Valnews july 2023

Constantly motivate yourself, that is the only reason that will bring you the desired victories.

Unknown author

Message from the Administration

Dear partners,

Another quarter has passed and we could not be more focused and determined in the development and growth of our companies.

In these last 3 months, we went further, with the journey of our companies abroad to promote our products. We also continue to invest in sustainability and energy transition.

Congratulations to Ciaro for completing 3 decades, a pioneer company in artificial insemination of pigs in Portugal, and also to Soclab for the accreditations won, standing out more and more in the market due to the trust of its customers and partners.

Thank you for being on their side.

Davide Vicente CEO

Sial 23 Fair Shanghai - China

Shanghai hosted another SIAL fair, which took place from May 18 to 20 this year. The fair covered a vast extension of 180,000 square meters, with about 4,500 exhibitors and more than 150,000 professionals from all over the world, with several sectors in the food area, such as: Dairy Products, Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Bevealso had several activities and events, catering to different tastes and interests, such as: SIAL Innovation, La Cuisine, Snacking Awards, Airline Catering, Chic & Tea Contest, SIAL CUP Barista Challenge, Chinese Restaurant, and the Seafood Festi-

being able to remain indifferent to such an event, it was an enormous pleasure to participate in this fair in order to establish new international partnerships and export the products. The feedback could not have been better, surpassing all objectives and expectations.

Laboratory Accreditation

SOCLAB REPORT, Análises Laboratoriais, Lda maintains the ACCREDITATION of the laboratory of the POLO DE RIO MAIOR for another year, having this year achieved the FLEXIBLE INTERMEDIATE ACCREDITATION, attributed by IPAC, demonstrating to be a more capable laboratory, offering greater confidence to the customers and other interested parties.

Simultaneously, 15 new tests in food and agro-food microbiology were accredited, which places the laboratory in the food microbiology area at the same level as other laboratories present in the market.

Within the scope of Veterinary Analyses, the research of Salmonella Abortusovis antibodies by the Elisa method was accredited, making it the only laboratory in Portugal accredited for this test, which is part of the protocol for the exportation of sheep to Israel.

We have also renewed for another five years, the RECOGNITION BY DGAV, as "official laboratory", for tests in the field of animal health. You can check these accreditations on our website www.soclab.pt or on the IPAC website.

We promise to continue working to demonstrate high technical competence and to become more and more a reference laboratory!

The Team

Energetic Transition

A Matter of Smart Sustainability

The evolution of the Energy Transition is a reality, and Valgrupo follows this transition, having a diverse fleet of electric and environmentally friendly vehicles, emitting zero emissions of greenhouse gases, which translates into less environmental pollution, which is also combined with less noise pollution.

In Europe there is a strategy to be followed by Member States, "European Green Deal" (EGD), an agreement with measures that aim to respond to climate change, focusing on energy efficiency from renewable sources.

The Digital Transition has also allowed the integration of renewables in an optimized way. The EGD has been monitored and complemented with measures aimed at accelerating the energy produced from renewable sources, and responding to the events that have been destabilizing the world economy, such as the pandemic and the unexpected war in Ukraine.

These measures have been greatly boosted, using legislative packages, with the aim of guaranteeing a secure and sustainable supply of raw materials for many industrial sectors at risk of shortages, due to factors such as limited supply, political instability in producing countries or environmental impacts. This includes measures to ensure access to raw materials, including the promotion of sustainable mining in the European Union, the development of new technologies for recycling, the reduction of raw material waste, and the diversification of supply sources through international trade agreements.

A second initiative, "Net Zero Industry Act", in the United States, aims to make industry carbon neutral by 2050, proposing measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as energy efficiency from renewable energy in industrial facilities, preventing serious environmental impacts, making industry more sustainable, fighting climate change.

Pay attention to speed. The higher the speed, the higher the power consumption, and this will affect the autonomy.

30 Years Ciaro

Created in 1993, Ciaro was the first artificial insemination center for pigs in Portugal. Thus becoming pioneer in the area of semen production and genetic control of male pigs.

Throughout these years, Ciaro has developed products, trying to respond to the production and market needs. For the same reason, Ciaro created 3 production lines, and more than 10 breeds of pigs, to meet the needs of its customers.

In the production lines of the pig breeds we find:

• Terminals: 3 pure lines of German Pietrain and a Commercial Hybrid line

• Maternal: Land Race

To guarantee a quality product, Ciaro invests in innovation and technology, having a modern laboratory and state-of-the-art software, with specialized human resources, following a very strict working process and control in the production of porcine semen doses, in order to guarantee seminal quality.

Ciaro started its activity registering a production of 5 thousand doses/year and currently registers a production of 363 thousand doses/year, following the needs of the consumers and the market in general, having a significant evolution.

In order to keep the semen quality, Ciaro has a wide distribution network, with several factors contributing to this:

• Location, in Torres Vedras, in a geographically privileged area, with easy access to the various points of the national territory.

• Fleet specially prepared for the transportation of semen, equipped with a temperature chamber to minimize semen variations during transportation.

This year is marked by the company's 30 years of existence, being one more year of hard work, dedication and achievements.

Congratulations to the whole team for another year of accomplishments!

Automation, Rigor and Process

Industrial automation is today one of the areas that has advanced the most in recent decades, new technologies emerge every year, while others are improved, increa sing the range of possibilities for implementing resour ces in the automation of industrial processes.

The evolution of industrial automation goes back to prehis toric times, when man started developing and inventions with the intention of reducing physical effort and aiding in the performance of activities, such as the invention of the wheel to move cargo, windmills to grind cereals, and the use of animal power. In the 18th century, with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, there was an abrupt evolution in the production mode, man started producing goods in scale, and with mass production, concepts such as Productivity and Process Control gained strength, allied to technological innovations developed in that period, including machines capable of producing with greater precision and speed and new energy sources, such as steam, applied to machines to replace hydraulic and/or muscular energy. This evolutionary scenario "paves the way" for the appearance of "self-learning" processes through which, the mechanisms verify their own operation, making autonomous and programmed measurements and corrections, without the need for direct human intervention - "automated process"

Daniel Marques Industrial Manager

It is worth pointing out that although the concepts are often confused, derived from their interconnection, automation is different from mechanization. While mechanization is based on the use of machines to perform tasks in place of physical effort, automation makes it possible to do tasks by means of machines that are automatically controlled. Thus, a simple definition for automation is that of a control system whereby mechanisms check their own operation, making measurements and introducing corrections as programmed, removing the need for human intervention.

Valnutri's feed mills, which belong to Valgrupo, are an excellent example of the materialization of this definition. Valgrupo is firmly committed to the automation of its industrial units, since an automated factory contributes to production efficiency through the reliability of the dosing of raw materials, the control imposed by the optical reading systems, the graphic measurements of temperature, time, pressure, energy consumption, etc., and most importantly, the greater ease in identifying anomalies that could harm the quality of the feed. Obtaining technical results of excellence is only possible if there is rigor in the control of the variables of the manufacturing process, i.e. any magnitude or condition of a process that is susceptible to variation. These variables properly combined, regulated, and directed to its specific purpose, annually generate for Valgrupo more than 450 thousand tons of compound feed.

For Valgrupo "There is almost nothing as important as feeding the planet". According to statistical forecasts we will have to feed nine billion people by 2050. This is a challenge not only for the food industry, but certainly also for the feed industry. The better the feed for the animals that provide us with milk, cheese and meat, the better the food on our tables. Is it as simple as that? No, the challenges are huge, from the cost of energy, to the scarcity of resources, to emissions targets and ever changing legislation, the compound feed industry has the challenge of becoming more sustainable, but we know that it is these challenges that make us evolve us stronger and more competitive in a constantly evol ving and changing market, as well as the automa tion of our companies.

Interview Animal Production Dept.

Day to Day of a Forewoman

VALPOR is the entity dedicated to the production of animals: pigs, cattle and turkeys. It represents a group of companies that accompany the entire life cycle of the animals, with the support of veterinarians and specialized personnel, who strive to comply with hygiene and animal welfare standards, so that the quality of the meat is guaranteed and in accordance with consumer demands.

Ferreira

How long have you worked as an engineer at Valpor and how did you start working here?

• I started working at Valpor in January 2018. I was working in a pig farm in Alentejo, but I was looking to transfer to my home area, Porto de Mós. I then made a spontaneous application for Valgrupo, given that the group was expanding rapidly and matched what I was looking for. I was very well received by everyone and during the first months I was on several farms, which allowed me to become completely acquainted with all the methodologies and work practices. After a year in the company, I became the responsible engineer for a closed cycle farm with 1200 sows. The following year I embraced a new challenge, being responsible for three farms with a total of 1500 sows.

Tell us a little about your daily.

• Currently, I am responsible for 4 breeding units and perform all the management and monitoring work of each one. The daily tasks focus mainly on the training of employees, daily management and all the necessary monitoring of animals, recording and analysis of production data, management of infrastructure and the entire area surrounding the livestock farm.

What qualities do you consider most important for this position?

• In my view, a person in charge and manager of people/teams must always have the ability to put him/herself in the other person's position and show respect for others, regardless of hierarchies. Parallel to this, the knowledge of animals and the sensibility to deal with them is just as important. I work every day in this sense and in search of improving my qualities.

Carina

Animal Production Eng. (Valpor)

Are there any unforeseen events? Which ones?

• My day-to-day is very dynamic, it would be strange if there were no unforeseen events. The most recurrent are the breakdowns in the facilities and the unexpected lack of members in work teams. Sometimes pathological problems happen with our animals, so we work every day in a preventive way so that these occurrences are infrequent.

What activities do you do in your job that give you the most pleasure? And why?

• I enjoy all the components of the work I do; however, what gives me the most pleasure is training people, teaching methodologies, and mainly transmitting the respect we should have for animals and the importance of their well-being. It is a task that, although laborious, becomes rewarding when I see that the effort bears fruit, that I have taught people who currently perform their tasks autonomously and with quality.

I consider it a great pillar of the industry, because when we have capable and efficient people the productive results will consecutively be good and improved. Say in one word how you feel at your workplace.

• Accomplished.

Message from H&S

Each one of us in our diferente tasks have responsibilities in promoting health and safety, because every day we are exposed to different risks. And if there are risk situations that do not depend on the action of an individual, there are others that depend only on the individual decision of adopting or not, the safest way to perform the task, not giving in to the pressure of time, easiness, devaluation of risk. The correct attitude towards occupational safety is to ensure that the task it’s done in a safer way, by changing the workplace and any hazardous process.

Safety is everyone's duty, and if one fails to do his part, the whole is compromised! Do your part and work safely!

TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER!

Group Certifications

The various companies in the group always seek the best so that the products are of the highest quality and reliable for consumers. With this in mind, we present some of the certifications that the group has in order to show the rigor for which we work every day.

Valsabor, Compliance Certificate

Valsabor, Approval Certificate

Valsabor, Compliance Certificate

Nutriaves, Compliance Certificate

Porco D’Ouro Awards

The great Gala of the Swine Industry took place last June 23rd. The VI Porco D'Ouro Awards Gala distinguished the best performances of the national farms for the year 2022, with a total of 36 awards.

1st TIER

Numerical Productivity

Évora - Fernando Vicente - Alcobaça

Vale de Abrigo - Euroeste - Cadaval

Delivery Rate

Vale de Abrigo – Euroeste - Cadaval

Quinta Vale de Ventos – Quinta da Atela - Alcobaça

Évora – Fernando Vicente - Alcobaça

Longevity

Loja Nova 63 – Euroeste – Vila Franca de Xira

Vale de Abrigo – Euroeste - Cadaval

3rd TIER

Numerical Productivity

Nuno Correia – Intersuínos - Alenquer

Sapeal Arouca – Sapeal - Arouca

São João da Ribeira - Agropecuária Valinho - Rio Maior

Delivery Rate

Amieira – Agropecuária Valinho – Rio Maior

Sapeal Anta – Sapeal – Santa Comba Dão

Pedrógão – Querido, Tinta, Silva & Vicente - Leiria

Longevity

Nuno Correia - Intersuínos - Alenquer

Toxofal – Euroeste - Lourinhã

Lagoa do Cão - Suipec - Alcobaça

2nd TIER

Numerical Productivity

Campelos1 – Agropecuária Valinho – Torres Vedras

Atalaia – Euroeste – Vila Nova da Barquinha

Canha – Agropecuária Valinho - Montijo

Delivery Rate

Campelos1 – Agropecuária Valinho – Torres Vedras

Atalaia – Euroeste – Vila Nova da Barquinha

Póvoas – Agropecuária Valinho – Rio Maior

Longevity

Quinta da Boavista – Intersuínos - Santarém

Campelos1 – Agropecuária Valinho – Torres Vedras

Rabaceira – Fernando Vicente – Caldas da Rainha

Diamond Pig

Campelos1 – Agropecuária Valinho – Torres Vedras

Prémio Bem-Estar Animal Ceva

Piglet Production: Gamoal – Raporal – Montijo

Fattening: Malpique – Raporal – Montijo

Valgrupo Party

The 2nd annual Valgrupo party took place on June 17. Here are some souvenirs from our party.

Tasty

Oven Roasted

INGREDIENTS

1 turkey leg (between 1.5 and 2.5 kg)

1 onion

10 cloves of garlic

Q.b. salt

Q.b white wine

Q.b parsley

PREPARATION

1. Season the turkey leg with salt, pepper, garlic, white wine, and parsley. Reserve it in the refrigerator.

2. Cover the bottom of a baking tray with onion and a drizzle of olive oil. Place the turkey leg and marinade on top.

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 75 minutes.

4. Serve with a side dish to your liking.

• Goes well whith wine

Recipe taken from the website: (https://ruralea.com/perna-de-peru-assada-no-forno/)

suggestions

Partnership - Valgrupo/IEFP

“Training and attracting for the food industry”

Under the motto "Know more, do better", the Valgrupo Group, through the company Valsabor, established a partnership with the IEFP - Training Center of Santarém, in order to promote a training course, aimed at unemployed people, registered with the IEFP, in order to train potential employees who may join the company's staff.

With this initiative, we intend to train and attract new employees to the food industry sector, providing them with theoretical and practical knowledge, which will enable their integration/reintegration in the work market. The training will have a total duration of 600H, distributed by a theoretical component, with a duration of 200H, which will cover the areas of Safety and Health at Work; Hygiene and Food Safety; Splitting and chopping of pork; Cutting the pieces of pork; Preparation of Fresh Sausages, among others. The practical component will have a duration of 400H and will be carried out at Valsabor's facilities. The participants will be accompanied by IEFP trainers and FPCT tutors, identified by Valsabor, who will accompany the trainees in the execution of tasks associated to the function of "Preparation and processing of meat products operator".

This action aims to attract new assets to the sector, contribute to their professional and personal development, giving them the necessary skills, allowing them to be better prepared and more qualified. On the other hand, for Valsabor, the initiative will allow the integration in the company's staff, professionals with specific Know-How and adequate to the needs.

Valgrupo in the Media

In this second edition of Valnews, Valgrupo makes itself known in the media through various newspapers and magazines, showing the awards and recognition obtained in this second quarter of the year.

Quinta da Atela, highlighted in the magazine Grandes Escolhas

Valsabor and Maporal, highlighted in Ribatejo Invest magazine

Quinta da Atela takes part in the Summer Wine Party at Casino Estoril

Valpor Farms Destinguished whit Porco D’ Ouro, Journal Região de Leiria

Valsabor with Welfair Animal Welfare certifications

Quinta da Atela on “A Essência” program, Radio Renascença

Careers

VALGRUPO is a group in full expansion and implementation at national level. And as such we are recruiting for various areas within our companies. Come join our team!

Food Quality Engineer (M/F)

Functions:

Quality control and food safety; Ensure the implementation of the quality management system and ensure the necessary conditions for its maintenance;

Monitor and supervise the various phases of the production process.

Maintenance Engineer Industrial (M/F)

Functions:

Define and elaborate preventive and corrective maintenance plans;

Prepare the maintenance planning as well as ensure its compliance;

Processing and analyzing data at the level of maintenance needs;

Support in technological development and automation in the maintenance area; Report data, propose improvements and solutions; Ensure communication between the maintenance department and other departments;

Prepare specifications and budgets;

Monitoring and technical support of Works;

Manage maintenance team;

Place: Alcanede - Santarém.

Electrical Engineer (M/F)

Functions:

Support in the management and coordination of teams; Support in the management and maintenance of buildings; Support in the management of Electromechanical Installations and/or Electrical Installations;

Support in the management of preventive and corrective maintenance contracts and supplier management;

Direct, coordinate and plan essential core services such as reception, security, maintenance, cleaning, waste, among others.

Place: Alcanede - Santarém

Driver - Distribution/Delivery (M/F)

Functions: Loading and unlaoding; Distribution; National service.

Maintenance Technician (M/F)

Functions:

Performing mechanical, hydraulic and electrical maintenance, preventive and corrective tasks and functions on plant machinery and equipment;

Installing, repairing and maintaining productive and industrial equipment;

Performing corrective maintenance according to the degree of urgency;

Perform the survey of needs for spare parts and prepare the respective map of requisitions; Monitoring the checks and periodic reviews of compressors, boilers, and other equipment; Identify opportunities for improvement; Other tasks within the function.

Quinta da Atela and its team are to be congratulated for recognitions received in the last quarter. A special thanks to Eng. António Ventura.