With 14 locations across seven countries, Beyond Gravity opened its Digital& Innovation Hub in Lisbon in November 2023.
In an interview with AED, Mário Guedes Vidal, General Manager of Beyond Gravity in Portugal, confirmed that “less than a year later,” the company “has exceeded its defined targets” and has already hired 100 people.
Regarding future goals, he stated that Beyond Gravity intends to focus “even more on commercial customers and new space activities,” ensuring that “the team in Portugal is making an important contribution to the company’s global success.”
For those unfamiliar, what work does Beyond Gravity do?
Beyond Gravity, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, combines agility, speed, and innovation with over four decades of experience and proven quality. Approximately 1’800 employees at 14 locations in seven countries (Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Germany, USA, Finland, and Portugal) develop and manufacture products for satellites, launch vehicles and the semiconductor industry with the goal of advancing humanity and enabling the exploration of the world and beyond. Beyond Gravity’s Digital & Innovation Hub in Lisbon, which opened in November 2023, will support Beyond Gravity’s growth with additional competencies in the areas of Technology, Space Engineering, Supply Chain and various support functions such as HR and Finance.
Installing the hub in Portugal aimed to create a digital centre, standardise systems, harmonise processes, build a solid database, and connect the company’s offices worldwide. How are these processes progressing?
We are very happy with all the progresses as Beyond Gravity Portugal is ahead of the targeted objectives. For the time being, we count more than 100 people hired in less than 1 year which is ahead of our planned schedule. Beyond Gravity Portugal we are also the pioneers of our digital transformational program to be rolled out to all BG globally.
The team we’re creating in Lisbon is contributing to the centers of competence across Space Engineering, Finance, Technology and Supply Chain to drive the digital transformation and business growth of Beyond Gravity globally. These are great achievements for the company and prove that Portugal is the right place to be.
What motivated Beyond Gravity to come to Portugal?
We want to further develop Beyond Gravity into a leading player in the space industry and Portugal, and Lisbon in particular, offer ideal conditions with their environment of technical universities, high location attractiveness, a dynamic start-up environment, a growing aerospace ecosystem that are very competitive by international standards. The primary goal of this expansion is to gain access to talented professionals who are hard to match in other locations, and who will contribute to the company’s growth in the coming years and respond to the needs and expectations of its customers around the world. Furthermore, we want to strengthen our competitiveness.
At the time of opening the Innovation & Digital Hub, you predicted hiring 50 employees by the end of 2023 and reaching 200 by 2025. Is this goal still on track? What are your future prospects?
Currently, around 100 people are already employed by Beyond Gravity Portugal, and we are aiming to reach 200 employees by 2025, meaning we are still on track! In the future, we aim to become the largest space technology company in Portugal. We are also very pleased to have inaugurated Beyond Gravity Portugal’s new permanent facilities at a prime location in Entrecampos (Lisboa), early October. With around 1200m2, Portugal’s Innovation & Digital Hub features a state-of-the-art office environment space specially designed for co-working, meetings, workshops and team building. Each of the floors, a total of three, incorporates the company’s values and brand story, including a mural by the visual artist AKACORLEONE (Pedro Campiche). The office has several collaborative spaces, Portuguese tiles and an olive tree, as a reference to Portuguese culture.
Hiring and retaining talent in the space sector has proven to be a challenge. Have you also faced this difficulty? If so, how have you addressed it?
We are a world leading space supplier and we aim to become the biggest space company in Portugal. Beyond Gravity has delivered products for hundreds of different missions for over 40 years and currently we’re working on around 400 projects. Ultimately our teams serve an important purpose that advances humankind. Adding that our teams have truly opportunities for development and growth in a fast-growing hub, while working in exciting projects and experiencing a diverse environment.
In addition, Beyond Gravity provides a hybrid working model for more flexibility, although our offices have plenty of space and great conditions for those to prefer the presential model. Canteen, health insurance and free parking, among others, are also benefits our employees enjoy very much.
Globally, Beyond Gravity has 14 offices in 7 countries and has been growing mainly in the commercial space business (for example, with the production of distribution systems for Amazon’s Kuiper constellation aimed at improving global broadband access). What are your goals and key business areas moving forward?
The increased reliability and extremely reduced costs of launch vehicles enable significantly more launches and Lisbon is part of this journey. This in turn is the prerequisite for opening new and diverse economic areas in space, therefore we want to focus more on commercial customers and new space business.
Do these new ventures also involve Portugal?
Beyond Gravity Portugal with its center of competence in Space Engineering and Technology is leading, along with other locations, in most of the projects for major clients of the company globally. Portugal team is doing a major contribution for the overall growth and success of Beyond Gravity.
In your opinion, how important are clusters to the development of space ecosystems?
Being a member of AED Cluster Portugal means being part of a community that constantly fosters exchange, has the challenge of leveraging critical advantages and developing solutions at an accelerated pace, while sharing synergies and being up to date with crucial information. To summarize, in our opinion, it’s very important to be part of such a strong national network.
What is Beyond Gravity’s view on the potential of the space sector as a driver of economic development in Portugal?
For Portugal having a relevant presence in Space sector is crucial, especially having in mind the economical and geopolitical opportunities that the Space sector provides and will provide in the long term.
Portugal as European Space Agency (ESA) member coupled with the local expertise (universities, startups and companies), has been showing a dynamic that Beyond Gravity wants to leverage and be part of. As Beyond Gravity builds its infrastructure in Portugal we are also engaging with the local players to explore future partnership opportunities.