Economy

Belgian group transforms workspaces from technological centre in Porto

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They are about 20, but they are expected to surpass a hundred workers who will join IWG Technologies in developing and revolutionizing workspaces. The Belgian group's new technological centre opened its doors on Thursday at Batalha, which will be used by teams for collaborations and meetings, since at IWG the work system is hybrid.

Congratulating the IWG for the option to settle and for the continuous investment in Porto, the mayor reinforced the “commitment we have to attract companies that invest in our talent”. “Today, the keyword of cities is talent”, believes Rui Moreira.

“When we see that a city like Porto can attract companies like this, that want to stay here, then we are doing our job, and we should be proud”, he said, not forgetting the importance of “fixating population”. And this also depends on factors such as attractiveness, comfort, and points of interest that the city offers to those working there.

The mayor said, “We want to be a city of opportunities”. “During the pandemic, we felt the need to interact, and that's what cities leverage”, with everything IWG workers find in that area, he concluded.

“It's our home, we're here to stay”, said the IWG general director. After more than ten years of working with companies in the city of Porto, the multinational found a home in Batalha. Daniel Marion shares how “we were very pleased with the talent we found” and underlined the meeting of the various parties in the new offices that morning as proof of “commitment to technology and investment”.

“Technology is an important factor for mobility and for a hybrid environment to be effective as a reality”, said Daniel Marion, with the certainty that “the interactivity between the team when they are together is something we do not create with videoconferences”. For that, “we need a house, and this is ours”, concluded the general director of IWG.

On the part of the Portugal Global - Trade & Investment Agency, the administrator stressed how “this relationship we have built is very important”. “We will work to grow your presence here”, assured Luís Rebelo de Sousa, also adding the will to, at the same time, “continue to make the city grow by attracting investment like this”.

The former building of the Civil Government of Porto and the Metropolitan Command of PSP was converted into a sharing space for different companies, District Offices & Lifestyle, in 2017, and has been under the management of Regus, one of IWG's companies since 2018. Now, the multinational has created its own workspace that, says one of the directors, Maurice de Vries, can be spread throughout the various valences the building offers.

“What we want is to create a good environment to go to the office when necessary”, he says, remembering how workers will be the biggest beneficiaries of the investments that have been made in that area.

Born in Brussels in 1989, the IWG group develops workspaces that are “convenient, comfortable and, above all, accessible”. Today, they say, they help eight million people in more than 3,000 spaces spread across more than 1,000 cities in 110 countries work more flexibly and productively”. IWG's clients include startups, small and medium enterprises, and large multinationals.