He took office only a few months ago as President of the Municipality of Alenquer. Still, he brings a special connection to MCG and the region’s industrial landscape: João Nicolau began his professional career at MCG as a safety and environmental technician.
With a background in environmental engineering, he now leads the Municipality of Alenquer at a crucial moment marked by challenges such as regional development, sustainability, and attracting investment.
We spoke with him about the future of the municipality, the importance of industry (and the strong business presence in the Carregado area, where MCG is located), and how his experience in industry may shape the vision he intends to implement.
How have these first days leading the Municipality of Alenquer been for you?
First of all, thank you to MCG for the invitation – it is an honour. I took office as President of the Municipality of Alenquer exactly two weeks and two days ago [at the time of this conversation], and it truly feels like stepping onto a moving train. And naturally, the train does not stop.
The Municipality is an institution that provides dozens of essential services to the population every day. And none of them can stop. In this “moving train”, I feel it is essential to streamline everything related to the organisation of administrative processes – to make our working tools more agile so we can deliver what needs to be done.
We have also begun analysing certain areas and leaving our own mark, getting used to working together. In essence, we are a new team entering a very large existing structure. There is a considerable adaptation period, which will not take two weeks or even two months – it will take time. The structure also needs time to adapt to our way of working and managing this “house”.
But what you found has been positive…
Very much so. I found a great deal of potential. First, there is enormous potential within the Municipality’s own human resources – the employees and the organisational structure itself. Contrary to what people often assume, this structure is highly capable and not particularly ageing. There are many young people, recently hired professionals, young senior technicians, and managers at exactly the right stage of their careers to work in the way we want. And everyone is very professional. It was a very positive surprise.
But it is important to emphasise that this is a large structure. There are 740 employees and a budget of more than 40 million euros, and it operates in areas essential to daily life: schools, from kindergarten to secondary education; the roads we travel; health centres across the municipality; all cultural and sports facilities…
And everything needs attention. That will be the biggest challenge. Because the Municipality plays an important role in practically all aspects of daily life, there is a major responsibility to ensure everything runs smoothly. We want everything well‑tuned and well‑managed so that we can improve the quality of life.
What memories do you keep from MCG from that early stage of your career?
MCG was my first job after my professional internship. I spent a few months as a researcher at Instituto Superior Técnico after finishing my degree, working in strategic environmental assessment. Then I completed an internship at Siemens and was invited to stay on in the quality, environment, and safety department at their headquarters in Portugal.
That was when the opportunity arose to work at MCG to help build the safety and environment department. I immediately said yes! And I can say it was a fantastic experience – perhaps very similar to what is happening now here at the Municipality, in the sense of arriving and thinking: “Let’s get this started and try to shape it in our own way.”
I joined at the same time as Catarina Henriques, and everything in the department had to be created from scratch. We began defining roles, where to focus our efforts, and gradually, processes started to take shape. We needed to have autonomy, but even more important was that MCG was a great “school” for me. It was a very positive experience.
What impression did you keep of the people at MCG?
What stayed with me was the good environment and the company’s culture. Only those who are or have been inside truly understand it, but I can say that I have never been anywhere else with the same spirit, the same feeling, and the same level of human connection as at MCG.
Companies are all different, of course, but the fact that MCG is a family‑owned business makes a huge difference. And sometimes people don’t realise the value of having the kind of corporate culture MCG has.
Throughout the years I’ve worked, and in all the places I’ve been – including five years in Parliament as an MP – I have never again found the culture and family spirit that existed, and still exists, at MCG. It is incredibly valuable and not easy to find. That spirit genuinely sets the company apart from many others in the region.
What did you learn at MCG that you can use today in managing the Municipality?
Every day, I apply lessons from industry and from MCG. Even in Parliament, I often used examples of things I witnessed and learned in industry, particularly at MCG. The level of organisation, planning, and agility within the company is essential in industry, and something I absorbed deeply – having the “house” organised, with planning, agility, clear responsibilities, assertiveness, and well‑defined tasks and competencies for each member of that “family” that is MCG. This is extremely important because without it, things remain only on paper.
At the Municipality, things are different because everything is legislated. There is always an article for everything done in local administration, and that often distracts us from what truly matters: understanding our role, our responsibility, and ensuring we are organised, have a vision, planning, and agility. None of this is “written” into legislation, but we work to make it happen.
How do you view the role of major companies like MCG in the municipality’s economic and social development?
Our municipality has been industrialised for over a century. The very building we are in, for example, was constructed during a golden age of industry in Alenquer, and the factories are still here.
We have a long industrial tradition, real industry, because many of the buildings you see in the town once belonged to top‑tier industrial companies, some of the best in the country. That tradition is deeply rooted in Alenquer, and I want it to remain so.
But it is also important to understand the role the Municipality must play in supporting industry. Above all, we must have partners. We need strong partnerships with companies that want to invest in the municipality, but especially with those already here. We need a strategy, a clear vision of what we want for the municipality, because simply having companies is not enough.
What we truly want in Alenquer are companies like MCG: companies with local roots, that grew in this municipality, that sustain many qualified jobs, and that generate real added value for the region. These are the companies we want — companies that are not just economic activity, but bring added value, skilled employment, and innovation.
Yes, MCG is exactly the kind of company that does all of that…
Absolutely. Having strong companies here is also a calling card for our municipality. And these strong companies include MCG in industrial production, as well as other companies that may not have MCG’s scale but have enormous potential for growth. They do remarkable things, they are innovative, highly professional, and have vision.
These are the companies that need to grow, and that is far more important than attracting a large logistics chain that comes here, builds a terminal, and does nothing to project the name of our region elsewhere.
We have great entrepreneurial potential, and we are right next to Lisbon – factors that must set us apart. And I must emphasise: the challenge is to balance all of this with everything needed for people to feel good living and working here.
Everything requires balance. We must attract economic activity and strong, productive companies so that we can generate the necessary revenue to provide a better quality of life for the people who choose to live and work here. And this is a cycle – it feeds itself: those people will generate more economic activity, and more economic activity will generate more revenue and more capacity for us to invest in people. This is the balance we must achieve.
We cannot spend decades waiting for help from somewhere else; we must set this cycle in motion ourselves: from economic activity to quality of life, and from quality of life back to economic activity. If we do not activate this cycle, we remain stuck. And the municipality needs development, needs growth, needs progress.
And regarding Carregado, what needs to be done?
The municipality of Alenquer is not homogeneous, nor should it be. I am from Olhalvo, but I value Olhalvo just as much as I value Carregado and the other parishes.
And this may be one of the main things that must change: the people of Carregado must reinforce their sense of belonging, and the rest of the municipality must understand that Carregado does have problems to solve, yes, but also many things already done and many good things. The municipality must take pride in what Carregado represents.
For decades, we placed stigma on Carregado, and that helps no one. That perception must change. MCG played an important role in shaping my own view. Working there gave me much more contact with the area, with the peopl,e and with the Carregado community itself.
How do we change this? The Municipality plays an important role. By improving public spaces and cultural activity. Cultural activity strengthens community, and I feel Carregado needs more cultural life — cultural activity, community organisations… The Municipality can and should support this, including through communication and proximity, something we need to build.
Where to begin…?
Two projects must move forward quickly. One is the project connecting Carregado to Meirinha, bringing Carregado closer to the Tagus River. We are talking about a cycle path and redevelopment of the area linking the town to the Tagus and the Rio Grande da Pipa, as well as improving access to the train station, improving circulation on foot, by bicycle, or by public transport.
And then the “famous” Carregado urban park, something discussed for a long time, but which truly needs to move forward. There are several steps before we get there, but the truth is that even today [November 2025], I noted several things we must address to make progress.
We also want to restructure the town of Carregado, improving urban space, giving it character, quality, and cleanliness. It must be a beautiful place. We must be proud of our public spaces, it changes how people perceive the place where they live. It makes a difference.
The industrial zone also needs improvements – better organisation so that it becomes structured as a major urban area, like Alenquer and Carregado are becoming. This will increasingly form a continuous urban area, so we need connecting links that give structure, helping make our municipality even more attractive and competitive.
My goal is that four years from now, at least some parts of this plan will be completed, and others will already be underway and properly planned. We cannot have a vision only for four years; it must be a long‑term strategy. But I want people to see visible differences in public spaces four years from now, and to hear: “I am from Alenquer, I am from Carregado, and I am proud to live here”.
What motivates you today, as a person and as President, to serve the place where you were born and raised?
I was born here, I live here, I grew up here, and practically my entire family is here, my friends too. My whole life is here. And that motivates me and gives me a strong sense of responsibility. Everything my team and I do – for better or worse – will shape what remains for my friends, my family, my son. That is my greatest motivation.
This is the mission of my life. With body and soul, day and night. And everything must go well. I will do everything possible to give the Municipality, and all its services, the agility, organisation, focus, and vision that are needed – so we can all feel at peace with the work we are doing.
This role directly affects the lives of everyone in the community, and that is a powerful driver, a force that pushes us forward. It is also a great responsibility – that is why I say this is a lifelong mission, and why we are totally committed for the years ahead.
What message would you like to leave to MCG employees?
Working anywhere is always working somewhere. But work must matter – both to us and to the company and to us. Working at MCG is special because you can learn so much throughout your journey. And I don’t mean only through training courses or collecting diplomas and certifications. I mean learning in terms of who we are as workers and as people.
Our human side at work – closeness, equality, respect for everyone, from the shop floor to José Miguel [CEO of MCG], including the entire company structure. That respect, that sense of closeness and equality, is extremely valuable and stays with you for life. And beyond that, you also learn about organisation, planning, and professional skills.
So my message is this: make the most of everything you can learn during your time at MCG. That is what happened to me, and I made sure it was beneficial for both sides; as employees, we also have a duty to help the company grow. Sometimes we only fully realise this later, but being part of an organisation like MCG, with its culture of proximity, is a huge advantage.
Working in a company without that human side means you learn half as much as at MCG. Whether you stay for one year, 20, or 30, make the most of everything it offers.
José Miguel Nicolau – President of the Municipality of Alenquer
With a degree in Environmental Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, José Miguel Nicolau was born in 1988 in Olhalvo, in the municipality of Alenquer. He began his professional career at MCG while simultaneously starting his political journey within Socialist Youth. He also holds a postgraduate degree in Environmental Law from the ICJP at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon and served as a Member of Parliament during the 14th and 15th Legislatures, elected by the Socialist Party. Since October 2025, he has been President of the Municipality of Alenquer, where he has been a member of the Municipal Assembly since 2013.