Madrid, April 28, 2025. COFIDES will support the growth in Portugal of Cales de Pachs, a family-owned SME with almost 60 years of experience, operating as a manufacturer of different types of lime. The Barcelona-based company began its operation in the aforementioned market in 2005, after acquiring a 50% stake in Microlime, a company which it currently fully owns.
The €3.5M co-investment loan granted by COFIDES under the Fund for Foreign Investment Operations for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (FONPYME) will enable the Cales de Pachs subsidiary to expand its lime production plant in Maxieira (Fátima), a project that will require a total investment of close to €14M and double its production capacity. COFIDES' contribution will be applied to finance investments in tangible fixed assets (calcination kiln, biomass plant, silos, etc.).
This will be the third operation in which COFIDES and Cales de Pachs collaborate regarding the Portuguese market.
The corporate director of COFIDES' Investment Department, Miguel Ángel Ladero, stated that "it is very rewarding to have accompanied a company like Cales de Pachs, which is so firmly committed to innovation, in its expansion process in Portugal since 2014. Through FONPYME, a fruitful collaboration has been forged that we hope will consolidate its position as a reference group in the sector."
The general management of Cales de Pachs, led by the Grané family, "celebrates this new collaboration with COFIDES, the third we have entered into. This new alliance represents a key step in our commitment to expansion and innovation. Thanks to this investment, we will be able to carry out our expansion project, strengthening our supply capacity to emerging markets and actively contributing to the energy transition and the circular economy."
This project represents a direct contribution to SDG 9, as it will increase local manufacturing of various types of lime, which will result in better use of local resources and supply to multiple target industries, some of which are of prime necessity.
ABOUT CALES DE PACHS
Cales de Pachs is a family company founded in 1967, based in the town of Pachs del Penedés in Barcelona and dedicated to the manufacture of lime and its derivatives for several sectors (agriculture, livestock, construction, mining, steel industry, etc.). Its commitment to R&D, sustainable growth and social responsibility has earned it numerous awards such as the National Environment Award and the Talent Cambra Award in the Energy Transition category.
ABOUT COFIDES
COFIDES is a state-owned trading company that manages state funds, as well as its own resources and those of third-party institutions. COFIDES's mission is to support the internationalization of the Spanish economy, attract foreign investment into strategic sectors in Spain, promote the impact economy, and contribute to global economic development. COFIDES is also instrumental in strengthening the solvency of Spanish companies, particularly in response to challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. COFIDES’s shareholders include the Spanish State, Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Sabadell, and CAF-Development Bank of Latin America.
