am fully convinced that it will be a virtuous and successful path for all stakeholders: companies, the municipality, and PIEP, for everyone,” concluded the mayor.

Cláudia Cristóvão, General Manager of PIEP, explained that this association, created 25 years ago, “in practice, bridges the gap between academia and businesses,” and is now focusing on partnerships with municipalities with the goal of reaching the business sector.

“PIEP’s mission is to be the innovation partner of companies,” said Cláudia Cristóvão, highlighting that with this protocol, PIEP hopes to do what it is already doing with other municipalities, which is to understand the business fabric, know its needs, and understand how it can contribute to the competitiveness of these companies, bringing the experience it has gained over these 25 years, but also to be a provider of networking, solutions, or other partners in situations where PIEP may, for some reason, not be covered in terms of the needs of some companies.”

PIEP has a historical relationship with Guimarães, as the municipality of Guimarães is one of its founding members. More recently, PIEP has established protocols with other municipalities, such as Fafe, Vila Nova de Cerveira, and now Póvoa de Lanhoso, and is still in talks with Viana do Castelo. The General Manager of PIEP emphasizes that municipalities are important partners in reaching companies, “because, in fact, they know their region.”