Timeline
1853
Sebastião Ramirez establishes S. Ramirez, a factory located in Vila Real de Santo António with two activities: the production of jute fabrics and the preparation of tuna in brine.
1865
Ramirez begins to pack its tuna, mackerel and sardines in tin cans, having created one of the first can factories in the world to do so.
1890
At S. Ramirez the autoclave is used, which allows to obtain the desired temperature very quickly, reducing the sterilization time and avoiding alteration of the sterilized cans during cooling.
1908
Manuel Garcia Ramirez, who succeeds his father in running the company, extends the activity to the capture of sardines, acquiring Nossa Senhora da Encarnação, the first steam Portuguese galleon for catching sardines. Ramirez unfolds, with new units in Olhão and Albufeira.
1917
Manuel Garcia Ramirez successfully consolidates a process of internationalization that results from the conquest of markets through its own brands, such as Cocagne, the leader of the Belgian market, where it had entered 11 years before.
1926
Emilio Ramirez, successor of Manuel Ramirez in the company’s management, transfers its production from the unit of Albufeira to Matosinhos, maintaining proximity to the sea and fishing, which has always guided the company’s strategy.
1945
Emílio Ramirez requests the licensing of a unit built in Leça da Palmeira, where he locates the Ramirez operations centre and its export activity, much facilitated by the proximity to the port of Leixões.
1958
Emilio Ramirez acquires a new unit in Peniche, preparing the future, that would, years later and due to lack of raw materials in the Algarve, lead to a concentration of activity more to the North.
1965
Manuel Guerreiro Ramirez succeeds his father Emílio Ramirez and launches the pillars of modernity through innovative concepts of conservation and packaging, quality control, product innovation and opening new distribution channels, as well as modern marketing and communication.
1970
Ramirez launches a new easy to open package for canned fish. An innovation that has conquered the entire sector, worldwide.
1977
Respect for hygiene-sanitary specifications led Manuel Guerreiro Ramirez to create its own laboratories for quality control. The investment has paid off and its reliability gives it the entire world…
1999
As a result of the rigorous implementation of the improvement of production processes and quality control, Ramirez is awarded the Higher Level Certificate of Conformity by EFSIS.
2003
Ramirez celebrates its 150th anniversary and becomes the world’s oldest cannery in operation. Present in four continents with more than 15 own brands, it prepares for new advances, completely oriented towards the future.
2007
Ramirez starts an investment in the healthy diet segment by placing on the market the Diet & Fitness Tuna, a natural tuna accompanied by a diet and physical exercise plan for a healthy life.
2007
Ramirez creates CENUTRA –Ramirez Nutrition Centre, with the support of the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto.
2010
Ramirez becomes co-founder of the Portuguese Sea Hyper-Cluster, a project to revitalize activities related to the economy of the sea.
2010
Also this year, Ramirez obtains the MSC blue eco-label from the Marine Stewardship Council, which gives the Portuguese sardine purse seine fishing a certificate of environmental sustainability, and became the first company in the sector in Portugal to be approved by Moody’s.
2015
Ramirez concentrates its activity on the innovative ‘Ramirez 1853’ in Lavra. The world’s oldest fish cannery in operation has become the most modern and ecological production unit. In addition to an extensive cold chain, artificial vision devices and robotic packaging lines, it is equipped with several environmentally friendly systems: biomass power plant, solar panels and capture and reuse of rainwater.