Portugal Inovador — Vector Mais

In the latest issue of Portugal Inovador magazine, distributed with Público newspaper, Vector Mais was one of the featured companies in an edition dedicated to the main players in the real estate and construction markets. We leave here the whole article:

Reaching success through a specific focus

Integrating the Higher SGPS Group, Vector Mais is the market benchmark within the development of interior spaces towards the Office, Retail and Hospitality segments.

Its foundation dates back to 2000, resulting from the sensing of a market gap. As the CEO, Duarte Aires explains, "it was perceived that there were no contractors specialized in working interiors." Such an absence posed a subsequent difficulty, which was particularly felt by multinationals that were installing operations in Portugal and attempting to find companies that could present and execute an integral project aimed at offices.

The present scenario is different and this level of scarcity is no longer the issue. Nevertheless, Vector Mais carries on asserting its position not just as the “pioneering company in the field”, but also as “the main reference in this market”. Its initial direction, which sought to meet the already mentioned niche, continues to represent a focus for the company, while other paths have also been explored. Its daily work is now subdivided into four main areas: offices, retail, hotels and the supply of equipment for the three aforementioned fields. As regards the latter, Vector Mais represents a set of international brands and the resulting operations are "a structuring area of the company's activities".

Duarte Aires shows no hesitation when questioned about what distinguishes Vector Mais, pointing out two levels. "One is clearly our specialization. This is a specific area and if a traditional contractor attempts to engage in this activity, it will be faced with a sizeable set of difficulties; it will lack access to processes, engineering, workers and suppliers with the necessary profile", he considers. At the same time, the “spirit of commitment towards the customer” is also highlighted, which is reflected in its relationship of many years with some of these partners: "We have clients with whom, in 19 years, we have already done two or three cycles."

The names that rely on Vector More are an obvious indicator of what has been said so far. For example, our interviewee mentions Microsoft, Sanofi, PLMJ or Tranquilidade as clients for whom the company currently has projects under construction. Regarding its territorial scope, although in the hospitality segment there is a greater distribution throughout the country, the very nature of the corporate market leads its work to strongly focus on Lisbon and, to a lesser extent, Porto.

Nine years ago, Vector Mais decided to embrace the challenge of operating abroad, namely in Angola, where "it is also a reference in this sector" and played the same pioneering role it had previously assumed in Portugal.

All of this finds support in a technical staff of 54 professionals, distributed by the various related specialties, plus a daily average of 800 other workers who, through outsourcing, are under the company’s responsibility.

With that said, the company’s expected path will consist in “carrying on with its activity, further establishing its commercial objectives and bringing a quality service to the clients", after a year in which sales have grown by 9%.