Despite the photo above, industry is not a word associated with Chaves.  There is an “industrial zone” set up on the north side of town, but it consists mainly of warehouses and car repair garages.  What passes for industry in Chaves would be the three brickworks on the south side of town, a medium sized glass factory and several small factories that produce construction blocks.  Chaves is all about services.  Little is actually produced in the area for export.  Even the famous Chaves ham is mainly eaten in the local restaurants.  The largest single employers are the City Hall, the schools, and the hospital.  A typical flaviense either works for these organizations or has something to do with a store, usually a small grocery store or a café.  There are dozens of small grocer’s and cafés run by people approaching retirement age and waiting for someone to pay them money for their investment so they can get out of the business.  The number of establishments with the sign “passa-se” (for rent if you pay me what I invested) in the window is startling.  Almost everyone is ready to rent or sell, if only you make a good offer.   

Recently the town has seen a lot of apartment construction of dubious aesthetic value.  Although the town itself is famous for its gardens, few apartment buildings ever provide for a green area.  Many of the apartments are also empty, having been bought by immigrants working in Northern Europe as an investment. 

We can summarize the main “industries” in Chaves as:

Three brick and tile factories; 1 modest food processing factory in the Industrial Zone; 2 plants for mineral water production in Vidago ( Salus-Vidago [Grupo Unicer} and Aguas Campilho [Grupo Nestlé]); 2 cement block factories (Flaviarte), and several small enterprises for granite cutting. See Graniflavia for information about one of the companies.

Recently, a glass factory, Vitro Chaves, part of a major multinational group, has opened on the road to Vidago.  It is using state of the art technology in glass production and promises to be the first of major industries to locate in the Chaves area.  Many entrepreneurs are betting on the opening of the IP3 expressway, which will bring Chaves 90 minutes from Porto and Braga.       

 Commerce

Introduction to Economy  |  Salaries and Cost of Living  |  The Tourist Industry