GLOBAL REPORT / NOV 2019

Quality Media Press

PORTUGAL - Industry II
Portuguese companies continue to surprise theworld as they conquer new industrial markets
and keep expanding their world-wide presenceThis Report was produced by Qmpress FZ LLC, who is responsible for its editorial content. Hand-Media International and International Trade Magazine & Export have provided printing and distribution for this Report. For extra copies please contact info@qmpress.com

portugal WINS
global PRIZE
portugUESE INDUSTRYCONTINUES TO STUN THE
WORLD AS IT CONQUERSNEW FOREIGN MARKETS
Portugal is on a roll. Over the past several
years, the country has emerged stronger thanever from the economic crisis of a decade ago,manufacturers are exporting worldwide, andPortugal’s reputation as a tech-savvy, reliable
and affordable place to do business is solid.
However, challenges remain. Skilled labour can be hard to find for some industries,
while Portuguese companies turning out bothtraditional and new products are contending
with rivals from Asia and other countries.
Nevertheless, this country which was once
perceived as a backwater in Europe is surging
ahead as a regional and even international
economic star and its companies are seizing
this moment to place Portugal firmly on theindustrial map.

portugal 2019 - II

Market Uniqueness2

Industrial services company Meivcore is agreat example of those Portuguese firms whichstarted locally and then expanded abroad.
“Our first contracts were, indeed, from
Portugal but their international contacts helped us to eventually go beyond our borders,”
recalls General Manager Luís Aguiar.
“When we set up shop in 2014, there wereother companies in our sector but it was very
segmented as they worked only in mechanics,
or installation, etc.
“So our idea was to provide industrial
clients with services across the whole spectrum adding automation and robotics along
the way,” he says.
Today, the Viseu-based company is involved in such areas as mechanics which include
preventative and corrective maintenance withengineering, scheduled shutdowns, technicalreports and other services.
In accordance with the “5000 Europe” ranking of the American magazine, Inc., Meivcore

LUiS
AGUIAR

CO-FOUNDER& EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR oF
MEIVCORE“THERE’S NO OTHER FIRM IN
OUR SECTOR THAT CARRIESOUT THE SAME ACTIVITIES”
holds 23rd place from among 110 national
companies. This ranking includes companies
in the private sector with the most rapid
growth in Europe between 2013 and 2016,
with respect to revenue.
Meivcore’s other fields of expertise areautomation, instrumentation and energy services; installation, repair and maintenance ofboilers and furnaces; welding and industrial
installation, and industrial cleaning.
Specialised teams also carry out repairing,
maintaining, cleaning, waterproofing, renovating and technical inspecting of very tallstructures and equipment without using scaffolding or cranes.
“We mostly work with large companies
which need continuous maintenance and technical monitoring,” Aguiar says.
“Medium and smaller industries tend
to have their own maintenance teams,” theexecutive explains. “They tend to call us only
when they need industry upgrades or major
conversions.”“And we’re active in almost every industry which exists from paper, pharmaceuticals
and ceramics, to automobiles, food andshipbuilding,” he adds.
“We also work with hydroelectricity, wind

power and thermal energy producers.”
A partial list of Meivcore’s dozens ofclients include ABB, Alcoa, Siemens, Renault, Ikea, Alstom and many more prestigious industrial firms.
Despite the extent of its international
operations with busy branch offices in Spain,
France and Belgium, 60 percent of Meivcore’s
billings (which last year totalled almost 50
million euros) come from Portugal.
But there can be obstacles to international expansion, even within the European
Union, the general manager complains.
“In many cases there is still a preference for local businesses despite our obvious
know-how and experience,” he says. “Also,
there are labour regulations which are not
Europe-wide so we find different codes in
Spain or France or Germany.
“This is a big problem because we haveto adapt to these codes as well as to different
salary levels in these countries, but we still
manage to do good business.”
Aguiar credits the company’s highly-educated and trained employees for much of its
success since its founding, and especially its
partnership with the Viseu Polytechnic as asource for staff.
“We look for young people with skills in
our key areas of instrumentation, automation
and robotics,” he says, “Our pay is above average so we are able to attract and hold on to
our workers.
“This summer, for example, we are taking in new interns and I expect that 90
percent will remain with us. The averageage of our employees is around 27 or 28
which is certainly promising for our continued development.”“The other main reason for our success isthanks to our technology skills and our team

of IT engineers. We invest between 1.5 and 2
percent of our revenues in the development of
in-house tech tools for our services.”
These tools enable Meivcore to better
control services provided to its customers
while failures have dropped dramaticallywith execution rates of around 97 percent
without repairs.
“There is no other firm in our sector which
carries out the same activities as ours so it isclearly a competitive advantage for us,” theexecutive says. “Our uniqueness in the market,
our staff and our technological development
ensure Meivcore’s future.”

Planning for the company’s 15th anniversary in five years, the CEO says he would
like to see Cheto more than double its size
and income.
“The figure of 25 million in billings has
always appealed to me and its possible to getthere as we have a presence almost everywhere, a great product and solid knowledge. Eachof these elements will contribute to this goal.”

One of central Portugal’s principal
economic drivers is the making of injection moulds for the automotive industry,
amongst others, and a key supplier to that
sector is the Cheto Corporation.
Founded just 10 years ago, the company
based in Oliveira De Azeméis already enjoys
a world-wide reputation for its deep hole
drilling machines used largely in the mouldmaking process.
“We tackled the international market fromthe very beginning although the domestic
market today is still very important for us as it
represents between 30 and 40 percent of oursales,” says CEO Carlos Teixeira.
Cheto produces machines of five, six andseven axes which perform a multitude oftasks including deep hole drilling, radial drilling, milling, tapping and boring.
“So we work closely with the moulds
industry near our home base as Portugal isa world reference in mould making. But wealso have clients outside Portugal linked toother sectors, namely oil and gas,” the executive explains.
“For example, we have installed machines in Norway for the petroleum industry
and we’ve just signed a contract with a Chinese company. This is all part of our international focus that is closely linked to our
growth plans.”
The CEO argues that although Portugal
has no well-known track record in precision manufacturing, in recent years firms
like Cheto have upped their game and can
produce machinery that is as good as oreven better than that turned out by German,
Italian or U.S. companies.

carlos teixeira & sérgio andréceo & CTO of cheto corporation“we at cheto can compete
comfortably in terms oftechnology and quality”
Cheto’s clients certainly agree. In 2015, thecompany invoiced just under 5 million euros,
but last year the figure almost doubled to over
9 million euros, a record.
“This shows that Portuguese companies
like ours can compete comfortably with European or American products in terms of bothtechnology and quality,” Teixeira says.
“Portuguese entrepreneurs in different
sectors have followed high standards and little by little they are consolidating the qualityof our products and attracting customers as
Portugal becomes better known.”“We’re almost playing the same role as thePortuguese explorers of 500 years ago by discovering new lands and new markets,” he adds.
While expanding its footprint aroundthe world, the company also has to keep
abreast of and apply the latest technology,
says CTO Sérgio André.
“We just can’t fall asleep technologicallyas we have to offer our customers the newest
and the best. If that happens and we’re selling
technology from five years ago, we’ll havenothing to offer them.”

Competitive Advantage
Solving engineering problems for a wide
range of industries both at home and abroadis the task of Exsepi, explains António Ferreira,the administrator and managing partner of theAnadia-based company, north of Coimbra.
“We sell solutions for all specialities ofindustrial automation, process and industrial
control, communications and information
systems, environmental systems and energy
efficiency management,” he says.
“We’re also involved in robotics, design
and project development, electronic weighing
systems and industrial maintenance.”
Exsepi was founded in 1991 by technicians working in the Portuguese ceramics
and cement industries who realised there
were many gaps in services such as equipment replacement, retrofitting and related
processes.
“Those industries’ processes involved monitoring, dosing, weighing and water treatment
so from there we expanded into offering ourservices to the animal feed sector, food processing and others,” the executive recalls.
After a decade in business, the company
took a look at going international and discovered that its workers had certain advantages
which eased the move into new markets.
“We found that our technicians were
just as skilled and knowledgeable as the technicians in other countries with the added

portugal 2019 - II

High Standards

3portugal 2019 - IIadvantage that many of them spoke both
English and French,” Ferreira says.
“So we can work almost anywhere in theworld, although we are focused primarily on
Europe because the market is right next door
and the mentality is the same. That all makes
it a lot easier.”
Some of Exsepi’s foreign clients are Renault, Peugeot/Citroën, Procter & Gamble,
Yazaki, Roca, Repsol and Kraft Foods, while
suppliers include ABB, Rockwell Automation,
GE and Siemens.
Exsepi garners most of its revenue fromdomestic operations, with foreign businessaccounting for between 15 and 20 percent
of its revenue. In a recent bid to attract moreinternational clients, the company opened abranch in Madrid in 2015.
“Spain is definitely a growth market as it
has so much industry as well as six times ourdomestic Portuguese market,” the managing
partner explains. “I also see great opportunities in France and Central Europe.”
Exsepi’s annual sales average around 5
million euros a year and Ferreira says that2019 has gone well in line with last year. A
key goal of the company is to keep up with theconstantly changing technology.
“We started in robotics in 2010 as we
could see it was the future. And now it’s offthe-shelf technology,” he says.
“We’re entering the sector of mobile robotics for the automobile industry and we
see that as a growth industry, along withartificial vision.”
The company’s robotics and artificial
vision department provides flexible production systems and industrial handling,
dynamic transport robots, integration
with artificial vision systems, and custo-

4

mised solutions in pre-engineering andengineering.
“Robotics is a big challenge as the industry is constantly changing, evolving andimproving. Also, the offer is very large socustomers frequently change service providers just as a test.
“So keeping customers 100 per cent satisfied means being competitive and keeping
on top of the technology which are challenges
that we have to meet,” he says.
As Exsepi approaches its 30th anniversary,
Ferreira says he would like to mark the occasion with continued customer satisfaction,
moderate growth and maintaining its presence in the many industries the company serves
both at home and abroad.
“Keeping our customers happy is a pointof honour for us,” he says. “We never walk awayfrom a project unless the client’s problems are
100 per cent resolved. That’s our business: solving problems and coming up with solutions
to everyone’s benefit.”Long Game
Crisis breeds opportunity for many andsuch was the case for DNC Técnica, a Leiriabased firm which has found success providing
technical assistance and sales to the mould
and metalworking sectors.
“Portugal went through a crisis in the
mid-1990s when I was working as a technician at a company which was struggling so
I decided to strike out on my own and start
my own business in 1996,” recalls founder and
CEO Francisco Neves.
“Our main focus was on the domestic market but then around 15 years ago we began
strengthening relationships with some of our
European suppliers and they asked us to work
abroad.
“So we expanded into machining, precision parts, heavy metalworking, energy, construction and ship building,” he says.
Spain was DNC Técnica’s first foreign market and the company, like many others in Portugal, moved into Angola which was enjoying
an economic boom fuelled by its oil wealth.
But with the drop in petroleum prices,
the Angola market has stalled and many
Portuguese companies have pulled out of
the former colony. DNC Técnica, however, isplaying a long game.
“We currently just sold two machines there, we are servicing our lines remotely withon-site partner staff and we go there once or
twice a year,” he explains.
“Angola is going through deep politicaland financial changes, but the country has
a lot of potential and within ten years I am
confident that we could be selling more there
than in Portugal.”francisco nevesceo of dnc técnica“our view for dnc tecnica
is to be considered as thereference in cnc machines”
DNC Técnica specialises in sales, installation and mechanical and electronics repair of
CNC equipment (lathes, milling machines, machining centres, punching machines, cutting
and drilling machines, etc.).
It also offers on-site operator training, installation of communications networks for CNC
machines, upgrading and component updates
and retrofitting.
Along with domestic sales of a wide rangeof CNC machines, the company also provides
tools and accessories.
“We do installations almost all over theworld,” the CEO says. “We have recently worked in Poland, Finland and Russia so between
15 and 20 percent of our business is outside
Portugal.”
In 2018, the company posted around 5
million euros in turnover and is planning on
further growth helped by an ambitious expansion programme that includes tripling the sizeof its current facilities.
“It depends on how business is going but
I expect that if things are going well, construction will begin in late 2020 or early 2021,”
Neves says. “We work every day towards thegoal of being the company of reference in the
CNC sector.
“When it comes to CNC machines, our viewis that DNC Técnica should be the first namethat comes to mind because of our experienceand expertise in the market.”Trim NW: Niche Producer
Niche markets in the automobile industry
are the main focus of Trim NW, a manufacturerof moulded components for vehicle interiors
and technical textiles.
“We work primarily with French and Italiancompanies which produce smaller, four-wheel
vehicles that do not require a driving license,”
explains General Manager and CEO Rui Lopes.
“Our company makes headliners, door panels, pillars, all the car textiles such as floor carpets, luggage rugs, insonorivatios, etc., for thesevehicles as well as for the cabins of industrial
machines and other small and middle series.”
Trim NW was founded by Lopes and otherthree employees of a company which closed
down in 2015. They bought the equipment, hired back 30 workers and opened for business.
Despite the many auto manufacturers in
Portugal, the company has virtually no domestic
customers and exports almost all of its production.
“We also do the ceilings of London taxis and
we don’t work with any of the big auto makers,
that’s why we call ourselves a niche producer,”
the executive says.
“And as we produce for these niche markets,the reported downturn in the general auto industry doesn’t really affect us. We keep our eye
on emerging technology and now we’re developing components for electric urban vehicles.
Last year, Trim NW invoiced 2.8 million euros with some 35 percent of the total comingfrom moulded parts and has a company growthforecast of around 10 percent for this year.
“We’ve always been on a gradual growth

track. Our first year we invoiced 2.5 million
euros, then it was 2.6 million, then 2.7 million,
etc. We have always grown in relatively safe
amounts in terms of revenue,” the CEO says.
According to Lopes, the company’s small
size is a distinct advantage because it is more
flexible and is able to have a closer focus andrelationship with its clients.
“We can also respond faster to their requests. We work in more than 15 countries andso can easily supply clients whether in Europe
or further afield without any delays,” he says.
Always mindful of the ups and downs of any
industry, Trim NW executives are exploring new
sectors for its moulded and textile products,
such as construction and the hygiene market.
“This again demonstrates our flexibility anddedication to entertaining new ideas which Portuguese industry is very good at,” the CEO argues.
“We are also very competitive on theEuropean level and I believe that will carry
Portuguese manufacturing safely throughthe coming decades.”“we are aiming not onlyat the european markets
but at the middle east too”

Engineering Prowess
Global growth has long been the strategy at
Grid International Consulting Engineers which carries out design, consulting, technical advice, andconstruction supervision from its base in Lisbon.
“In recent years we’ve been working a lot
in Europe with European partners, most notably
in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands,”
explains Manager Nuno Lopes.
“We have worked extensively in the Middle
East, Africa and Asia and we have branch offices
in France, Senegal, Mozambique and Macao.”
Founded in 1980 by a group of engineering professors, the company’s fortunes took off
when Portugal joined the EU several years laterand its funds began flowing into the country tooverhaul the entire road and rail network.
“It catapulted us,” the executive recalls.
But hard times in the 1990’s and the crisis adecade ago hit the company’s domestic market
and so management redoubled their efforts to
expand overseas, especially in Africa.
Grid International specialises in structural
engineering with a particular focus on what thecompany calls “special structures project” which
include road and rail bridges, tunnels and viaducts.
Its engineers are also experts in roofing forlarge projects such as stadiums and other large buildings, and its consultants work in otherspecial areas like geological and geotechnicalstudies, road engineering, hydraulics, electrotechnical and electromechanical engineering andarchitecture.
“Our annual billing target is 3 million euros”
the manager says. “and this year points to what
we can do and will be an improvement.”
Lopes says that projects in the Middle East
will boost business for Grid International.

“We’re aiming our strategic efforts at not
only Europe but also the Middle East. We havesome contacts in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Dubai
where we are currently closing a proposal.
“We also have a partner in the region who
is mostly active in Saudi Arabia where we will
have a focus on bridges and overpasses which
we specialise in. We’re gathering strength incomplementary markets.
Projects like these around the world demonstrate that Portuguese engineering is internationally competitive, he argues.
“Our work and our skills are recognised
and we have positive feedback from third-party
checkers who evaluate our work.
“Portuguese companies like Grid International
have to be bold and seek out international
business because we are as capable as anyother companies out there.”

portugal 2019 - II

“we can respond fasterto the requests of ourcustomers in 15 countries”

5Much of these changes took place in the

textiles bet on textile companies clustered in the north ofthe country where entrepreneurship has
high quality always been a local strength.

portugal 2019 - II

LOCAL textile INDUSTRY
has just undergone a
dramatic change andis growing strongly

6

Portugal’s textile industry is back in fashion. Spokespersons for the sector maintainthat after decades of decline, current global
realities along with a new wave of tuned
in entrepreneurs and a fresh confidence inboth textiles and clothing bearing the label“Made in Portugal” means that the industry
is alive and very, very well.
According to the Portuguese Textile Association (ATP), the industry’s turnover amounts
to 7.6 billion euros and in 2018 exports were
worth 5.3 billion euros, or 10 per cent of all
Portuguese goods shipped abroad.
Indeed, that turnover is almost 3 per centof the country’s GDP and the sector exports
more in a month than the entire domestic
wine industry does in a year, while employing
well over 130,000 people.
It wasn’t easy for the industry to getback on track.
Wracked by foreign competition from
Asia and northern Africa, hindered by antiquated manufacturing methods, struck byfalling domestic demand and struggling with
European Union customs rules, the sector
was on the ropes by the turn of the century.
And the global economic downturn a decade ago, especially acute in northern Portugal, certainly did not help. Production fell by
one third, and the number of jobs was halved.
But now, Portuguese textiles are once
again in high demand, not just at home andin the rest of Europe but also in the rapidly
growing markets of Asia.
Aiding the turnaround were new businessmodels crafted by textile and clothing executives which included regaining the industry’s
reputation for quality, pursuing once-ignored
foreign markets, taking on production partners in low-cost countries and creating theirown clothing brands.

Innovative Products
An examnple of these new attitude include
paying closer attention to the environmental
impact of the textile industry and Adalberto, acompany celebrating its 50th anniversary thisyear, is at the forefront of this transformation.
“We always try to manufacture and deliver products to our customers that are sustainable by using recycled material, using a
production process requiring less water orinvesting in equipment which has less gas
emissions,” explains CEO Susana Serrano.
“We always try to have a story behind
everything we present and I think it makesa difference.”
That difference has helped Adalberto inits success in three business areas: printed
fabrics sold to manufacturers; home textiles
like towels, sheets, bedcovers and duvets;and finished garments.
Production is around the clock turningout 70 kilometres of material each day for anannual output of 20 million square metres.
Its 375 employees work in textile, pattern and fashion design; fabric sourcing of
wovens, knits and trims; dyeing and printing;warehousing, quality control and shipping, as
well as management, sales and marketing.
Last year, Adalberto enjoyed a turnover of
30 million euros, 80 per cent of which camefrom exports with the rest from domestic sales.
“So far this year business has gone very
well because we work not only for fast fashion
but specially for private label brands,” the executive says. “We never wanted to rely too muchon fast fashion because it’s low price and we
can’t compete on price with the big fast fashion producers like Turkey and Bangladesh.”Price is also a factor when the company
has large volume orders which it subcontracts to partners in Morocco with planning,deadlines, quality control and other concerns
handled by a Portuguese employee.
“It’s tough to be competitive with reallylarge orders so for up to 1,000 pieces we cando that here, but for between 2,000 and 5,000
pieces we send the order to Morocco,” she says.
Serrano says the company’s business line
which is growing fastest is clothing in whichsusana serrano
ceo of adalberto“we apply cbd to sports
clothing as cannabis isused to soothe muscles”
Adalberto has been innovative since it branched out into that sector six years ago.
Just this year the company presented a collection in the United States under the Caballa
brand name which is finished with cannabidiol,or CBD, an active ingredient in cannabis thathas beneficial medicinal properties.
“We apply this finish to sports clothes inthose spots where people experience painfrom exercising,” she explains. “It soothes themuscles and helps people feel more relaxed.”“Cannabis is already widely used in oils,
food and teas in the United States but there
was nothing in clothing until we launched it
precisely because we’re an innovative company.”
Now that Adalberto is comfortably ensconced in the foreign market, Serrano argues
that it is perhaps time for the company to turnits attention back to the domestic market.
“We want to increase our business here
at home as we are a Portuguese company
and can do so much more for Portugal,” shesays. “`Made in Portugal’ is not only for thosecustomers outside the country.”

Best Exporter
A prime example of this new spirit canbe found at Vital Marques Rodrigues, Filhos
S.A, a company with more than 100 years of
manufacturing fine textiles but which reallyturned the corner in the midst of the sector’s
economic doldrums.
“We had been exporting to Spain for many
years but then starting in 2011 and 2012 webegan exporting to Britain, Croatia, the UnitedStates and Canada and other countries,” recallsManager António Faria.

founder ofvital marques
rodrigues,
filhos s.a.

“And last year we were recognised by thePortuguese Agency for Competiveness and Innovation as the best exporter amongst small andmedium-sized textile and clothing companies.”
Based in the historic northern city of Guimarães, Vital Tecidos & Vital Home produce a
range of textiles for both the home and hotel
markets and last year posted turnover of 11
million euros.
One of its most important product lines ismattress fabrics of knit, double jacquard, damask, piquet and velvet in a wide variety of colours, textures and patterns, along with upholstery fabrics for sofas and chairs.
For home and hotel customers, the company produces towels, terrycloth robes and slippers, cotton blankets, bedspreads, tablecloths
and other items.
“Now, around 60 per cent of our sales areinternational and while there are some problems with the British market and Germany
is stagnant, both France and Italy are gettingstronger,” the executive says.
“We’re also growing a little bit in the United States where we have considered creating asmall operation, and we’re seeing new opportunities in Canada,” he adds. “In Asia, we’re sellingin South Korea and we attended several trade
fairs in China but it’s hard to sell there unless
you have a good local partner.”“We’re always looking for new clientsand actually in some countries we workwith agents that represent our products
and introduce us in the markets.”
In a sometimes fickle sector, Faria says
it helps that Vital has a wide range of products so when, for example, sales of mattressfabrics stall, sales of towels or bedspreads
ensure the company enjoys a steady income.
He also credits innovative management
techniques with guaranteeing its reputation
for quality.
“Our formula for business success is based on speed. We dye the fabric in the afternoon, produce in the evening, do the finishing
the next morning and by that afternoon it’sdone,” he explains.
“So in 24 hours we produce the article
and this speed is a competitive advantage, as
is our management of our some110 employees
whom we trust. Many times those on the factory
floor are able to work out problems that arise
themselves without bothering their bosses.
“And all our employees appreciate thiskind of teamwork and like working here.
We’ve had three generations of the same family working for us,” Faria says.
When asked about the future of industry inPortugal, the general manager highlights a newawareness amongst his fellow executives of theimportance of hard work.
“I think the mind set of entrepreneurs ischanging. In the past, businesspeople didn’t
work as hard as they should have and their companies failed. But today they know that without
hard work, there is no success.”

Stellar Growth
That attitude is evident at GivachoiceTexteis Lda where hard work has helped thecompany grow from its creation just eight
years ago to its situation today with morethan 200 employees and an annual turnover of eight million euros, explains founderand co-manager Conceição Barbosa.
“I had 50 years of experience in the
sector and was working as a director in acompany which went through some problems, so I decided to start Givachoicealong with my co-managers Ana Almeida
and Ricardo Almeida,” she recalls.
“We began this company in the midst of thefinancial crisis gripping Portugal at the time, butcrises are opportunities! We were well received
from the first moment as my name was known
in the market and it was quite easy.”
Based in Paços de Ferreira, northeast of
Porto, the company manufactures woven andknitted haute couture ladies’ wear for discerning clients with 100 percent of production
for the export market, mostly in Europe.

conceição barbosa
ana almeiDA & RICARDO ALMEIDAMANAGERS OF GIVACHoiCe“i don’t think luxury clientswant to buy products witha large carbon footprint”“Givachoice’s main markets are in Italy,
France and Spain,” explains Ricardo Almeida,adding that with the increased global focus
on the environment and such issues as carbon footprints, selling in nearby countries
will remain important into the future.
“Exporting to Europe from countries like
China and India increases not only costs but
the carbon emissions because of the transportation involved. I don’t believe luxury
customers want to purchase products with alarge carbon footprint.”
And while Givachoice’s executives are
confident they can overcome internal challenges such as maintaining its high quality,
continuing their excellent relations with customers and increasing business, challenges
from the outside remain.
“These include instability in some of ourmain markets like France and Spain and aslowdown in Germany,” Ricardo Almeida says.
“And along with the rest of the Portuguese
textile sector, we also face an exponential increase in labour costs and fuel costs and those affect the prices we can offer customers.”
Another challenge on the horizon for theindustry, although not directly affecting Givachoice, is the decision by Spanish clothing
giant group Inditex which controls such glo-

portugal 2019 - II

Etelvinade Jesus
Machado7

bal brands as Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oysho andBershka, to switch production contracts from
Portugal to partners in other countries.
“So there will be a shakeout in the sector. There will be companies which disappear,
mostly the ones which produce cheaper items
for this one particular customer,” he says.
“What we have to do then is boost ourquality, become more specific in what we canoffer and increase our flexibility.”
Another industry-wide problem which
does not keep Givachoice executives awakeat night is the recruiting and maintaining of
employees.
“This really doesn’t affect us because
we have a fair pay policy, a very substantial social policy and we have a close relationship with our workers, what I call our‘proximity policy’.
“So we have no problem recruiting and infact we have a waiting list of people wanting
to work here,” Barbosa says, with Ana Almeida
adding that the company’s internal training
programme is also a factor in high employee
contentment.
“We’ve invested a lot in training both individually and with other companies so ourseamstresses, for example, are very highly
qualified,” she explains.
Looking ahead the executives are bullish on the future of their company and theclothes and textile sector as a whole.
“Portugal is in fashion and ‘Made in Portugal’ is selling as the world has discovered
Portugal. Now we have to be smart and takefull advantage of this,” she says.
“I think our company is going to have toexpand our facilities in the next two years
which means training more staff and invest
in optimizing our manufacturing processes,”says Barbosa. “That way we can adjust to thechanges which are coming for the Portuguese textile and clothing industries.”

Automated Factories

portugal 2019 - II

Big plans are also in the works at FDG,
or Fiação da Graça, a firm with roots goingback more than 45 years and which now isa reference for Portuguese textile companies
active in many foreign markets.
“Today, Portuguese textile companies arewell prepared in terms of productivity, qua-8

carla freitas
gm of fdg - fiação da graça“portuguese textile firms
are well prepared in terms
of productivity & quality”

lity and especially internationalization,” says
General Manager Carla Freitas. “And in that
context, Fiação da Graça is increasing its range of activities.”
Based in the northern municipality of Padim da Graça, the company focuses on longstaple fibre spinning, operating 14,000 spindles powered by four separate preparationlines to produce around1,600 tons of yarn
per year.
FDG works provides its clients with customised composition, texture, design and colour in weaving, knitting, upholstery and corporate textiles with applications for formal,
Informal and intimate clothing. sportswear,
protective clothing, décor and more.
“Around 75 percent of our total production is exported and our customers are primarily European, although we are also active
commercially in Turkey,” says the executive.

“In 2018, we had turnover of some 17
million euros and although this year is morechallenging we still expect a similar figurefor 2019,” she adds.
Those challenges include the fallout
from Brexit, the United States – China tradewar, as well as fluctuating prices in some raw
materials such as wool.
“But we’ll be fine as we have adjusted fora year of lower demand.”Another major challenge facing not just
FDG, but many Portuguese industries as awhole, is recruiting, training and keeping
skilled workers. Many executives complainthat today many young Portuguese are moreinterested in pursuing careers in the techsector than in what they see as traditional
industries.
“Portugal has an unemployment rate ofless than 6 per cent so many people entering

“people do prefer to buy
from portugaL instead ofchina even if it is cheaper”

Focus on Exports
Foreign sales are also the focus for Têxteis Leiper Ltda., established in 1986 to produce duvets which at that time were almost
unknown in Portugal, recalls founder and General Manager Rui Pereira.
“My family was in the textile business, wewere making jacquard bedspreads and myfriends and I came up with the idea of theduvets which weren’t very well known here.
We were lucky and sales took off.”
Now considered one of the country’s
chief manufacturers of duvets, Têxteis Leiper
also turns out top quality bedspreads, sheets,
decorative and sleeping pillows, curtains andmattresses.
It is also active in the hotel and spa sectors, as well as producing textile products forthe aviation industry including cabin quilts,
pillows, pillow covers and headrest covers.
Like many Portuguese executives, during the crisis a decade ago Pereira began
to seek out customers abroad when thedomestic market, which accounted for almost 100 per cent of sales, dried up. Thesedays, exports account for more than halfof all sales.
“We’re selling a lot in Middle Easterncountries like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and even
Libya which is strange as it’s in the midst ofa civil war. But sales there are very brisk,” theexecutive explains.
“Of course, we’re also selling a lot in
Europe – places like France, Spain and Italy.
We’d like to do more and we’re focusing on
Asia as well.”
Pereira says he feels the Portuguese texti-

le sector is certainly competitive internationally, and although it can’t compete with China
on price, it can beat the Chinese on quality.
“Over the past several years, it’s become
clear that people prefer to buy from Portugal
instead of from China even though their products are cheaper.
“In addition with China there are longlead times while here in Portugal you canmake an order and we’re delivering in 15
days. So this differentiation is part of company policy,” he says.
Last year, Têxteis Leiper had a turnover ofaround 4 million euros. This year has started
out a bit slower with domestic sales down,
but exports have helped cushion the blow.
“Things began to turn around in April and May
and now our foreign market is going very well.”“We’ll continue to concentrate on exports
and we should do great as customers learn
more about us. We attend a big trade fair in
Germany each year and the first year people
are just curious and don’t buy.
“But then the next year they began toshow interest, contracts were signed andtrust was established. You just need to persevere,” he explains.
With sales abroad expected to rise, Pereira is studying the expansion of the manufacturing facilities to handle the increased
demand and is looking forward to further
success.
“So I am very optimistic concerning our
future. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be here!,” heexclaims.

Demanding Clients
Guarded optimism is the attitude ofAbel Correia, the founder and managing
partner at Costa Correia & C. Ltd which
manufactures men’s and women’s trousers
for a number of retail clients in Europe.
“Wages are rising and we know that
other countries have cheaper labour forces
than ours in Portugal, so I’m a bit afraidof that but we have advantages that theseother manufacturers do not.
“One of those is that we’re small,
only around 60 employees, so we are
flexible and can offer rapid service. Our
main client is in Belgium and we cantake delivery of the fabric for an orderon Monday, work takes a week, the shipment leaves on Friday and it arrives on
Tuesday the following week.”“More and more companies want fast
service and delivery, and manufacturers inplaces like China and Turkey can’t do that,”he adds. “And, of course, we provide a product with much higher quality than thosecountries.”
In addition to Belgium, Costa Correia
sells in Spain, Norway, Sweden, France,
Luxemburg, the United Kingdom, the United States and Mexico with annual turnover of around 1 million euros.
The Braga-based company’s chief investment outlay is in the latest high techmachinery and in training its dozens ofseamstresses.
“We’ve put a lot into training the women, mostly young, who work here. Yesterday, for example, seven women applied forjobs and I’ve already put three to work”, theexecutive says.
“There is high staff turnover in this business put we always manage to have theworkforce we need.”
Costa Correia offers custom design,sourcing, pre-production, manufacturing
and delivery at the time and place of theclient’s choosing, making the company a
one-stop shop for clothing retailers.
The firm’s client list includes such
prestigious brands as Steff of Belgium, Elk
Head of the United States and Strombergof the United Kingdom.
“These customers of ours are very demanding,” Correia says. “They want top
quality trousers made to their exact specifications and they want them quickly.
That’s what we provide and will continue
to do so, come what may.”
Quality is hence the common threadthat unites most successful cases in thePortuguese textile industry, as the country
moves from a low-cost producer slot to the
top of the international value chain.

portugal 2019 - II

the job market can pick and choose where
they work,” Carla explains.
“But we’ve managed to be attractive
enough to maintain our staffing which now
is around 135 workers and we’re beginningto explore the chance to increase automationin production.”
Along with bringing in new technology
for the future, FDG is also looking at consolidating its foreign sales through opening upnew markets, including Italy as the company
goes from strength to strength aided by thebright fortunes expected of the industry.
“I’m very optimistic about our future andthe future of the Portuguese textile sector as
it went through a shake out during the crisisand now the remaining companies are wellstructured and have the strategies and skills
to move on”, the general manager says.
“And while Portugal as a brand was ahandicap in the past, that has all changed.
Next week I’m off to an international textile
trade fair and I’ll be proudly waving the Portuguese flag!”

9

joão
ramalho

CENTRE-SOUTH
iNDUSTRY
export growth has
been a constant FOR
MOST LOCAL industries

portugal 2019 - II

Over the past decade, Portugal has becomeranked amongst Europe’s major manufacturing centres thanks to a sterling reputation
for high-quality products, a relatively low costof production and an infusion of new technology, with local businesses exploring newexport markets for the country’s products.
Much of the new industrial dynamic istaking place in the country’s Central Region
stretching from the capital, Lisbon, north tothe ancient university city of Coimbra, encompassing some of Portugal’s richest industrial areas.
Rich in the wealth of economically vibrant towns and cities, and rich in the wealthof the surrounding natural beauty, the Central Region is also blessed by its location
with state-of-the-art transport links to Lisbon, Porto and beyond, providing quick access to local, European and world markets
via rail, road and shipping.
One of Portugal’s largest industrialized
regions, the Central Region hosts companies
turning out automobiles, machinery, biotech
products, IT applications, glass, steel products,
ceramics, chemicals and much, much more.
All supported by excellent universities
and research and development centres, suchthe old University of Coimbra and many Technical Institutes.
One local industry with a long andsuccessful history in the region is cutlery
which is enjoying a renaissance. Consumers,
whether professional chefs in fine restaurants or amateur cooks at home, are turningaway from cheaper Asian knives and accessories for very well-made, yet reasonably priced, kitchen tools.
And two cutlery companies based in thecity of Benedita have become important pla-

10

GENERAL
MANAGER OF
NICUL“now the portuguese knives’
industry is widely recognised
to be in a class of its own”
yers in the world market, exporting to dozens
of countries.

Family Roots“For over 100 years, artisans have turned
out fine iron and steel products here,” saysJoão Ramalho, general manager of cutlery
manufacturer NICUL,” and my family’s rootsin this business go back to the 1920’s.”“We are now selling to around 40 countries and we can be internationally competitive and beat our low-cost and high-costrivals in places like China or Turkey andGermany or Switzerland because we’re very
competitive on price and quality,” he explains.
Relatively low labour costs help Portuguese companies such as NICUL remain competitive on world markets and there are thesynergies in this part of the country that help.
“There is a knowledge here that comesfrom generations and generations which
combines with the skills that are perfect for
turning out the finest bladed tools valued
here and abroad,” the general manager says.
“When we started years ago, there wasthe challenge of Portugal’s image as a manufacturer of precision products. But that has
now changed and we are now accepted as acountry which can turn out high quality knives and cutlery.
“This change has helped us in the European, Middle Eastern and North and SouthAmerican markets as word spreads that Portugal is in a class of its own,” he adds.
NICUL first began exporting to Germany
and Spain, then former Portuguese colonies
like Angola and Mozambique. Today, international customers account for 60 percent of
total sales worth some 1.8 million Euros.
Customers can choose from an entire

range of steel and titanium kitchen tools
for cutting, chopping, sharpening, etc., plus
blocks and bags for storing and carrying knives, as well as bladed tools for domestic use
such as pocket knives and scissors.
NICUL also offers a custom personalization service which can engrave names, logos,
symbols or any other graphic design on its
products.
As exports expand, so does the company.
Ramalho says an ambitious investment plan
worth 2.5 million Euros will double production capacity, acquire new machinery and increase the company’s shipping facilities. The
new plant will begin operations in mid-2019.
“This modern and digitalized machinerywill help us be more flexible regarding markets and customers, and make the wholeprocess go much quicker without sacrificing
any quality.
“Starting next year we’re looking at annual growth of between 30 percent and 40
percent so we’re very optimistic about the
future, especially our sales abroad which justkeep growing.
“And that goes for Portuguese industry as
world markets realize that European madeknives are so much better than the same products from Asia,” he says.

International Growth
Spending to meet growing demand isalso the business plan of knife and related
products manufacturer IVO Cutelarias which
has invested some 10 million Euros over the
past five years.
“Last year was very good for us although
growth was somewhat restrained because of
the restructuring of the company, new machinery we installed and other projects,” explains company owner Antonio Ivo.
But the company is used to ups anddowns. Unlike many other Portuguese companies, it successfully navigated the recent

PEDROgonçalVES

te of Employment and Professional Training
to bring in foreign workers and I think thatwill solve most of our human resources shortage,” Ivo says.
“So we’re well placed to continue on our
successful trajectory for the future, benefiting
the company, our workers and Portugal.”economic crisis to emerge stronger. Last year,
turnover was around 9.5 million Euros.
“Regarding work and orders from customers, we never had to slack off during thecrisis nor let any of our employees go. The
crisis only touched us because of the banks
withdrawing their support and that had
some financial repercussions,” he recalls,“So we were able to keep supplying ourforeign customers who take more than 90
percent of our production. We strongly believe in diversifying our market and now we sell
to 86 countries.”
IVO Cutelarias’ main overseas markets
are led by Germany, Canada and the Nordic
countries, while Australia and South America
are becoming more important.
“We’re selling now to Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador and Peru, and we began in Argentina
last year,” he says. “We see a lot of potential
in that part of the world and we believe it’s agood gamble.”
IVO Cutelaria’s product range would cover any chef’s needs, from precision blades
for cutting, slicing and dicing to boning,
peeling and chopping.
Cleavers, sharpeners, spatulas, corkscrews
and dining table cutlery are also big sellers.
“Our cutlery has a superior quality
otherwise the Germans wouldn’t buy it,” Ivo
argues. “And this reflects not only well on us,
but also on Portugal and Portuguese industry
as a whole.
“But our internationalization is not only
about sales. We now have a production facility in Thailand where we produce a more accessible range of knives for the Asian market.
“That region, like South America, is agood place to get a foothold,” he says.
As Portugal’s economic crisis fades andwith business clearly bouncing back, the only
challenge Ivo Cutelarias and other manufacturers now face is a lack of qualified workers.
But as other companies are doing, theknife maker is investing in state-of-the-art
technology which will increase and improve production, while at the same time it will
give the technical skills to new workers, someof whom will come from abroad.
“We have an agreement with the Institu-

Quality Matters
Training up local young people to fill future positions is the human resources strategy of Gosimac, a Pombal-based company
which designs and manufactures machineryand equipment for the aerospace, automotive
and industrial equipment industries.
It also turns out parts for industrial equipment such as extrusion dies, moulds, spindles and calibrators for profiles.
“Forty local companies got together andbought a vocational school which was introuble so we could train youths from ourregion,” explains Gosimac Manager Pedro
Gonçalves.
“They first become familiar with the different sectors so they can see which one
they are interested in and then from the ageof 18 they begin formal training on equipment donated by the companies involved.”
Founded 31 years ago by Gonçalves’
father, the company today annually bills
around 4 million Euros much of which comesfrom export sales to such companies as Airbus, Dassault and Siemens.
Domestically, the company has international clients active in the Portuguese automotive sector such as Renault and Volkswagen,The manager says that entering the international market was difficult at first andthe company was on a steep learning curve.
“In Portugal we were not at the time accustomed yet to the idea that quality was
the most important element. Obviously, we
had to change a lot in order to observe European standards in both quality and materials,” he recalls.
“And it is clear we learned our lesson as
now we supply these very demanding leading aerospace and automotive companies
and they are extremely satisfied with our
products and services.”Those services include modelling andprogramming, CNC machining, CNC lathing,electro-erosion by wire, dimensional control
and measuring.

“the aeronautics industry isin a growth cycle so we willgrow with our customers”

With diverse client sectors, Gosimac
should be able to weather any storm upsetting one industry or the other, although
Gonçalves sees them enjoying steady growth.
“Both aeronautics and automotive havegreat potential,” he explains. “Right now, theautomotive industry is going through changes as there is indecision concerning thegasoline engine versus electric motors andthe sector is slightly down. But that will
straighten out.
“And aeronautics is in a growth cycle so
our aim is grow along with our customers
while being sure we can meet the challenge
from our competitors in Asia.”“We can do that because we have a great
product, a dynamic and multidisciplinary
team of workers and managers which all together ensure our success,” Gonçalves says.

Portuguese Traits
International operations are also at thecore of Leiria-based Carlos Calhelhas Metalúrgica Lda, or CCM, which specialises in industrial assembly and maintenance, steel andstainless steel construction and mechanicaland civil locksmithing.
“We started off in 2001 dedicated toindustrial assembly and maintenance,” explains founder and General Manager Carlos
Calhelhas.
“Since then, 80 percent of our work hasdeveloped towards maintaining the furnace

portugal 2019 - II“ivo cutelarias haS alreadyinvested ten million EUROS
over the past five years”

GENERAL
MANAGER OFGOSIMAC11

CARLOSCALHELHAS

GENERAL
MANAGEROF CCM

“at ccm we HAVE A very
long history OF WORKINGABROAD WITH VERSATILiTY,
high QUALITY AND SAFETY”

portugal 2019 - IIand machines used for bottle and other glass
products.”
Currently involved in projects in England,
Ireland, Scotland, Germany, France, Spain,
Bulgaria and Poland, the company is alsobuilding a new glass plant in Angola.
“We’re assembling the furnace structure
and the machines there in the Special Economic Zone near Luanda and we believe Africa
could be a very important emerging market
for us along with Asia and South America,”
the executive says.
“All our clients seem to be very happy towork with us and I think it has something
to do with Portuguese traits. We have a very
long history of working overseas, we are very
versatile, and, of course, we do quality work.”“All of this gives us an edge when we
have to compete for projects anywhere in theworld,” Calhelhas says.
Along with its specialisations, CCM isalso involved in unloading, handling, installation, maintenance and conversions of IS
machines; silo and crane assembly; assembly and repair of glass furnace structures andspecialised labour subcontracting.
Its partner list includes companies
such as SORG, IRF Europe, BA Glass, Vidrala,
Verallia, DS Smith, and Glasstronics.
“Our hope is to keep expanding inter-

12

MIGUELBAROSEIRO

nationally but without having to add to ourcurrent staff” the general manager says. “Theglass industry is growing around the world
and I think we can achieve our goal.”

MANAGER OFMETAVIL

Industrial Expertise
Glass is also the primary focus of Metavil, a family-run company in Marinha Grande which started off manufacturing glass
moulds for the packaging industry in 1977.
In the 1980s, it branched out into plastics
and now has clients across Europe.
“Right now the glass moulds business is
our main concern accounting for 80 percent
of output and our annual turnover is in theneighbourhood of 3 million euros,” says Managing Partner Miguel Baroseiro.
Two production plants staffed by 37
highly-trained technicians manufacture themoulds for clients in Germany, France, Spain,
Poland, Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria.
“Our international market is becoming
more and more important every day because
the domestic market is not expected to growvery much,” the executive explains.
Baroseiro notes that in the international
market Metavil faces competition from both
European and Chinese rivals.
“There will always be those European
clients who turn to Chinese producers withwhom we cannot compete on price. But ittakes a month for the moulds to arrive from
China by sea and we can supply Poland or
Germany in two days with a much better product,” he says.
Another challenge the company, andmany others in Portugal, is facing is a scarcity
of workers as young people these days are
more highly educated than in the past andare turning up their noses at factory work.
“We do have difficulty finding staff and
I’m not talking about specialised technicians
but rather people whom we can train andteach. We even use temporary job agencies
for hiring but often these people don’t staywith us for very long,” he says.
“But we’ll keep trying to recruit staff. Marinha Grande has a great industrial tradition
with many dynamic companies and the only
problem is finding and holding on to staff.”
Looking to the future, Baroseiro sees thecompany becoming increasingly technologi-“the glass industry is rapidly
growing and we see a great
future for us in this sector”

cal and more automated which will help withthe human resources problem.
“It will also boost production which isimportant as the glass industry worldwide is
growing at a rapid pace and we see prosperous times ahead for our sector,” he says.

Explosive Growth
In just five years since its founding, BSC
Montagens is already a name in the refractory lining and chimneys sector with branch
offices in Germany, the Netherlands and Brazil, and looking to expand further.
“We’re mostly active in the German market but we’ve also carried out projects in Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Russia andUkraine,” says company founder and Manager
Sílvio Camões.
BSC Montagens is planning to enter the
U.S. market this year and has two projects
scheduled in Mexico.
“So we’re already well established inEurope and now we’re beginning to go truly
global,” he says.
“I attribute our success to our flexibility
as we can do things the large companies inour sector cannot do or they don’t want tobother with because of a project’s size. But
we do it all, large or small.”This eagerness to take on any project has
fuelled BSC Montagens’ spectacular growth“our success is due to our
flexibility as we do all kindof projects, large or small”

A new company headquarters is also to
be built this year near the company’s current
offices in Bombarral in the Central Region, an
area the manager says is well suited for BSC
Montagens.
“We’re right in the middle of the country with easy access to Lisbon and Porto, so
being located in Bombarral is an advantage
for us or for any Portuguese company thatwants to be successful.
“And that’s what it’s all about: Grab yourdream and work for it!”CARLOSLAGOAMANAGER OFGRUPO LAGOA“we’ll see more mergers andpartnerships as the ceramics
industry becomes healthier”

Traditional Products

atomized pastes for ceramics with a higher
added value, is growing in the export market,
especially Europe,” Lagoa says.
Another of the group’s divisions, Cerâmica do Engenho, is dedicated to the micronization, or milling, of sand, calcite and feldspar
for producing ceramic paste, while the TBL
division handles all of the group’s transportand logistic needs.
“We also set up a small business, Lagoa’s
Décor, which makes sinks, bathtubs and otherbathroom fixtures for a range of international clients.
“And then we have a thermal energy producer which not only supplies the company
but also sells surplus energy on the grid,” thepresident explains.
Lagoa says the ceramics industry goes
through a crisis every five years and foresees
the day when companies in the European
sector will specialise in niche products withless of a broad range but with higher quality.
“I also believe that we’ll see more mergers and partnerships as the ceramics industry undergoes a transformation that will
make it healthier and more vibrant.”

portugal 2019 - IIof 100 percent each year in both the numberof projects and billing,
Last year, revenue was around 4 million
Euros and 2019 has started out well.
“There are companies out there in our
sector which charge lower prices than we do
but we have the quality and we’re the only
one that is SCCP certified for safety which isvery important in this business,” the manager
explains.
BSC Montagens’ 100 employees provide
such refractory and chimney services as masonry, moulding, gunite projection, manual
packing, fibre work, welding, stacking andother processes.
“In another five years, I’d like to be able
to report turnover of 15 million Euros annually with a staff of 300,” Camões says, “And I
think that is a realistic forecast as the market
is growing.
“Last year alone I had to halt work on
three or four projects because we didn’t havethe manpower to complete them. But now wehave a programme to train up young people
from this region and that should solve ourproblem in that department.”

One of the Central Region´s more traditional industries is ceramics and Grupo Lagoa covers the sector from A to Z. Not only
does it mine the raw materials for ceramics,
it also manufacturers the end product, in its
case porcelain bathroom fixtures.
“My father started this enterprise but infact my great-grandfather worked in clay all
the way back in the 19th century,” says President Carlos Alberto Lagoa.
“Our group is currently made up of fivecompanies with an annual turnover of around30 million Euros.”
But it hasn’t always been smooth. Like
so any businesses, the group suffered during
Portugal’s economic crisis that began in 2008
before business began growing again several
years later.
“And although 2018 was a good year forus, so far this year we’re noting a retraction in
the Spanish market which is one of the biggest in Europe,” the executive explains.
Of the group’s companies, JALF is dedicated to the extraction and marketing of raw
materials for ceramic pavements, coatingsand bathroom fixtures, as well as for faience and everyday china, the glass industry andthe construction and public work sectors.
“Because of the weight of the material
and therefore the cost of transportation,
exports of these products is not really apriority for us.
“But our Unipasta division, which makes

13

MOULDS AND
PLASTICSIDÁLIO SILVAMANAGING
DIRECTOR of
UEPRO

KNOW-HOW, QUALITY AND
FLEXIBILITY ARE THE KEY
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES “WE MAKE SUCH HIGH QUALITY
IN THIS CHANGING SECTOR MOULDS THAT EVEN GERMANYCAN NOT COMPETE WITH us”

As Portugal’s manufacturing sector wins praise and contracts around the world, one particular sector and related industries truly standout – moulds, with companies turning out
precision-made products now sold in morethan 80 countries.
“Multinational companies are increasingly choosing Portuguese firms to makemoulds for some of the world’s top products,”
according to the Portuguese Association for
the Mould Industry.
“Their choice is based on the skill and experience of Portuguese mould makers, theirlevels of quality and service; their competitive prices; and their pioneering application ofadvanced technologies.”
The statistics bear this out. Some 90 percent of Portuguese production is exported
and export growth has rocketed by 80 percent over the past five years.
Clients from the automotive, aerospace,electronics, medical devices, packaging andother industries all value Portuguese mould
makers for their creativity, competence, expertise, innovation and reliability.
“From design and engineering to toolingand final assembled products, the Portuguese
mould makers do it all,” the association says.
Much of the country’s mould sector isconcentrated in the Centro region, and more
specifically in and around Marinha Grande,
about halfway between Lisbon and Porto.

Response Time

portugal 2019 - II

“There are dozens of companies like ourselves working in the mould industry aroundhere and Marinha Grande represents around 70
percent of Portugal’s mould production,” says
Idálio Silva, the managing director of UEpro.

14“Along with mould manufacturing, we
also have a marketing and sales division
which handles those activities for many of
the smaller mould makers in the region,” heexplains.
“We find clients and then subcontract
moulds to these smaller producers.”
While many of the Portuguese sector’s
manufacturers work with clients in the automotive industry, UEpro is focused more on
aerospace and medical devices.
“The automotive industry is a very specific industry and we are not geared towards
it for several reasons. For example, payment
terms and the response time for project approval are very slow and we like to work at aquicker pace,” the executive says.
“Our main vocation has been the aerospace or aeronautics industry and we also
work a lot in thin-wall thickness packaging.
Then we have other departments such as
safety devices.”
Silva notes that while the medical sector for mould manufacturers is not as strong
as it was, he expects orders to pick up fromthose clients as well as from the aeronautics
industry.
“We had a surge in work from our aeronautics clients four or five years ago and weworked very closely with a client in Northern
Ireland who was supplying Bombardier.”“And there are good prospects that the client
will soon be working with Airbus and Boeing
which will mean more work for UEpro. So things
are certainly opening up for us,” he says.
“We’re also waiting for orders for safety
devices such as oxygen masks, devices for
fire-fighters and other personal protection
products.”

UEpro works with clients in the United
Kingdom, Germany, France, Austria, Finland,
Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands andother European countries, as well as in the
United States.
Average annual billing in recent years had
been between 2.5 million and 3 million euros.
As with other industries around theworld, Portuguese mould makers face stiffcompetition from their Chinese rivals primarily due to price issues and UEpro is no
exception.
“We are competitive internationally but
we’ll always be at a slight disadvantage with
the Chinese because of their prices and there
are some good producers there.
“However, we make high quality moulds
and even Germany can’t compete with us.
Sure, our prices are higher because of betterand therefore more expensive workmanship.
But that is what the clients demand - quality,”
the managing director argues.
With more aeronautic business on thehorizon, the company is looking to update oreven replace its current facilities and makemajor investments in the injection moulding
machinery needed by aviation clients.
“That sector requires very specific technology in terms of injection capacity and many
companies don’t have that kind of machinery
so I would like us to have our own and for that
we need new installations,” Silva says.
“And I firmly believe we can do this because we have such a great team which I
consider more as colleagues and partners
than as employees.
“So we’ll be moving forward to continue
to satisfy our clients and be a major force inthe market.”so we can be very vulnerable to downturns
in that industry.
“We’ve already worked with clientsin the areas of household appliances andcast iron and our range of customers isvery wide. So both inside and outside themould sector, this is the kind of diversitythat MPR Moldes seeks.”“WE ARE ALSO STARTING A
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE
MULTINATIONAL DUNLOP”
Business Rise

Customer Differentiation
Diversifying within the mould making
industry itself is the aim of VL Moldes
which was mainly involved in supplying
clients in the automotive field but has now
branched out.
It specializes in technical injection
moulds, multi-cavity molds, multi-components, with insert molding, etc, for the plastics industry and its services incluye mould
engineering and manufacturing, mould flow,
dimensional control, mould trials, and preseries and after-sales support.
“Back in 2015 and 2016 we were very
dependent on the automotive sector but inrecent years we’ve been getting more involved with clients in other areas, says Managing Partner Vítor Cardoso.
“We are more active in medical devices,orthopaedics, a special engineering solutions for other industries.”
The executive says he is happy with thecurrent mix as it balances out the cyclicalrise and fall in the automotive sector.
“Customer differentiation is necessary,”
he argues. “One has to have multiple clientsin various areas.”
Founded in 1997 in a one-room garage
by Cardoso and two partners, the company
at first was largely a service provider but
then moved into launching its own products.
In 2008, one of the partners left and VL
Moldes set off on an ambitious expansion
programme with new equipment and a larger staff. Today, the family-owned and ope-

vitor cardoso
managing partner OF VL MoldeS“INstead of growing, we dowant to be financially andtechnologically stable”
rated concern has 50 employees.
Last year, it billed 5 million Euros, up
from 1 million Euros a decade ago, with almost 100 percent of its activity supplying
multinational companies either in Portugal
and abroad.
“We are working mainly for Portugal,
Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy, and also for Mexico throughour European partners,” the executive says.
“We’re not really planning on exceedingmuch beyond our current number of 50 staff
with which we are very comfortable. Insteadof growth, our aim is to stabilize technologically and financially,” Cardoso says.
In-house training is key to maintaining askilled workforce at VL Moldes.
“This is a family business and I already have my children working with me
so we’re now preparing for the next generation, he says.
“We have two types of people here,
those in their 40’s and 50’s with years ofexperience and they are passing on this experience, their skills and their knowledge tothe other group, the young people just entering the field.”

portugal 2019 - IIDiversification is the business philosophy at
MPR Moldes which primarily handles such services to the moulding industry as assembly andfitting, grinding and repair and maintenance.
“We started 18 years ago when my partner and I left an important mould manufacturer to start our own business,” recalls founding partner Filipe Passagem.
“But instead of making moulds ourselves
we decided to focus on assembly, adjustment
and related services and began with a small
facility of only some 200 square metres.”
The partners noticed that many of thesmaller companies in the Marinha Grande region did not carry out their own maintenance
operations and so moved into that sector.
“It’s been a success and this year we’veseen a rise in business,” Passagem says.
“For example, in what is called ‘second
stage’ maintenance, we handle moulds coming here from Asia which are not completely ready to go into production.
“So we take the moulds, open them, observe
their mechanics, test them and then make thenecessary changes that the client requests sothey can be used in the industry,” he explains.
After close to two decades of solid
growth in the business of around 15 to 20
percent a year, MPR Moldes now employs
15 staff and posts an annual turnover of
1.3 million euros.
MPR Moldes has worked with French,
German and Romanian partners and is open
to further international cooperation,
One of the company’s latest moves was toacquire a local firm specialising in metallurgy
and reverse engineering which opens up new
business opportunities in the industry.
But the company is also looking beyond moulds.
“We are also starting a partnership withthe multinational company Dunlop that produces rubber boots, and we’re working withother multinationals that are outside themould industry,” the partner says.
“Today, the automotive market accounts for between 80 percent and 90 percent of the Portuguese mould sector and15

silvio jordão
ceo OF symetria“to be successful one has tocontinue innovating andkeep an eye on the horizon”
Continuous Innovation

portugal 2019 - II

Machining is a key component of themoulds manufacturing process and is the
speciality of Symetria, a company foundedjust six years ago and that now employs almost two dozen people.
“In the beginning it was just me and one
new machine and my idea was to support
other companies in the Marinha Grande area
involved in mould makings,” recalls founderand CEO Silvio Jordão.
“And whatever needs machining – moulds, aeronautics, robotics, metallurgy, etc.– we can do it.”
Symetria works in steel, acrylic, aluminium, bronze, copper, brass, nylon, polycarbonate and other materials using the most technologically advanced equipment including
six machining centres with dimensions from3000 mm x 1000 mm.
The company also operates two millingmachine tools, two CNC grinding machines,
two flat grinding machines, two CBC lathes
with 4-axid power tools, two conventional lathes and a CNC boring machine.
“We’ve got good machines, good workers, we always meet our deadlines and wegive great quality at a fair price. These are
the reasons we’ve grown over the short time
we’ve been operating and we are expecting
further growth,” the executive says.
Last year the company posted 1 million
euros in turnover and expects that figure to
rise to 1.2 million euros in 2019.
In order to meet demand and thosealways important client deadlines, Symetria

16

operates two shifts with the first clocking inat 6 a.m. and with the last workers leaving
the plant at 10 p.m.
“One of our most exciting projects rightnow is an automobile costing 2 million euros which is to take part in the 24 Hours of
Le Mans race which was ordered by a foreigncompany,” Jordão boasts.
“That’s just an example of our international business. Recently we sent pieces to
Mexico, Luxembourg and Romania.
“Additionally to these projects, we havebeen active in many others, such as machining for specific mountaineering equipment
and even some scientific projects related tothe study of flora and fauna of our maritime
area,” he says.
The CEO believes in being pro-active
when pursuing clients and once engaged tobe sure to keep in constant contact to address any of the customer’s concerns.
Many manufacturers in Portugal, he says,
fail in this, customer-friendly, hands-on approach which he clearly enjoys.
“I recently took a group of clients for avisit of the region’s sightseeing highlights,
dropped by the beach, took them to lunch
and then invited them to my home for dinnerwith my family.
“At the end of the business trip, theysaid to me. ‘Silvio, I want to work with you
more often and come to Portugal to see you
again.’ That’s how it’s done,” he explains.
Looking ahead, Jordão says he would like
Symetria to expand the range of its businessto work in more sectors, especially those on
the very edge of technological innovation.
“We’re now making parts for wind turbines along with parts for robots which needspecial tools. This is how to be successful continue innovating and keep an eye out for
what’s on the horizon.”

Growing Reputation
That business philosophy is well understood at Linkplas, a company based in thenorth-central town of Oliveira de Azeméis
which produces and sells plastic elements
for industrial parts and other purposes.
“We got our start back in 2012 with a request from an American company for small batches of plastic parts so we’ve had exporting in

paula
rocha

DIRECTOR OF
LINKPLAS“we WANT TO BE INVOLVEDFURTHER IN THE AUTOMOBILE& AERONAUTICS INDUSTRIES”
our DNA from the beginning,” says Managing
Partner and Commercial Director Paula Rocha.
Besides the United States, Linkplas works
with a manufacturer of drones in Belgium
and in Morocco where its customer is in theautomotive sector.
Amongst the products and services thecompany provides are design and development, mould design, plastic parts injection,
mould tests, pre-series, refining, ultrasonicwelding and the gluing of plastic parts.
Beside automotive, other industries Linkplas serves include office equipment, home
appliances and plastic utensils.
“We’re now looking for new projects in
new areas,” she explains. “Further involvement in the automobile industry is certainly
attractive but we are also very interested inaeronautics.”“When we attempt to enter foreign markets, our biggest challenge is competing on
price but we’re way ahead of many of ourcompetitors when it comes to quality and ourterms of delivery,” Rocha explains.
Portugal’s growing reputation as a reliable and cost efficient place to do businesshas helped companies like Linkplas, withthe executive saying much has changed inrecent years.
“It’s lot different now than it was five
years ago,” she notes. “Our current clients
have total confidence in the company andour potential. Previously, they questioned theeffectiveness of the company, the quality andthe knowhow.
“So it is clear that the label ‘Made in Portugal’ has now become a recognized seal of
approval worldwide for companies like oursthat are making such a contribution to theindustry and the country.”

Expansion, both in product offerings andgeographic location, is in the plans of Batista
Moldes, a Marinha Grande-based, family-run
firm established eight years ago.
“We started in machining and now offer
a full range of services from product development to mould production for the plastics
industry,” says Manager Vitor Batista.
Along with Batista Moldes, the executive oversees two related companies: V.B. Fresagem, which is involved in machining, and
BMT2 Tools, which makes mould components.
“This means we are a vertically integrated
group,” he notes.
“Our main focus is supplying the automotive industry although we are now looking tobranch out as well into other products, suchas aeronautical.”The executive bases his argument for diversification on the fact that the automobile sector
is undergoing changes and that it’s best not to
put all of the company’s eggs in one basket.
“It’s important to look at diversifying because these industries we serve can experience
quite dramatic ups and downs, so we go to international trade fairs and the like to seek out
new markets, such as the aeronautics industry.”
But breaking into aeronautics has its challenges as there is a rigorous certification process. “We are creating the conditions to meetthe certification requirements and see if we
can enter this market,” he says. “And I think thiswill bear fruit.”
Batista Moldes’ offers mould clients project development and management, planning,machining, CDM and finishing. Its moulds turnout a range of products from plastic produce
baskets and food containers to automobile
door panels and other car parts.
Its mould types include overmodelation,bi-material, casting, compression, gas injection
and sandwich. Batista says the next step is to

Flexibility is Key
And that includes Compogal, a manufacturer of PVC, TR and SEBS compounds for anumber of applications based in Leiria, nextdoor to Marinha Grande. It was founded 32
years ago just as Portugal joined the European Union.
“It was difficult in the beginning as thisis a capital intensive business and borrowing
from the banks was very expensive at thetime,” recalls founder and Managing Partner
Manuel Viana Moço.
“But we’ve prospered and these days wehave an annual turnover of around 14 million
Euros and employ some 30 people.”
PVC’s are Compogal’s main business andthe company turns out such products as insulation and sheeting for power cables for
public buildings and industrial installations,insulated electrical cables for the automotive
industry and insulation for telecoms cables.
Other PVC products include automobile
components, flexible and rigid pipes and profiles for the construction and furniture industries, and shoes and shoe components for the
footwear sector.
“Our core is PVC’s but we also handle TR
and SEBS compounds for the shoe industry,
sealing gaskets and household utilities,” theexecutive says.
“As far as clients are concerned, we workwith the Portuguese market and the Spanish
market and we’re returning to Angola where
we worked before but left. Now we’re back.”“This year began like other years but the-MANUEL VIANA
MOçO

MANAGING
PARTNER OF
compogal“NEW BUSINESS CONTINUETO APPEAR SO WE HAVE TO
BE ATTENTIVE TO GRAB THEM”
re has been a slowdown in the Spanish market and fortunately we don’t have that big a
position there,” he adds.
“Here in Portugal it is a more stable situation as the market doesn’t have the ups anddowns like in Spain. But recovery can take longer. We’re happy with that – small but stable.”
Compogal faces stiff competition, notonly from local companies but also from international rivals which are penetrating thedomestic market more and more.
The managing partner says the best way
to deal with competitors is by offering a better product using the best technology operated by an excellent staff.
“And we want to keep these people with thecompany so we treat them correctly with theproper social attitude. We want them to feel satisfied with a good work environment,” he says.
Another key to success is flexibility, specifically the ability to adapt to a changing market.
“We used to work in the PVC packaging
business but that totally disappeared andthen began the electric cables market whichis already mature.
“So new business will continue to appear and we have to be attentive and openminded so we can grab those opportunities.
That’s the way to survive.”

portugal 2019 - II

Vertical Integration

offer plastic injection moulding, the one production process it currently lacks.
The company works with clients from Germany, Spain and France and is trying to crack
the Mexican and Moroccan markets. Batista
sees the latter as particularly attractive.
“Morocco is very interesting and they needa lot of support because there is a lack of technical knowledge in our sector and this is, ofcourse, one of our specialties,” the manager says.
“So we’re moving ahead, and with the newplastic injection moulds closing the production circle, we’ll be able to offer clients a fullservice of moulds.
“With that done, and with our product andgeographic expansion, it’s all starting to lookvery good indeed,” he says.

17

joel
rodrigues

ceo OF
gespro group“because of gespro groupmany complex moulDs areproduced here in portugal”

for the last couple of years, Rodrigues is bettingin new sectors.
“We are already working with the medical,
aeronautics and even the oil & gas sectors. The
fact that we can certify the quality of the graphite that we use has been instrumental in that.”
Entering into its third decade Gespro
group is mostly worried on how to keep its
well experienced staffers from being lured tothe competition.
“We allow our workers flexible working
hours, and provide a nice working environment. So we have been successful at retaining
our talented staff,” the Ceo proudly affirms.
Another key element for Rodrigues is automation, as all production is controlled by robots
with little human supervision.
“My goal is to be like an octopuss, andspread our tentacles over several industries. We
can not be so dependant on the automotive industry,” he concludes.

Diversification Thrust

portugal 2019 - II

The technological side of the mould andplastic sector can also take place in Portugal,
as the Gespro Group has been proudly showing.
Originating from the foundation of Pro3D
in Marinha Grande 1997, that eventually became SM3D, it was set up to be the first Portuguese company specialized in providing services in
3D design for the mould industry.
Founded by its CEO Joel Rodrigues, it
recently became Gespro Group, which also
comprises the newly formed Spark EDM Solutions, which handles a quarter of all graphite imports to Portugal.
“We reliased that in order to guarantee thequality and certification of the graphite that we
use in our prototypes, we needed to go ourselves to the source and bring it from the manufacturer in Japan,” says de CEO.
Currently Gespro group provides to themould industry engineering and projects services, programming and product development aswell as 3D machining.
“Thanks to the fact that we exist in
Portugal, many complex moulds that could
have gone elsewhere actually are produced
here. Large companies like Faurecia and Visteon have told us that!”
Seventy percent of the group’s work comesfrom the automotive sector, but as the rate of
demand from the market has been lacklustre

18

Successful Decade
Much younger but also well establishedin the mould sector is E&T - Engineering &Tooling, based as well in the Mould centre of
Portugal in Marinha Grande.
Founded in 2008, it absorbed AFR Moldes
in 2012 when it moved to its current installations, which are already being streched due tothe rapid growth experienced in its short life.
Its general manager and co-founder Pedro
Sousa explains how they managed to get started
when the financial crises affected the industry.
“We went immediately looking for customers
in our main markets, such as Germany, the UK and
the USA. They knew us from our previous work in
the industry, we managed to get some projects to
get the company going,” Sousa recalls.
Specialization was one of the winning cards
that allowed E&T to grow quickly and achieve
its current size, with sales of 10 million euros ayear with only 57 employees.
“We have specialized in fuel filler housings,
which comprise both injected plastic and rubber. We are very experienced and technicallyoriented, so we can tackle from small and technical moulds to larger ones.”
Despite the slowdown in the automotive sector, Sousa says that 2019 is following on the previous year’s steps, “we made big investments andreorganized the company expecting a difficult year.”

pedro
sousa
general
MANAGEROf E&T
engineering& tooling“the type of plastic pieces
may change but at e&t weare technically ready for it”

The general manager believes that the main
reason for this drop in demand is the doubt of
the European automotive industry on which way
to take for the technology of its future models.
“The EU is strongly pushing for the electriccar, where China and the USA are well ahead.
The European industry is playing catch-up, andthe hydrogen car, despite its brilliant potential,
has not really taken off yet,” Sousa reckons.
But such turns are momentary and he isconfident of the long-term health of the mould
industry, that has in Marinha Grande one of its
widest and deepest pools of talent.
“The types of pieces that will be required
may change, but we are technically ready forthat. New pieces will require a weight reduction,so plastic will likely replace some pieces thatare now made of steel or aluminium.”
Future growth will not depend on gaining
a large number of new customers, but on attaining a few good clients with whom trust and apartnership can be established.
Technical skills can only carry you so far, so
the last thoughts of Rodrigues go towards thechallenge of recruiting and training new talentthat can propel the company into the future.
“In association with the local schools and trade associations we have been hiring young trainees, so we have a healthy mix of experience andyouth that guarantees our future success,” says
Sousa with a high degree of confidence.

Somewhere north of the Marinha Grande
center of mould and plastics excellence, Plastifoz is based in the centarl city of Figueira da Foz .
Despite this, its partner Jorge Silva thinksthat its location does not present it with amajor disadvantage.
“We are just located between the two
major mould and plastics centers in Portugal,
north of Leiria and south of Aveiro, and wellcommunicated by road,” Silva says.
In this area in central Portugal the lack offood & drink
industry
the label “produce of
portugal” is atracting
A GROWING attention AT
international markets
A benign and varied climate, rich soil anda long seafaring tradition have all blessed
Portugal with the means to produce or process quality fruit, vegetables, wine, animal
products and fish, all of which are becoming increasingly available to demanding
consumers around the world attracted by
the label: “Produce of Portugal”.
Agriculture, agro-industry and foodprocessing are amongst Portugal’s fastest
growing exporting industrial sectors, accounting for more than 3 percent of GDP
and fuelling job creation that is luringhighly-qualified professionals into foodrelated industries
Indeed, exports by food and wine producers are now valued at around 6.5 billion
euros, representing almost 12 percent of
the Portuguese economy as companies
identify, explore and open new international markets.
And in recent years, the rapidly growing
domestic market helped pull Portugal outof its economic doldrums as Portuguese
consumption of many food products increased following years of decline.

areas, as we see ourselves as a very technical company. We also want to into new
sectors such as the aeronautical sector
and others.”
For this objectives Silva has confidence that Plastifoz can continue to grow as it
has over that last few years, consistently at
an steady pace of 5 to 10% a year.
“We need to become more partner witheach other in Portugal, instead of working
alone,” Silva concludes.

Award Winners
Export and domestic sales are almost
evenly split at Sociedade Ideal de Vinhos de
Aveiras de Cima, SA or SIVAC, which produces a range of bottled and boxed Portuguese wines from its winery in Aveiras de Cima,north of Lisbon.
“The international market accounts for justover half of our annual billings of 25 million euros,” notes Manager José António Vidais.
“Wines from the region where SIVAC
operates received their first international exposure thanks to the Portuguese immigrants
who went to northern Europe to work decades ago and took this wine with them.”“Their French, German and Swiss hosts
also liked these wines and that is how ourexports began,” he recalls.
Today, SIVAC’s main European markets
are Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium,
Luxembourg, and the Netherlands with thecompany just beginning operations in Poland.
“We have a small foothold in the United
Kingdom and further afield we’re selling to
Canada, Brazil and West Africa, and we’re now
available in China where we just shipped
three container loads of wine,” he says.
Wine lovers from other Asian nations arealso enjoying SIVAC’s vintages. Its Curriola
wine was recently honoured at the Seoul
Food & Wine Challenge in South Korea where Portuguese wines won the most awards.
Quite an achievement for a company that
got its start as a bulk wine producer sellingto other wineries. In 2002, executives realised they had to up their game regarding quality if they wanted to maintain healthy sales.
New bottling and packaging facilities
opened in 2005 with an installed storage ca-

pacity of 5.5 million litres and three years latera new wine-making unit was up and runningwith a reception and tasting centre as part ofthe company’s aggressive marketing efforts.
“These changes really helped us become
a global company serving international markets,” the executive says.
“We now have two bottling lines, twobag-in-box filling lines, a Tetra Pak packaging
line and storage capacity for 18 million litresof our red, white and rose wines.”
Last year was a good one for SIVAC anddespite initial conservative estimates for
agricultural production, 2019 promises to see
a repeat of that performance. The manager
notes that heavy rain in March will mean agood grape harvest
Vidais credits Portugal’s system of miniand micro-climates with making it one ofEurope’s premier agricultural producers.
“The quality of grapes, tomatoes andother produce here in the Tagus Valley, forexample, is even better than in southern
Spain and that difference sets up apart.
“Also, as Portugal is not a very big country there is a lot of specialisation in products

portugal 2019 - IICentral Location

skilled workers is a challenge that worries him.
“We do hire and train several young people every year, and until now all of them havestayed with us. But it is a problem that we areconcerned about.”
This young company lacks no ambition
when it comes to its international expansion, with a sure footing rather than taking unnecessary risks.
“We would like to acquire more international customers in the technical19

MANUELSOBREIRO
FEBREIRA
CEO ofCOMPANHIA
AVICOLA DO
CENTRO - CAC“WE’VE REACHED A SIZE THATLETS US COMPETE IN PRICE ANDQUALITY WITH ANY COUNTRY”
which adds to the quality and consumers appreciate this differentiation,” he argues.
Increasing numbers of tourists enjoying
the delights of Portugal and the fame of acertain local footballer have also helped
spread the word about the country.
“Tourists come here and enjoy the incredible weather, the history, the food and, ofcourse, the wine. Then they go home and see
Portuguese wine in their local supermarkets
and pick up a bottle or two.
“But the best thing that happened to us
was Cristiano Ronaldo and his exploits on the
football pitch; now everyone has heard about
this little country on the edge of Europe.
“Ten years ago I was in central China andI had to explain where Portugal was. Today,
that’s not necessary,” he continues. “It’s very
simple: Portugal is cool!”

Organic Growth

portugal 2019 - II

Quality is the key at Companhia Avicola
do Centro, or CAC, one of Portugal’s largest
egg producers, where it is assured throughout almost the entire production chain, says
CEO Manuel Sobreiro Ferreira.

20“We have total control of the entire
chain of production from raising the chicks,
producing the eggs, packaging and distribution to the market,” he says.
“We even produce our own feed for the
chickens. The only phase of the chain that
we do not control is the purchase of theday-old chicks which we buy from incubator
operators.”
CAC’s product line covers chicken eggsof all types: free-range, organic, groundraised and cage-raised, and it has a line ofquail eggs. All the laying hens are kept in
the cleanest, most hygienic conditions andregularly monitored by veterinarians.
Depending on the type, the chickens’
diets are carefully composed of natural ororganic products with some receiving natural supplements consisting of corn, sunflowers, soy and alfalfa.
“Around a decade ago we began to follow the market trends involving the humane treatment of chickens which came out ofnorthern Europe and affected our competitiveness,” the CEO recalls.
“So we set up the alternative production systems with free-range, organic, etc.
and this led to a doubling of growth for thecompany.”
Today, CAC has a total of 2.8 million
laying hens distributed on 40 separate
farms providing an annual turnover of 50
million euros. Its associated feed company,
Alimav Alimentaçoes, brings in another 25
million euros.
The company ships around 5 percent of
production to markets including France, theUnited Kingdom and Switzerland, although
at one point exports accounted for 25 percent of sales.
“That was back in 2015 when there wasa health scare in the United States involving eggs and we exported there through aDutch trading firm. We even had to source
eggs from Spain to meet the demand,” theexecutive says.
“Eggs are a super-food but at one point
the press was full of stories about eggs having high cholesterol and then there was
the salmonella scare. But recently the egg
has stopped being a villain and sales areback up.”

CAC began as a cooperative formed byindependent farmers in 1986 and has reached its current size thanks to acquisitions
over the years and organic growth.
“We expect that growth to continue for avariety of reasons,” the CEO says. “We’ve now
reached a size that allows us to compete on
price, we have a reputation for quality and we
can compete in any country. It all looks good.”

Biofrescos, first to Market
The balance between import and export
definitely favors Biofrescos which handles
worldwide frozen seafood products from
Alaska to New Zealand.
“We started our operation in 1997 as animporter of frozen seafood products withthe aim of supplying processors and wholesalers in Portugal”, recalls Co-founder and
CEO João Mascarenhas de Lemos.
According to João Mascarenhas de Lemos “ Back then, there was a gap to be filledin the seafood industry in Portugal, as there were many seafood processors that had
plants and processing capacity, but there
was a serious lack of raw materials”.
João Mascarenhas de Lemos and his Cofounder and CFO partner, Antonio Damas,
quickly understood that the European seafood processing industry was depending almost on imported raw materials, as only 20
percent of seafood was coming directly from
European waters.
As explained by António Damas “Portugal has a great reputation for its seafood,and rightly so, but our coast line is actually
very poor on fishing stocks, except for Atlantic sardines, Atlantic horse mackerel and few
other species”.
Notwithstanding the above, Portugal isone of the largest European fish consuming
countries accounting an annual average of
57 kg of fish consuming per capita, morethan double of European average.
Targeting the domestic market with somany active processing operators was nota difficult task for Biofrescos, but situation
was not always easy.
In 2011, Portugal was facing a severe
economic crisis and 21 out of 25 most import clients of Biofrescos, its operators andprocessors were bankrupted. “This was atitors introduce same product, our margin
begins to drop and that is when, after doing
our own business assessment, we decide topull out of that business or stay or not. Thisis kind of cycle one new product leads toanother new product.”.
In 2018, Biofrescos– together with its
subsidiary Faster – accounted to a aggregated turnover of EUR 25 Million. Currently,
exportation markets represent around 8
percent of total business.
Considering the fact that fish and seafood
are healthy protein source and are becoming
more and more popular amongst European
consumers, João Mascarenhas de Lemos andAntonio Damas are confident that Biofrescos
will certainly continue to prosper.
As António Damas exclaims: “Eat fish
every day, because it is the healthiest food
you can get!”.

Quality Standards
Fish, and more specifically cod, that favourite of all Portuguese, is the main material for Sabalar which produces quick-frozen,
prepared seafood meals, along with several
meat-based items.

“Our company was founded by my grandfather and two partners 34 years ago and
we entered the international market withsales to Spain around a decade later,” explains CEO J. Miguel Carvalho.
“There was an established connection
with Spain already as that was where wesourced some of our fish. Then we began exporting to those countries which had significant Portuguese communities like France
and the former colonies.”
Among the company’s chief products are
grilled cod, cod in cream sauce, cod au gratin with prawns, cod cakes, prawn croquettes
and vegetable, meat and chicken samosas.
Sabalar is contracted by some of its
clients to make specific, own brand meals
at its plant in Portugal as producing themin the clients’ countries is often not costeffective.
“Our production is now handled byaround 26 workers. We had a staff of 40 until
our recent restructuring which will enable
us to grow in a more sustainable way,” theexecutive says.
“Billing last year was around 2 million
euros, with 90 percent of that coming fromexports. This year billing might be slightly
lower but large billings are not synonymouswith financial security and stability.”“So I think we’re on the right track,” he says.
Carvalho argues that the company’slong and successful presence in the frozen
prepared meals segment can be attributed
to its insistence on choosing only the best
fish, meat and vegetables for its products
even if those are more expensive.
And production costs are kept low
thanks to Sabalar’s use of the latest assembly line technology such as robotics.
“These factors help us be competitive inthe market as we can offer a product that has
a high price-to-quality ratio,” he explains.
“We have a great reputation and thiswill help the company going forward in asustainable, slow growth way while being
able to maintain our high quality standards
and concentrate on the export market.”portugal 2019 - IIchallenging time for Biofrescos!” recognizesJoão Mascarenhas de Lemos.
During that hard period, Biofrescos did
survive thanks to a low margin business: thecompany was trading fishing raw materials
caught by the Portuguese fleet and wasexporting such raw materials to its Asianclients in Japan, South Korea and China.
According to João Mascarenhas de Lemos “Biofrescos managed to withstand that
economic storm by setting up a new business strategy and providing different products and services to our Clients”. In thiscontext, Biofrescos, through its subsidiary
Faster Company, started to produce valueadded products, such as frozen ready meals
and snacks. This was a crucial step to Biofrescos that enabled the company to step inthe supermarket business.
As stated by by João Mascarenhas de Lemos “At the beginning – and as it was a new
reality and segment to us – we struggled toestablish our partnerships with supermarkets. Fortunately, both our companies weregrowing and we were able to consolidate
our position amongst supermarkets”.
Another milestone on the strategy ofBiofrescos was the diversification of its
portfolio of products. With a broad portfolio of products the company was no longer
relying on just a handful of products as codor hake. Today, Biofrescos handles more than70 species of fish and seafood.
As stated by Antonio Damas “Diversification is always a smart strategy for a company like ours. In the seafood industry, there
might be a year of scarcity or abundance ofspecific raw materials and years when raw
material prices increase sharply. Such fluctuation of raw materials and prices can easily
destroy a company that depends on a limited number of products”.
Furthermore, it should be pointed outthat Biofrescos was a pioneer in introducing
new products and species into the Portuguese market, such as wild salmon from Alaska,squid from New Zealand or John Dory Fillets
from China, amongst others.
As explained by João Mascarenhas deLemos “Part of our business strategy consists in introducing a new products and species into the Portuguese market and wait for
an increase on demand. When our compe-

21

portuguese
METAL
INDUSTRY
international markets
have been a constantsource of competitive
advantage and growth
Portugal’s booming industrial sector encompasses many activities and one of themost vibrant is the metals industry which covers the whole range of steel, iron, aluminium
and other metal products and services, manyof which are being exported to the four corners of the world.
In just one subsector of this industry, theproduction of crude steel, output hit an annual record of more than 2,000 metric tonnes
in 2017 and other sectors are also reportingstrong growth.

Dramatic Growth

portugal 2019 - II

A prime example is Ferberto Estruturas
Metálicas, based in Leiria where it produces
and markets metal structures. It has seen its
business increase dramatically over the past
15 years.
“When I bought the company back in
2005, it was almost closed because there waspractically no work. The previous year it hadearned around 200,000 euros and last year
we made 13 million euros,” says owner andManager Pedro Gomes.
“At first we basically had no facilities ormachinery and so since we started in 2005
it has been a very dramatic transformation.”
When Gomes took over, Ferberto had acovered facility of 2,000 square metres andtoday that has quadrupled. The company has
added another 20,000 square meters of uncovered area.

22“WE will HAVE THE ISO 9001
QUALITY CERTIFICATION soon
TO EXPAND OUR OPERATIONS”
Using the latest computer-assisted technology in manufacturing metal structures,
Ferberto carries out designing and engineering, cutting and drilling, folding, pressing,painting and shaping.
Just a sample of the metal structures it
has been involved in include stores, warehouses, industrial facilities, walkways andeven a fitness centre. And while ii is activein the domestic market, the company is focusing on sales abroad.
“Between 30 percent and 40 percent ofour current billing is from the international
market and we’re working, for example, inFrance and in Curaçao,” the executive explains.
“Four years ago we did a small job for afriend in Curaçao, we’ve never stopped sinceand have even set up a subsidiary there. We’ve
also done work in Kenya, Benin and Angola
where we have returned after working there
years ago. In fact, we had a branch in Angola
five years ago but we had to close becauseof the economic conditions. Now we’re back.”
Ferberto is also looking at expanding
into more European markets such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain and is gearing up to meet the more stringent standards
in those countries.
“At the moment we are implementing ISO
9001 and I believe we’ll have the certification
process completed this summer,” Gomes says.
Unlike many companies in Portugal, themetal structures firm has few problems attracting workers. This is helped by the fact that somuch of the manufacturing process is done byautomated machinery which the company has
invested in heavily over the past two years.
“Manpower for production is one thing,
and assembly is another. Fortunately, we’re focused on the manufacturing end and once thestructures leave our factory, assembly is the
responsibility of the client,” the manager says.
“We do occasionally assemble a structure for a foreign client and I’ll send an assembly team out for a month or two to put
it all together.”
Gomes explains that he is counting on
foreign sales because he expects the domestic market to decline soon and in order tomaintain its level of billings, globalization of
the company is the way to go.
“That’s my big goal over the next few years.
We’re still doing small jobs here and there in
Portugal and with our new ISO 9001 certification I’m confident we’ll begin to attract more
foreign customers for our structures,” he says.
“And it helps that Portuguese companies
are beginning to get recognized for our production quality and our skills. We Portuguese
are dynamic, responsible and hardworking,foreign clients are understanding this and
now we’re reaping the rewards.”

International Expansion
Exports helped the survival of Porfic
which specialises in the custom manufactureof die-cast aluminium and zamak parts according to customer needs.
“It was during the economic crisis here
when the company suffered a lot for two reasons,” recalls Managing Partner Luis Carmo.
“The main problem was financial because it
was difficult to obtain credit and interest rates were high.

MANAGING
PARTNER of
PORFIC“portugal is small so in our
sector we need to look at
the international markets”“At the same time, these difficulties were
forcing companies we worked with to close.
But we couldn’t just stand still and so we began
looking at other markets, other customers andthat’s when things began to turn around for us.”
“In our sector it is necessary to look at theinternational market. This is a small country
and there was not enough demand here in
Portugal so there has to be internationalization,” he explains.
These days, Porfic’s biggest market isFrance where it does as much business as it
does in Portugal. The firm also has customers
from Germany, Spain and Belgium.
“Our customer is always a European concern which needs the components we produce
for their final product developed in Europe. And
it’s always a professional product, not one thatis for sale to the general public,” he explains.
Porfic’s customers are in the telecommunications, vehicle lighting, home appliances,interior and exterior lighting, cold storage,
construction and other industries.
“We also work with the automotive industry here but it is not the sector in which
we are most active,” the executive says.
Porfic’s services include custom productdevelopment for clients, mould manufacturing, injection of parts and finishing andmounting, with the staff always working inclose partnership with clients.

Positive Environment
Cast iron and steel are the focus at Fundiçao do Alto da Lixo, S.A., or FAL, one ofPortugal’s leading foundries which had its beginnings turning out parts for farm equipment
and earthmoving machinery back in 1977.
“It was all started by my uncle who was
the chief mechanic for the Caterpillar company
in Angola and like many Portuguese in the colonies he returned home with independence,”
explains General Manager Elio Sérgio Maia.
“He set up a repair shop here for bulldozers, excavators and tractors, got into making
parts himself and then decided to establish afoundry in 1994 with a manual oven, a small
forging unit and a rolling mill. And it just
took off from there.”“WE ADHERE TO THE STRICTEST
ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDSAS REQUIRED BY OUR CLIENTS”
Maia came aboard invited by his uncle
to develop the commercial side of the foundry but there were no sales in the first yearof operation. The company kept afloat by
the repair and sale of used heavy machineryparts.
FAL’s foundry operations finally began
making money with billings totalling 64,000
euros annually. Last year that figure hadgrown to 7 million euros.
A year after its founding, executives began
discussing testing the international market
and soon was working with German clients.
“Over the past 20 years we’ve been a very
restless company offering new products andservices here in Portugal while also conquering new foreign markets and new customers,” the general manager says.
“Right now we work with clients from allover Europe – Scandinavia, Germany, Austria,
Switzerland and the Benelux countries and
we do some business with the United Kingdom, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“And we’ve gotten some customers fromthe United States with whom we’ve just started working, we’ve also done a bit in SouthAmerica,” he adds.
FAL works with grey iron, nodular ironand chromium and nickel iron, and stainless,
low alloy, heat and wear resistant and carbon
and carbon magnesium steels.
portugal 2019 - II

LUIS
CARMO

The company fills its orders using thelatest cold and hot chamber casting machines, cutting presses, automatic sandpaperingmachines, drilling and threading machines,
machining centres and automatic powder
coating lines, along with other equipment.
Porfic was established 20 years ago, initially working with zamak, a family of alloys
with a base metal of zinc and elements ofaluminium, magnesium and copper. But zamak competition was growing from China
and so the company added aluminium die
casting to its activities.
“In the beginning we were thinking more
about making products for sale to the public,
consumer goods you could say. But then we
evolved into turning out products for corporate clients,” Carmo says.
“Our sector is small and it’s a niche market but nowadays the Portuguese industry
is well placed at a European level. Steeland iron used to have the most influence in
the Portuguese foundry association, but thealuminium sector has grown and now thesecompanies are the most numerous.”
Looking ahead, the managing partner ofPorfic plans on further growth outside thecountry, especially in what he describes as“certain specific product areas”“I’m optimistic about our industry inPortugal but it will probably not be like weknow it from before. It will continue to be
an important sector domestically as long as
everything remains stable.”23

Its production processes include moulding and core production, melting, heat
treatment, cleaning, cutting, grinding andfinishing. FAL also boasts a sand and metallurgy laboratory.
“We adhere to the strictest environmental standards and requirements, which are allappreciated by our clients who are becoming
more and more demanding concerning ecofriendly practices”, Maia says.
“There will be ups and downs like in any
business and we’re already noting a coolingoff in the automotive sector. But our skilled
personnel, our cutting-edge technology andour respect for the environment mean FAL iswell positioned to survive and to prosper.”“PORTUGAL HAS NOW A GOOD
IMAGE AND THERE IS A STRONG
DEMAND FOR OUR PRODUCTS”
Expansion Plans

portugal 2019 - II

European auto manufacturers are theprime customer of Tecnotrónica Indústrias
e Comércio de Componentes SA, which produces stamped metal parts, stamping partsand stamped components.
“We’re very much focused on the auto
industry, although our components may
have many applications,” explains Managing
Partner Nuno Mendes. Indeed, around 90
percent of sales are to directly or indirectly
geared to auto makers.
Based in Samora Correia, in the Alentejo
region east of Lisbon, Tecnotrónica is a family business that also turns out stamped
metal components for the electrical, electronic and construction industries.
“This company was founded by my father
back in 1978 and at first we manufactured
small springs for the construction sector. Later on we began working with clients in the24

Ready to Export

electrical industry producing such things asplugs, components for resistors and the like,”
Mendes says.
In 2000, Mendes and his father noticed
increasing competition in the electricaland electronics sector from China and so
decided to broaden their product range tosupply the auto industry.
“That is when we really kicked off thecompany’s new dynamic,” he recalls.
Last year, Tecnotrónica had a turnoverof 3.2 million euros, with foreign customers
becoming an increasingly important part ofthe business. Currently, 90 percent of production is sold abroad with 30 percent as
direct exports.
Clients include companies in Germany,
Brazil, the United States, Romania and Mexico, with sales to neighbouring Spain taking
off over the past two years.
With exports well established, Mendes
says the next step in further globalising thecompany is setting up a small operation somewhere outside of Portugal.
“We need some kind of physical presence in a strategic location either in Europe orat least nearby. We once thought of opening
something in Morocco, but then the crisis hit
and we had to abandon that plan,” he says.
“It’s an idea we’ve been developing andwe’re thinking about what steps we can takein that direction in the near future.”
The managing partner says the company’s
goal over the next few years is to reach 4 million euros in annual invoicing and thinksthat can be achieved once the plans for foreign expansion become reality.
“Portuguese products are getting wellknown around the world and this recognition will certainly help us overseas. Portugal now has a strong and good international image and there is a great demand forwhat we now produce,” he says.

Servicing only the Portuguese market forthe moment is fine with José da Silva Febra, thefounder and CEO of Coberfer which erects andinstalls steel structures, roofing, cladding, joineryand coatings, and carries out asbestos removal.
“At the moment we’re working just domestically and that’s good as we have a stable and prosperous operation. But if things
continue to go well, we’ll start seeking contracts outside the country,” he says.
“Portuguese construction and metalcompanies are doing a lot in foreign markets
because we can compete on price and quality
and it’s not stretching the truth to say that wehave excelled in this sector.
“This stems from the fact that these companies here face a lot of internal competition
so they have had to be very professional andon top of their game. That’s reflected in the
success abroad,” the executive argues.
Along with its construction services, Coberfer manufactures many of the products it
uses including sandwich cover panels andfaçades, profiled sheets, polycarbonates, metal profiles and accessories.
Drawing on the skills and knowledge helearned as a welder and locksmith, Febra founded the company in 1994 assembling metallic
structures, then moved on to asbestos removal.
Today, Coberfer employs a 60-strong
workforce and has an annual turnover ofaround 7 million euros.
“Our staff is fairly constant and we’ve
had the same number for the past ten years.
But one problem is that the people withyears of acquired knowledge are retiringand sometimes it is hard to replace them as
young people today don’t want to go into
construction because they complain that it’s
too hard,” the CEO says.
“I believe the solution should be to increase professional training so workers like welders
and technical people can get the qualifications
they need to work with companies like ours.”
Asked where he would like the company to
be in three years, the founder said if it is doing
as well as it is today, he’ll be perfectly happy.
“I’d like to see our solid structure still inplace and the new production unit we’re building up and running. And if further growth
happens, that would be real blessing.”

ceo ofsocitrel“we are very interested in
the booming middle easternmarkets of dubai and qatar”
New Markets
While many companies discovered theinternational markets only recently, Socitrel
started to export its products in the mid 80’s
after the admission of the Iberian Peninsula
to the European Community.
Socitrel manufactures steel wires for use
in industry, agriculture and construction fromits large factory north of Porto.
Carlos Limpo de Faria was already working at the firm, and remembers that time
well. Appointed CEO since 1998 he has been
following the expansion to foreign markets.
“At the time we already considered
Spain as our domestic market, and we werefocusing on the Iberian market mostly. We
really made no difference between Portugal
and our neighbour”“France, the UK and the United States
followed soon after, and today they came torepresent a third of current sales of about 50
million euros, while Portugal and Spain do
account for a third each,” the CEO confides.
Recovering from an international slump
in 2015 and 2016, Socitrel is entering also
the automotive market and looking at Germany as its new objective.
“We want to grow over our current figures, and we are confident on that despite thedisapointing macroeconomic data of 2019.
But 2018 was a very good year for us and weare still growing.”
In order to grow and conquer additional
markets two main challenges stand in theway, the lack of available workers and social
dumping from Asian producers.
As for the first one, Faria thinks that “itseems of to be a by-product of Portugal´s
success in the tourism industry, as many
young people prefer to work in the service
industry. It is an issue for all industry.”

Regarding competition, the CEO is notafraid of European counterparts, but warns
that “competing with countries with subsidized energy and raw material and with much
lower social standards is a problem for all
the European industry.”
Yet the experienced manager is optimistic
about new markets where he plans to take thecompany in the near future, “we are very interested in the Middle East, markets such as Qatar
and Dubai where construction is booming.”
A company that started nearly half a century ago is hence getting ready to continue
expanding well into its second fifty years looking at the future with the sort optimism thatmade it survive this long.

Workforce is Key
Another company that joined early into
foreign markets is the Braga-based JASIL,
that started exporting its metal parts to themotorcycle industry in France in the 1980s.
JASIL currently produces crankshafts,
connecting rods and variators that are in use
in motorcycles, scooters and karts.
The general manager Luís Oliveira is optimistic as the company shifts its current focus
from its traditional markets into new sectors.
“In the 2000’s we realised that the motorcycle segment did not offer the growthpotential that we needed, due to environmental and safety issues,” he recalls.
Indeed Jasil has been very active over thelast few years in entering into new businesssectors such as solar energy and the construction industry.
“The motorcycle sector still represents
about 55% of our sales, but we expect thatfigure to rapidly decrease as we are involved
in several large projects at the prototype stage that should bear fruit soon.”
Indeed the numbers are backing up thismove, as the company grew 18 percent in2018 and is expected to grow at a 20 percent rate over the next five years, according
to Oliveira’s business plan.
Not surprisingly for a fast growing company, preoccupation about the well-being
and satisfaction of its employees is paramount for the company.
“We have invested heavily in the working
conditions at the factory, and we offer a medical insurance for the workers and their families.

LUíS
oliveira

generalmanagerof jasil“ALL COMPANIES IN PORTUGALMUST invest in the continuous
improvement of employees”

This has been appreciated by our workforce thathas mostly stayed with us,” Oliveira reckons.
A trajectory that has also been approved by
its foreign customers, that are quick to praise
the adaptability of Jasil to their requirements
when visiting and auditing the company.
“They become very pleased when theysee how we adapt to their needs and they see
the concrete steps we are taking, and that wehave a clear strategy,” he proudly asserts.
On a final note Oliveira has a message
regarding the long-term success of industrial
companies in the Portuguese metal industry.
“I am optimistic about our industry,
as long as Portuguese companies realisethat they really need to invest in the continuous improvement of their human resources,” Oliveira confidently concludes.

portugal 2019 - IIcarlos limpo
de faria

25

CENTRE-NORTH
INDUSTRYPEDRo PINHãO

MANAGER of

quality and innovation
TOSCCAare key reasons for thecentro’s region success “AT TOSCCA AND FOR ALL of
PORTUGAL THE FOCUS must
TO BE IN FOREIGN MarKETS”

Portugal’s Centro region is attracting increasing attention from the international
business community for its large number ofworld-class manufacturers, many of which
supply top multinationals with a wide rangeof finished products and components.
Strategically located near major ports
and on trans-European highway and rail networks, Centro is the perfect spot for manufacturers whose foreign clients need quick andreliable transport connections, whether they
are right next door in Spain or on the otherside of the world.
Wisely, these Portuguese companies aretaking advantage and embracing globalization with a fresh vigour, exporting to newdestinations and exploring new product lines in their bid to expand and become realplayers on the world market.

Sustainable Growth

portugal 2019 - II

Some of the most dynamic of these companies are located in the northern area of theCentro region, from Coimbra up to the lovely
city of Porto, and a perfect example of one ofthese innovative firms is wood products andstructures company Toscca Madeiras.
“I established this company from a very
basic idea,” recalls founder and Manager Pedro Pinhão. “I trained as a chemical engineer
and was working in Germany when I noticed
all the little houses made of wood which I
found charming.
“I’d never seen those in Portugal or Spainand as my father and grandfather worked in26

lumber there was this family connection to woodand I thought I could do the same thing here.”In 1996, Pinhão’s dream became reality
when he opened Toscca Madeiras, building
small wooden houses, huts and shelters.
Almost immediately, he targeted the foreign market, knowing that for the company
to have any chance at significant growth it
had to begin operating beyond Portugal.
“It is absolutely unequivocal that in a small
country like ours and you want to think big, youhave to seek out foreign customers,” he argues.
“But of course this takes time as you haveto create structure, develop skills and comeup with products that will sell in these foreign markets.”
Spain was the first market Toscca Madeiras cracked. Then, following in the logicalfootsteps of other Portuguese companies, thefirm took aim at former Portuguese colonies
in Africa – Angola, Mozambique, Sao Tomeand Cape Verde.
“Brazil was already self-sufficient in wood
products so we didn’t bother with that market,”the manager explains. “Because of our history,
the Portuguese have a vocation for acting globally and I think we can compete in the world
economy and generate growth.”
Because of the weight and bulk of mostof its products, a land transport range ofaround 2,500 kilometres is most economical
for the company, while for customers further
afield, products are shipped by sea.
“These days we’re taking a renewed interest in European markets like France and

Italy, and also Morocco where we are setting
up a sales office, and that can open the way
for us to the rest of North Africa,” he says.
Last year, Toscca Madeiras billed 10.8
million euros, with about 30 percent of thatcoming from sales abroad.
Toscca’s wood product line is primarily
based on domestic and imported pine which
is treated and then sold either as planks,
boards, beams and other formats, or in kits
for building cabins, sheds, houses, garages
and other structures in both modern and traditional styles.
And for the customer who wants to addthat special element to their existing home,the company also offers porches, pergolas, fencing, animal coops, planting boxes,
children’s playground equipment and more.
“In everything we make, we take concepts
like sustainability and the protection of theenvironment very seriously,” Pinhão says. “We
now treat wood with heat instead of chemicals and we give the customer the option ofordering recycled wood and plastic.”
These eco-friendly choices are becoming
more and more important for Toscca Madeiras’
clients both at home and abroad where themanager says he expects growth to continue.
“Both for us and for other Portuguese
companies no matter the sector they are
active in, the focus has to be on foreign
markets,” he says.
“Tourism is booming in Portugal, forexample, but we can’t make the mistake ofthinking that domestic activity is the way tokeep our economy rolling. We must always be
adding to our portfolio of foreign customers
because as we’ve seen in the past, we can’t
count on just the domestic market.”Market AccessExports account for 85 percent of thebusiness at Tecnimaster FL, a firm based in
the town of Maia which has been turning out
automobile alarms, fire alarms, safety equipment and other electronic goods since 1997.
“I founded this company to provide technical assistance to others manufacturing car
alarms for the domestic auto industry andthen several years later we decided to do ourown production,” General Manager Alberto
Ferreira recalls.
“We established our own brand, racked
up more sales and then began producing forthird parties. So we grew, purchased more sophisticated equipment and now use subcontractors for some things.”
Along with automobile and fire alarms,
Tecnimaster’s product line includes intrusion
alarms, glass kits and PCB boards
A list of the company’s automotive
clients reads like a roll call of the world’s
biggest carmakers such as Mercedes Benz.
Volkswagen, BMW, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi,
Audi, Ford and SEAT.
Last year, the firm doubled its billing to
4 million years from 2017 and the executive says that while that will not be possible
every year, he expects growth to continue.
“Demand is increasing sharply fromlighting connected to the LED system, with
our getting new customers and from the new
products we are rolling out,” he explains.

Bullish on Innovation
Portugal’s almost year-round wonderfulweather lends itself to relaxing outside, and
one Aveiro-based company, Joluce PlasticosSA, has enjoyed great success in producing
plastic chairs, tables, sun beds and otheritems for outdoor use.
“We got our start as a subsidiary of Moldoplastico SA which made moulds for theplastic garden furniture industry. We had theknow-how for the complex process involved
so in the year 2000, we decided to make andsell our own plastic products,” recalls CEO
Carlos Silva.
“Today, we’re a leading manufacturer forthe national and regional markets in garden
furniture not only for domestic use but also
restaurant furniture for the hospitality andindustry with tables, chairs and five-position
sun loungers.”“And we export to most of Europe sowhen you’re sitting in an outdoor café on
this continent, there’s a good chance you’resitting on one of our chairs,” he adds.
Annual profits have quadrupled since2007 to 12 million euros, outperforming themother company with 60 percent of earnings“custom branding in street
furniture is now becoming alarge business for joluce”
coming from foreign sales.
Joluce prides itself on being the sole
plastic garden and hospitality furniture manufacturer in Europe which does its own, inhouse custom branding by stamping client
logos on the furniture, while competitors
subcontract the process.
“Custom branding is becoming a hugebusiness and so we have our own team todevelop new items and deal with those customers who want to print their logo on our
products,” the executive explains.
Along with chairs, tables and sun loungers, Joluce also makes children’s plastic
furniture. folding chairs and tables for thebeach, 50-litre buckets, beach umbrella
stands and stools.
Silva is fully aware of the current controversy over the danger to the environment
posed by throwaway plastic items like bottles
but argues that Joluce’s products don’t fall
into that category.
“You have to differentiate between disposable plastics like bottles or cutlery andcontinuous use plastics like chairs, tables
and the like. At the moment plastic is irreplaceable is so many ways and the price iscompetitive,” he says.
“So I’m bullish on the future of plastics and Portuguese plastics in particular
as long as we focus on bringing innovative
products to market and give the customers
what they want.”

portugal 2019 - II

“WE ESTABLISHED OUR OWN
BRAND, RACKED UP SALES ANDNOW USE SUBCONTRACTORES”

With foreign client business growing insuch markets as Austria, Germany and Italy,
the company is adding two or three newclient territories each year and is now moving into Spain, Dubai and Argentina.
“W e’re also active in Angola, although
I think Europe is the best area for targeting
growth,” Ferreira says. “Our billings target
over the next three years is to double our current figure again to 8 million euros.”
The general manager says that Maia,
along with the entire Centro region is a goodplace for an export-focused company like
Tecnimaster as there is easy access to thehighway system and nearby international
airports for those clients who require speedy
delivery.
Centro is the perfect spot, he argues, forforeign companies looking to set up operations in Portugal where manufacturers, both
local and foreign owned, are gaining a reputation for quality at a competitive price.
“One has to dream big and work hard to
become successful. That’s what we have done
and I see Tecnimaster, and Portuguese industry as a whole, forging ahead.”27

paulo coelho

GENERAL
MANAGER of
Sensordin“our way is: do it well, do
it right, be competitive, andclients will come to you”
Business Cycle

portugal 2019 - II

Ensuring that Portuguese manufacturers
can do just that by guaranteeing access to thebest industrial equipment on the market isthe task of Sensordin which distributes topof-the-line electrical and automation systems.
“We are distributors of world famous global brands like Siemens, Rockwell Automation,
Phoenix Contact, Eldon, Secomea and other multinational corporations from half a dozen countries,”
explains founder and Manager Paulo Coelho.
“And now Sensordin is betting on representing new brands. At the same time, we’re expanding our operations throughout Portugal.”
Coelho founded the company 20 years ago
after buying out a corporate partner. Last year, itbilled 6.6. million euros, and is on track to boost
that figure to at least 8 million euros this year.
“This year has started out very well and so
far in 2019 we have grown between 20 and 22
percent,” he says. “So we’re on a solid growth
curve and my ultimate goal is to eventuallyreach 10 million euros in annual billing.”
The manager points out that all business is
cyclical and while a company can reach a certain high plateau in earnings, it is difficult tomaintain that level through booms and busts.
However, he argues that growth for growth’s
sake is not always sound business and that one
can spread oneself too thin.
“The brands that we exclusively represent

28

here in Portugal are the best and if we start diversifying too much by taking on more brands,
we won’t be able to dedicate ourselves enough.
“One may try to play many instruments, butthen one doesn’t play all of them very well,” he says.
Industrial automation and safety, sensors
technology, industrial and process control, connectivity and interface systems, and industrial
weighing are just a sample of the equipment
and systems provided by Sensordin’s suppliers.
But it’s not just sales that the company
handles. Pre-sale consulting is part andparcel of Sensordin’s services offered to its
clients and includes needs assessment, solution definition and risk analysis.
Then there is training, project follow up andtroubleshooting as part of its after-sales service.
“These are the reasons why we are theexclusive dealer for so many products madeby world-class firms,” the manager says.
“And I believe that our dedication to thecustomer is a reflection of the Portuguese wayof doing business in general in these high-tech
sectors: do it well, do it right, be competitive andthe clients will come to you.”

LEONEL DA ROCHA SILVA & HIS TEAMFIMEL S.A.

“WE GET A GREAT FEEDBACK
ON OUR MACHINES FROMOUR AUTOMOTIVE CLIENTS”
Fimel: Customer Focus
Customers have been knocking on the doorof the Águeda-based company Fimel since 1982
when it was founded to provide industrial painting and service treatment services and has now
branched out into other fields, explains Manager Leonel da Rocha Silva.
“Our core business from the beginningwas serving Portuguese clients but then we
started to discover new markets and got into
other sectors,” he says.

Along with industrial painting equipment,
Fimel produces industrial washers, automation
and robotic equipment, thermal treatment furnaces, equipment for the renewable energy manufacturing sector and eco-friendly equipment
for industrial wastewater treatment.
Fimel’s first foreign customers were in
Spain, then the company began working with
Danish and French clients and today it has customers in more than a dozen countries.
“We have always been very involved in theautomotive industry and so we go where it goes.
When large assembly plants open in China, wego to China. If it’s India, we go to India.
“Our policy is to go after the customers,”
the manager says.
Sales and Quality Control Director Catarina
Rocha says that around 10 to 15 percent of theannual turnover of 8 million euros comes from
Fimel’s foreign operations.
“And this year we are growing in other markets like Mexico and the Nordic countries.
“Our foreign clients are mostly in the automotive and wind sectors and many of them
are in the newer EU members like the Czech
Republic and Poland where new automobile
manufacturers are starting up,” she adds.
High-tech operations using the latest
equipment on the market means that Fimel
has to constantly train its 120-member staff.
“We go to the excellent local universities
to find engineers and technicians because somuch of our equipment requires advanced
skills in things like programming, robotics
and systems integration,” Rocha says.
“And, of course, internal training is necessary as is keeping our employees happy. We pay
above the average salary and provide facilities
like on-site cafeterias and other enticements,”
Both executives see Fimel growing over the
next few years in both of its key client sectors,
automobiles and wind turbines, as long as thecompany can keep the customers happy.
“We get great feedback on this, last week
I received a letter from an automotive client
who told me how spectacularly satisfied he waswith one of our machines,” recalls Silva Rocha.
“This allows us to face the future with
optimism because when the final customer issatisfied, that’s the most important thing. The
good word spreads and soon another client
is knocking at our door.”

CEO of
SOLINTELLYSYS“WE OFFER OUR CUSTOMERSTURN-KEY SOLUTIONS TO THEIRCOATING & SURFACE NEEDS”
Innovative Approach
Also based in Águeda Solintellysys, a muchyounger coating and surface treatment company, has bet that an innovative approach and adrive for internationalization will deliver great
results in the next couple of years.
Solintellysys was founded a decade ago
by the young entrepreneur João Figueiredowith the idea to offer “a global and innovative approach, considering our industry as aservice with the final focus on the customer,
both locally and internationally.”
And the bet has so far paid off, as thecompany has reached the 10 million euros inbilling mark in 2018 by working for such iconic companies as Boeing, Embraer and Airbus.
“We started exporting to Brazil, Embraer
was our first international customer. Now weexport 60 percent of our sales, but it could be
more if the Portuguese market wasn’t booming as it,” assert Figueiredo.
Looking into its second decade, the CEO
has changed course and decided to evolveits business-model to one based on the inhouse design, technological partnerships andthe outsourcing of much of the production.
“We have already partnerships with someof the leading companies in Portugal such as
Motrinde and O Feliz. This model allows us
to reduce our fixed costs and concentrate on
the solutions that we provide to the market.”

Quality First
Tradition and a long history are hallmarks of one of the oldest companies in theworld dedicated exclusively to the cordage
and netting industry, SICOR - Sociedade Industrial de Cordoaria, S.A.
Based in a city that has become the cradle and centre of this industry in Portugal,
Cortegaça hosts a number of world-classcompanies that punch above their weight.
“The company was created in 1947 andsoon after that it started exporting natural fibres
from the old Portuguese colonies to the North
American market.” explains Filipe Rola, its CEO.
Focused on the agricultural, fishing and marine as well as industrial markets, and exporting
more than 90 percent of its overall production
to more than 50 countries .
SICOR has been growing consistently overthis decade and currently employs about 300
workers and bills over 20 million euros.
But as the labor market in Portugal
tightens, it is becoming more and more difficult to attract new talent to its factories. Thisis true for white collar positions as well as for“the winning card is nevercompromising on quality
on a diversified portfolio”
the factory floor workers.
“We are trying to incentivize our employees while we work on improving our productivity. Lately in Portugal the basic salary increases have been outpacing productivity growth,so we are focusing on that,” says the CEO.
But Rola is confident not only in SICOR’s
competitive position but also in the wholecordage and netting industry as well.
“In this industry, Portugal is the world
leader and a trend-setter,” he says.
Portugal´s location presents challenges
to global companies such as SICOR, he explains, “we are not in the center of Europe,
but for the North American market we are
well positioned, as we are close to the Portof Leixoes, and with good access to Sines”
For its future growth Rola has full confidence in the development of new products
while the company deepens its partnerships
with its current customers worldwide.
“The agricultural market is perhaps themost competitive one, but we see opportunities in other markets where we can grow.”
For that, he trusts that the traditional values that have carried the company’s successover that last seven decades will still handthem the winning cards,“We have a diversified portofolio of products, and we don’t compromise on their quality.
That is our winning card,” Rola proudly asserts.
portugal 2019 - IIJOãO
FIGUEREDO

The CEO believes that new markets suchas France, Belgium and Mexico are extremely
promising and hopes to increasing the company size by 50% no later than 2022.
“We will concentrate on our traditional
market of coating and surface treatment andoffer our customers turn-key solutions to theirproblems, and we will look for the right partners
in order to implement any technologies that areneeded,” the CEO is confidently predicting.
Riding on the excellent image that
Portugal has been gaining on the tourism
sector, Figueredo believes that the Portuguese industrial sector is right behind it in gaining a stellar international reputation.
“Portuguese teams have nothing to envy
those from other countries, as our human capital is flexible, innovative and open-minded.
What we are selling is confidence and theworld can see that Portugal is technologically as advanced as any other country.”
With it quick success in the international
markets and ambitious plans for expansion,
Figueredo proves that dreams can becomea reality when the implementation is donewith passion and full attention to detail.

29

NORTHern
INDUSTRYa long tradition andnew skills have madenorthern portugal aroaring success story

Filipevillas-boas
BOARD MEMBERSCHMIDT
LIGHT METAL
group“we export 100% of our
production and we havegrown over 15% a year”
Consolidating Investments

portugal 2019 - II

At first glance, the northern region of Portugal,
from the city of Porto up to the border with
Spain, would not appear to enjoy advantages
which have turned it into one of the country’s
top economic performers.
For example, it is stuck out on the far
western reaches of Europe a long way fromanywhere, and seemingly best suited for agriculture or low-tech manufacturing. And it iscertainly not a location which eases tradewith foreign partners.
But appearances can be deceiving.
The north, which accounts for 23 percent of Portugal’s total surface area and35 percent of the population, is highly industrialised. In fact, many districts boast
state-of-the-art infrastructure and are home
to not just traditional industries such as
shoes and textiles, but also food processing,
pharmaceuticals, precision machine tools,
chemicals, IT products and communicationequipment.
And as Portugal’s surging economic recovery continues, the north is doing its part.
In recent years, the GDP growth of this region
alone has surpassed those of EU countries
such as Slovenia, Bulgaria and Slovenia, increasing annually in the neighbourhood of 4
percent.
Exports from northern businesses arebooming, direct foreign investment is on therise and highly-qualified manpower is becoming increasingly available, proving that
Northern Portugal is clearly on a roll.

30

One of the local companies riding thiswave of prosperity is the Schmidt Light Metal
Group, involved in tool construction, engineering, high-pressure aluminium die casting, surface machining and assembly.
“Almost 30 years ago, my partners andI decided to start this company producing
light alloy components for the automotive
and related industries which we viewed as
strategic,” recalls Filipe Villas-Boas.
“And at the same time we understoodthe importance of adding as much value tothe components as possible, which we dothrough working directly and permanently
with the client on design and development
to come up with the most economically viable product solution.”
A winning strategy as the Schmidt Light
Metal Group has grown to employ around
500 people and executives predict a turnoverof some 55 million euros this year, making it
one of the biggest Portuguese companies inthe sector.
Some of the products the group works
with are engine gaskets, ladder frames,
bearing bridges, water pump housingsand covers, chassis mountings, differential,
torque and gear cross members, front andrear gear housings, differential housingsand bevel gear housings.
“The international market has always
been our only market ever since the beginningof the company and we export 100 percent ofour production,” the executive notes.

“Over the past five years we have grownby an average of 15 percent each year. But thispace is not sustainable and we now have toconsolidate what we’ve invested in equipment.”
The worldwide auto industry is in a state offlux due to various factors including a cooling
economy, the increasing demand for electriccars and the popularity of ride-sharing services,and Filipe Villas-Boas predicts these changes
will affect Schmidt Light Metal Group.
“Therefore, 2019 will be similar to last year
as we have to understand that the car industry’s
production will be down by around 2 percent
and that’s happening around the world in places like the United States and South America,
with the exception of China where the decline
is expected to be between 4 and 5 percent.”
And as auto manufacturers work hard to
make their vehicles more fuel efficient, Filipe
Villas-Boas foresees growth in such products
as lightweight chassis and body parts, and afuture role for the group.
“Whether an automobile has a combustion engine or an electric motor, the common
denominator is weight. The gasoline engine
car has to reduce weight to cut fuel use, as
does the electricity-powered car because thebatteries are so heavy.
“So we are committed to entering those pro-“WE HAVE HAD NO PROBLEM
FINDING ENGINEERS BUT WE
HAVE TO TRAIN YOUNG PEOPLE”

mário duarte
ceo OF sermec group“the international market
gives us a safeguard andconfidence in the future”

Labour Shortages
Keeping up on the technology front isalso vital to Sermec group, based in thenorthern city of Maia next to Porto, andwhich focuses on the production, repair,maintenance and sales of ferrous andnon-ferrous metal tool and high-precisionparts for a variety of industrial sectors.
“We work with clients in the steel, textile, rope, cement, refinery, food, biomass,construction, extraction and paper sectors,
and we were at first concentrated largelyon the Portuguese market,” explains CEO
Mario Duarte.
“But then in 2004 we began seeking
out international customers in Spain and
Morocco. It was not very easy but we hired
local professionals in these countries andlearned to adapt.”
Foreign activity now accounts for 40
percent of the group’s sales and is themain growth generator, now and also for
the future. While Spain is its most important customer, many of Sermec’s repaired machines are sent to other countries such as Finland, Denmark, Brazil
and the United States.
Last year, the group’s turnover from both
domestic and foreign sales amounted to approximately 14 million euros from the parent
company, windpower business area included,
and it subsidiaries Weartech and Ibermill.
With renewable energy on the rise, Sermec Windpower is finding increasing demands for its services for wind turbines
which include generator, drive shaft, bearing
and gear repair, measurement and vibrations
analysis, and YAWS repair.
“The international market gives us a safeguard and confidence in the future,” Duarte
says. “Plus, our banking partners like the factthat we are working abroad as it helps consolidate many of our accounts.”
Sermec’s customer list includes suchcompanies as GE Energy, EDP Renewables,

Galp Energia, Alstom, Nordex, Celsa Group,
Altri, Panike and many others, both domestic
and foreign.
The CEO says the company’s location is adistinct advantage as it is close to the major
port of Leixões and there are related industries in the immediate area.
But one of the challenges facing thecompany and other Portuguese manufacturing concerns is finding enough skilled
labour to maintain its current staff level ofalmost 100 employees.
“It’s a big problem for all of Portuguese industry as young people are no longer interested
in training for specialised work and just want tofocus on the newer technologies,” he explains.
“So we have to train up the young people
who come here to work which means we’re in
charge of creating our own work force.”“Despite this challenge, I believe thePortuguese industrial maintenance sector iscompetitive and especially internationally.
We Portuguese business people know how tofight for a market and not give up.”Engineering Prowess
In-house training and partnerships withtechnical schools are the solutions to theworkforce problem at Gislotica Mechanical

Solutions which manufactures machinery
for automobile tyre producers, according tofounder and Managing Director Rui Fazenda“We have no problem finding engineers
because I’m also a professor of engineering
at the Engineering Institute of Porto so it iseasy to find candidates”, he explains.
“But we do struggle to fill positions suchas electricians and for employees like that
we do it ourselves or tap the technical institutes. Right now we have a staff of 42 andhalf of those are engineers.”
Established in 2000 in Fazenda’s garage, Gislotica almost immediately won a contract with
Continental to make machines for its operationsin the United States and Mexico and today 95
percent of its business is for the foreign market.
“We only have one Portuguese customer
and that is Continental Mabor. In the rest ofEurope, we’re supplying Spain, Germany, France,
the Czech Republic and Romania, and for the
rest of the world we’re in the United States, China, Russia, South Africa and several South American countries,” the executive says.
Gislotica designs and builds machines
used by the tyre industry such as spot control
machines, sorter stations, soap machines, barcode applicators, slitters, lateral adjustment
conveyors, rewind stations and many more.
It also provides all year, 24/7 technical after sales service and close customer support
for its made-to-order machinery.
Last year, the company invoiced around
7 million euros and Fazenda says 2019 has
been a good year despite the dip in demand
for the motor vehicle industry.
“It’s curious but we have a lot of workwhen there is a crisis. This is because big
companies like the major tyre producers invest and set up new plants so they can takeadvantage of the crisis as their suppliers
have to cut their prices,” he explains.
“So we’re getting a lot of work and wewant to expand our production facilities,
But the problem here again is manpower as
there is a scarcity of qualified construction
workers to build those facilities and that hasdelayed our plans.”
Looking ahead, Fazenda says he’d like toportugal 2019 - IIduction areas where we are not at the moment
to help tackle this weight issue,” he explains.
As well as the position he holds at Schmidt
Light Metal Group, Villas-Boas is also thepresident of the Portuguese Foundry Associationand he says the national sector is responding
well to the changes underway in its main client,
the automotive industry.
“I think the Portuguese foundry sector
has been able to modernise and moreover it
has been flexible which is critical in today’s
manufacturing industry as auto makers meet
new market demands.
“New models, new designs and different
finishes – these are all challenges which ourcompanies are responding successfully,” he says.

31see Gislotica moving beyond the tyre sector
within ten years and search out new activities. “I think there are new opportunities
for our engineering prowess and fresh solutions in other fields that we can address,”he argues.
“We’re hopeful this will see us well into
the future.”
Joaquim
Abreu

president of
FIBROGEST SGPS

“THE PORTUGUESE MARKET
MAY NOT BE VERY LARGE BUT
IT IS A VERY FAITHFUL ONE”

portugal 2019 - II

Competitive Advantage

32

The construction industry is the principle market for the Fibrogest group, a holding
company with several subsidiaries largely involved in producing building materials suchas Amiantit and FTB.
Another of the subsidiaries is Termolan, aproducer of stone wool for thermal, acoustic
and fire protection insulation known for being
both affordable and environmentally friendly.
Also in the group is Fibrolite whichmakes fibre cement used in manufacturing
roofing and cladding panels for buildings.
Both companies operate in the domestic andforeign markets, says Manager Lina Abreu.
“The Portuguese market is not very large
but it is a very faithful one, as the Portuguese
businessperson likes to personally know who
they are dealing with and that’s good.
“When working internationally, of course
there is the distance of doing business andalso all the quality certifications which arerequired. That means expensive tests but it isfor the best, not only from our point of view
but also for the clients,” she explains.
Fibrogest’s main foreign customers are
in France, followed by the rest of Europe andBrazil. The company’s sales are also growing
in Algeria where it supplies the large foreign
multinationals active there in a wide range
of industrial activities.

The executive says that at the moment
the company is not pursuing new markets
because “we are selling very close to 100
percent of our production so we’re currently
quite happy with that.”
Like many Portuguese executives, themanager complains of the difficulty in finding skilled workers who stay with the company after training. She also says the group’s
location in northern Portugal can make product transport difficult for exporting to its
foreign customers.
“But I believe we’ll continue to do well
as long as we keep on providing quality
products. Costs can be high for us in Portugal and we’re competing with companies incountries like Estonia and Lithuania where
there is cheaper energy and labour costs.
“Despite these challenges,” she says, “Portuguese products have a very good image
concerning quality and our foreign customers
say we Portuguese are always honest, correctin our business dealings and timely in ourdeliveries,” she says.
“As long as can maintain these advantages, Portuguese businesses, and that includes
Fibrogest, will do fine!”

Quality Matters
Portugal’s reputation for quality manufacturing extends beyond industrial products
to luxury goods such as table cutlery exemplified by Belo Inox which has been turningout carefully crafted knives, forks, spoons andother items for more than 65 years.
But it was not always a producer of finecutlery, recalls owner and General Manager
Manuel Castro.
“When I bought the company some 40
years ago I saw that we needed to up ourgame and get out of the low quality sector so
I introduced new designs, new models, newmachinery and new employees,” he recalls.
“I also brought in new processes like
hand finishing so we could turn out medium
to high quality cutlery. Later, we began attending the big trade fairs so Belo Inox became
known internationally.”
Those efforts have paid off and today Belo
Inxo exports to around 35 countries, mostly in
the European Union with about half of annual
production sold abroad including the UnitedStates, Russia and South Korean.

“chinese customers are
now more wealthy andwant our quality cutlery”
Last year, the company posted turnover ofsome 5 million euros.
“We’re growing in exports at between 5
and 6 percent each year and that’s because once a customer buys our product, they
continue to buy it. That’s a sure sign they’resatisfied and we think that’s great,” the executive says.
“Right now we are beginning to sell in
China which is interesting because sevenor eight years ago China was a big cutlery
producer with European mould makers going
there to make moulds for them.
“But now, the Chinese are more prosperous and they want European cutlery so they
are buying from us and the Germans, Italians
and French,” Castro explains.
Company designers have come up withan array of cutlery offerings ranging fromclassic and timeless patterns to modern andwhat the company calls its “alternative” line
which includes curved handle canapé spoonsand forks, long-handled tasting spoons andeven chopsticks.
And innovation is key, with the company

josé barreiro
guedesceo ofenergest“we have a well regarded
technical credibility for A
certain type of projects”

to take on the technical work and it justgrew from there,” recalls founder and CEO
José Barreiros Guedes. “We’ve been for along time the only company in Portugal
which does what we do.”Its work in Portugal on the behalf of foreign multinationals active in the country
soon led to contracts abroad, not only for
consulting but also for installation of energy
projects on a turnkey basis.
“For example, we did a cogeneration project here in Portugal for EDP with Kawasaki
gas turbines, where we introduced some innovative taylor-made solutions.
“Considering that our vocation, Kawasaki
now wants us to be its partner in cogenerationin Romania, where it is necessary to developtransportable recovery boilers with power,
where this feature is not usually possible” theexecutive says.
“We’ve also had contacts from Spanish
companies asking us for proposals in Latin
America, we’ve done a successful project inJersey and we’re working in Poland. We havea small payroll of 45 people of whom 40
percent are engineers and they’re all highly
skilled. That is deeply appreciated and valued by our clients both here at home andinternationally.”
Last year, Energest had a turnover of 8
million euros and the CEO says he expects
the company to improve on that as its foreign
expansion grows apace.
“We in Portugal have acquired a wellregarded technical credibility which allows
us to face almost no competition for certain
types of projects. That’s our strength and it
will see us through in the future.”

Technical Credibility

J. Silva Moreira: A Long Tradition

Powering all this industrial activity has
been the task for more than 40 years ofEnergest, which began as a small consultancy and now focuses its activities on theconception, design, construction and installation of equipment and industrial thermal
plants for many sectors.
“One of our early clients challenged us

Yet one of the long est cases of industrial
tradition and uninterrupted history can befound in also in northern Portugal, just half
an hour east of Porto, in the traditional picturesque village of Marco de Canaveses.
In this mostly agricultural region,
J. Silva Moreira has been producing metallic products such as fences and other wire

products since 1910, when the founder andgrandfather of its current manager Jorge
Moreira founded a small workshop catering to
the needs of local peasants and stockist alike.
“All work was done manually until 1968,
when my father bought our first machine andthe company started producing barbed wire
industrially. Until that time the wires were given to local women who would take the workhome”, remembers Morerira.
Soon the international market would
become the objective of the company, starting with the neighbouring Spain. In 1974,
well before the entrance of both countries
into the EU, its products were being sent tonorthern and western Spain, where logistics
costs are still low and hence price remains
competitive.
Foreign markets account for more than
65 percent of the company´s turnover, thatcurrently at about twelve million euros.
“Today our main international markets
are Spain, Ireland and Scandinavia yet wehave managed to send our products as far as
Russia and Canada,” explains Moreira.
The seasoned manager thinks that rapid
growth will be difficult to maintain for the
next few years, as the company is moving thefactory to a new site and is currently working
three daily shifts, hence making the most of
its current equipment and human resources.
“We have not had much problems withlosing personnel to other companies, as our
employees appreciate the way we do business and how we operate” asserts Joana
Moreira, Human Resources director as well afourth generation manager at the company.
The reason for such longevity can be explained simply, according to its general manager, “we work in a particular market niche,
where only some Spanish and English companies compete with us. And we always give
preference to our long standing customers,
as we want to consolidate our existing market position together with our distributors”.
A lesson worth listening as for nearly 110
years this little known northern company has
proven that industrial tradition in Portugal
has been in existance well beyond its current
booming status.

portugal 2019 - IIrecently introducing cutlery made from fibre
and resin which have proven popular with
consumers. Belo Inox also manufactures custom cutlery embossed with a client’s logo.
Quality manufacturing, excellent raw
materials, innovative design and competitive prices will continue to fuel Belo Inox’s
growth, says the general manager, along withthat of Portuguese industry as a whole.
“Portugal’s strong emphasis on quality and these other factors have placed
us amongst the top manufacturers in theworld and we’ll remain in that position for
decades to come.”

33

SERVICINGINDUSTRY

DUARTE ROCHAVIRIATOALBUQUERQUEMANAGING
DIRECTOR
of EXTRA
TRANSPORTESINTERNACIONAISMANAGER of
LUSOCARGO-SUL
TRANSItáRIOS

BOOMING foreign trade
IN PORTUGAL NEED A HOST
“SUDDENLY THERE WAS A LOT “we ARE DEVELOPING OUR
OF SUCCESSFUL SERVICE
OF DEMAND FOR OUR SERVICES CAPACITY TO HELP BOTH OUR
COMPANIES TO THRIVEOver many hundreds of years, Portugal has
been among the leading nations in world
trade. It was the Portuguese who first explored the idea of sailing around Africa to reachthe riches of the Far East, bypassing the old
Silk Road and opening up the whole world tointercontinental commerce.
In the ensuing centuries, Portuguese seafarers girdled the globe, making the country amajor hub for the movement of goods thanks
to its location on principal maritime routes
and the experience of its traders.
Today Portuguese air, sea and land transport and distribution companies play a majorrole in globalization along with firms activein the newest business sector linking countries around the world, telecommunications.

portugal 2019 - II

New Transport Era

34

Well established as one of the leadinginternational transport operators in Portugal
is Extra Transportes Internacionais which is
involved in air and maritime cargo as well as
customs services, storage and distribution.
“We have operation centres in Lisbon
and Porto and our work is largely international,” explains partner and Managing Director
Duarte Rocha.
The executive began working at the thenfamily-owned firm in 1992 as an air importagent, then worked his up through the company to director of international business.
“Then I was offered the possibility of joining as a partner as there were no second
generation family members. Today, I own 50
percent of Extra Transportes Internacionais
and by the end of the year that will be 75
percent,” he says.
While other sectors and companies suffered deeply from the Portuguese economic

so WE NOTICED THE GROWTH”

EXPORTERS AND IMPORTERS”

crisis a decade ago, Extra benefitted as domestic manufacturers turned to exporting toforeign markets outside of Europe as a way
to survive.
“Suddenly there was a lot of demand forour services and we noticed that growth on adaily basis,” Rocha recalls. “We had two people in the sales department at that time and
now we have six.”“We have to be competitive partners forour clients and now we also have a greaterbargaining capacity with the ship owners so
we focus on the local exporters who are responsible for transport decisions.”
Extras’s air transport services include express, cargo consolidation, door-to-door services and transport insurance, while its maritime department offers complete containers,
grouping and storage and handling.
In air transport, Extra is a leader in thedomestic market but the managing director
says growth is hindered by the lack of cargocapacity at Portugal’s main airports that focus more on passenger traffic.
With the government’s effort to boost
tourism, there is concern in the transportindustry that the need to improve cargohandling facilities at the country’s principal airports in Lisbon and Porto is being
ignored.
“I don’t think we need more passenger
capacity at Lisbon airport, and Porto airport
is a disgrace regarding cargo,” Roche argues.
“And regarding sea ports, they need to invest
more in Leixões to expand capacity so it canhandle more types of ships.”
The managing director says the next challenge is embracing the new technology thatis disrupting the freight transport sector.
“A lot of people think that transportingcargo in the traditional way has to chan-ge, notably with digital commerce and wefreight handlers have to adapt to this new
era of transporting goods and entering newmarkets.
“We really want to create solutions forour customers so that the customer focuses on their business while we support theirtransport needs,” he says.
“But I’m optimistic that we’ll be able toenjoy sustainable growth as Portugal’s role
as a supplier of top-quality manufactured
goods and our role of getting these goods tointernational markets continues.”

Strong Growth
These factors are also spurring growth at
Lusocargo-Sul Transitários which along withsea and air freight transport services, also
operates an extensive network of lorry transport in Portugal and all around Europe.
“The recovery of the local economy and theboom in Portuguese exports has meant that wehave had to increase our fleet of lorries,” notes
Lusocargo-Sul Manager, Viriato Albuquerque.
“As a customer oriented company, Lusocargo Sul is constantly developing its capacity to support our customers, both exporters
and importers, solving their transport problems,” he adds.

Diversified Market
Growth is also in the forecast for Sorefoz,
a leading distributor of household electricalappliances, consumer electronics, telecommunications and IT equipment for the consumer.
From its origins as fuel and gas reseller
in Figueira da Foz, the company now operates hundreds of stores under the Tien 21 andConfort Electrodomésticos banners.
“We started out with top brands like
Grundig and Bosch and after further development, we added other foreign brands likeToshiba for televisions and video equipment,”
recalls CEO Fernando Lopes Cardoso.
“Our company’s extensive network of stores offers proximity, specialization, service, ahigh-quality professional attitude and competitive prices,” he adds.
Products at Sorefoz’s stores include refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers,
stoves, microwave ovens, televisions, cameras, sound systems, computers, mobile phones and much more.
Most prestigious brands are represented,
such as AEG, Bosch, LG, Whirlpool, Braun, Philips,
Sony, Samsung, Siemens, Rowenta and more.
“With online shopping and other factors
changing the retail industry, consumers have
unprecedented choice these days and are
better prepared, more knowledgeable andbetter informed.
“As far as online shopping is concerned,
Portugal still has a lot of room to grow following the example of Spain and the rest ofEurope. And there is also an increased demandfor improved service,” the executive explains.
Cardoso would also like to see hiscompany’s stores provide a better balance
between big ticket kitchen appliances likerefrigerators and stoves which have a strong

fernando
lopes
cardosoceo ofsorefoz s.a.

“the portuguese retailmarket is highly diversified
with room for everyone”
presence, and increasingly popular IT products
such as computers and smartphones.
“So all of this represents a huge challenge for us but it’s a challenge we think we aremeeting successfully through, for example,
the increase of the size of our stores and providing a wider diversity of products.”
Another change roiling the sector is thatthe large appliance manufacturers no longer
operate their own warehouses so retailers
like Sorefoz are taking up the slack and stocking their suppliers’ goods.
Sorefoz’s headquarters staff works
with individual stores to offer support inareas like store design, administration,
IT, business operation systems, new store
openings, vocational training, corporate
image and other services.
“This way, the concept for our chains ofstores are coordinated so that customers know
exactly what to expect when they enter a store
anywhere around the country,” the CEO says.
“The Portuguese market is not a big one
but it is highly developed from the point ofview of communication and information. It isalso a diversified market so there is room foreveryone and we certainly expect to continue
as a leading player in our sector.”

Single SupplierTwo other sectors undergoing massivechange in Portugal and around the world are
telecommunications and energy which are thefocus of Santos Silva Consultoria & Master Vantagem, says Managing Partner Anabela Silva.
“Our telecoms business at Santos Silva
was divided into two parts: sales of products
like smartphones, tablets, GSP’s, audio equipment, televisions and other consumer items.
“And the other part involved B2B providing consulting and solutions for corporate
communications through contracts and connectivity,” the executive explains.
Santos Silva got its start in 1996 as amanufacturer and distributor of leather cases
for GSM terminals and then over the years
partnered with such brands as Panasonic,
Samsung, Alcatel and Nokia.
Along the way, Santos Silva also entered
the energy market, consulting and selling

portugal 2019 - IIAmong with air, sea and land transport,
Lusocargo is also active in customs services,
warehousing, logistics, packaging, picking
and delivery services and insurance.
Its road transport department offers exporters daily connections to Spain, France and Italy,
bi-weekly to Germany and Benelux and weekly
to all the other European countries as well as
Turkey, Morocco and Tunisia. They can also offer
daily solutions with dedicated trucks.
A similar schedule is offered to thecompany’s import clients bringing in goods
from all across Europe, Turkey, Morocco andTunisia, while within Portugal lorries run daily
and just-in-time services between Lisbon,
Porto, Albufeira, Portalegre and Pombal.
“One of the sectors we serve is the automotive industry, which is experiencing significant growth. Auto Europa has been very
important,” the executive explains.
“We’ve been growing at a rate of around
4 percent in volume per year and last year we
had a turnover of around 42.5 million euros.”
One of the problems which could negatively impact the business growth in Portugal,
is the tendency for young people to pursue
academic and high-tech industries careersinstead of other professions such as driver.
That is one of the reasons why there is sucha shortage of lorry drivers.
“This issue must be a challenge for both
Lusocargo and many companies like ours. We
need to bring some prestige to this profes-

sion so that young people could consider it
as a choice ”, Albuquerque says.
“This problem affects both our own company and our suppliers. I believe that we canonly revert this situation by enhancing the driver profession and creating appropriate driver
training programs. This is one way to help reverting the situation of the lack of drivers”.
Nevertheless, Lusocargo-Sul Transitários’manager argues that such obstacles can beovercome and will not jeopardize the growthof the Portuguese transport and logistics sector.
“We’ve been making a real effort toboost our industry’s growth though things likepromoting our company in other markets, attending international trade fairs and investingin state-of-the-art technology,” he says.
“Over the next few years I see the sector
becoming stronger, more robust and moresustainable as it grows along with the Portuguese economy.”35

“It’s very exciting for our energy business tobe operating in Portugal and Spain as there is nomuch to do in renewable energy in these countries,” the managing partner says. “In Spain, they
have abolished the solar energy tax and Portugal
has the highest rate of solar use in Europe.
“So we have many years of businessahead of us, there is so much more to do andI see a very bright future indeed for players in
the energy market like ourselves.”

portugal 2019 - II

“we are seeing demand
for services with brazil,
south america and asia”

36

energy packages to companies. It eventually
spun off that business and its B2B communications arm called Master Vantagem in 2013.
The communications arm has enjoyedparticularly strong growth over the past
three years and is now seeing more demandfor its services outside of Europe.
“In the beginning everyone wanted communications packages for Europe but beyond
that there was not much demand,” Silva recalls.
“Now we are seeing that there is increasing
demand for connectivity with Brazil and other
South American countries but also for Asia while Africa is also increasing after a bit of a lull.
“We work with companies in all sectors,
for example the wine industry, which are increasingly selling communications packages
for its Asian market. South Africa, too.”
Silva notes that Master Vantagem offers its
clients two services which are essential today:
communication and electricity, and customers
like to deal with just a single supplier.
Last year, it opened an office in Madrid andlast April another branch was opened in Barcelona. In 2018, five years after its launch, thecompany posted 3 million euros in billings.
Master Vantagem’s strategy is to change
the mentality of its customers so they willpurchase more green energy, even though,for the moment at least, it is more expensive
than more traditional energy sources.
“I’d love to be able to tell you that in
2023, 50 percent of Master Vantagem’s customers are using green energy. That would
be a great achievement.
“Yes, it is expensive but when you lookat the state of the planet and if we want toleave a better world for future generations,green energy is the only way to go.

Technical Expertise
Energetus is another interesting company that considers itself a full service company for the Portuguese power generation
market as well as for the local industry.
Once the local arm of the Swiss Sulzer
group, it became independent when thecurrent leadership acquired the company
through a management-buy-out in 2001.
“We kept the whole structure and offices
which were then mainly focused on the Portuguese market” says CEO Pedro Neves, “but since then we have grown domestically and wehave also opened a subsidiary in Muscat, Oman,
which covers projects in the GCC countries.”
Turnover in its home market Portugal
has more than doubled since then, while theportfolio of projects that Energetus undertakes has increased to include all types ofelectricity generation.
“Over the last few years we have been
involved in co-generation, wind power, PV
solar parks as well as more traditional diesel
and gas generation or hydro projects. We arevery flexible and we can adapt to any of ourcustomer’s needs,” says the CEO.
The textile industry in Northern Portugal
has been a traditional client for some of its
co-generation projects, but the current regulatory environment is not conducive to the
set-up of such projects for the Portuguese
industry, Neves is quick to point out.
On the other hand, “the latest photo-voltaic
auction resulted in a very low energy pricewhich will not encourage the government tocontinue to promote the development of new
co-generation projects in a near timeframe, as
they require a subsidy.”
The CEO thinks that a more direct subsidy scheme, supporting companies that install
their own generating capacity, would be beneficial for the Portuguese export industry.

PEDRO
NeVES

CEO OF
ENERGETUS S.A.

“we are VERY FLEXIBLE AND
WE CAN ADAPT to ANY of
our CUSTOMER’s NEEDS”“Co-generation creates electricity, steam
and hot or cold water where it is needed, and
it is the most efficient way to save energy
and serve industrial companies.”
But he is not optimistic that this approach will be implemented anytime soon, so
Neves has set his eyes on growing in the newelectrical energy market that is more andmore looking for system-services solutions,instead of traditional power generation, suchas voltage and frequency control, storage andbackup power, which are required due to theincreased share of renewable energy.
Backed by a long experience in providing
innovative solutions and technical assistanceto the isolated power grids in the Portuguese
archipelagos of Madeira and Azores, Nevesis confident that Energetus’ technical knowhow and experience, together with its strong
technological partners, are the key to conquer this new energy market, both domestic
and internationally.

Interview with Mr PEDRO ABRANTEs
GENERAL MANAGER OF PLASTARThis innovative firm based in the northern region of Aveiro has bet heavily in technology and differentiation,
as the technical plastics sector becomes ever more demanding. Its general manager Mr Pedro Abrantes
tells us about his inspiration and why he is optimistic on his company as well as on the Portuguese industry

How large is the company nowadays?
P.A.- As of today we have a workforce of 45
workers and we are currently billing about four
million euros a year, 75 percent of which areinternational sales. Our main foreign markets
are Spain and France directly, and Germany andthe U.K. indirectly.
When did Plastar start selling to those international markets?
P.A.- At some point Asia became an important producer of bicycles, so our customers
started to have their own products taken there.
For instance, Ciclo Fapril’s main customer was
BH in Spain, and they moved production to Asia.
So in 2002 Plastar underwent a revolution andstarted producing its own products rather thanjust what our customers asked us to produce.
How is 2019 turning out when comparedto the previous year?
P.A.- This year we are experiencing aweaker demand from international markets,
but we are doing well because we are currently
producing a great number of products for thehospital and health sectors, and in those markets we are managing to do well in Spain,
France and Italy.
Is that your main sector at this moment or
are there others?
P.A.- Yes, and we are also working a lot
more for the cold storage sector. The plastics
market in general seems to going through an
impasse in regards to the finish of the pieces.
What makes Plastar different from other players in the market?
P.A.- Plastar is the only company with aunit to directly inject white plastics. We havemachines for 450, 850 and 1,800 tons that candirectly inject white plastics, so there’s no needfor painting them afterwards. We are totallyunique in that respect.
What are the competitive advantages of such
unit for Plastar?
P.A.- First of all we diminish the pollution

produced by painting, and second there are lessproduct rejections. For example, we are making
white plastic pieces for a French customer involved in producing machines for liposuction,that previously needed to have the pieces injected and then taken to have them painted white.
Only in Plastar they have been able to find the
product directly injected in white for them.
What are the main challenges for the Portuguese plastic sector today?
P.A.- I am very optimistic on the future
growth of the Portuguese plastics sector. But
first we need to differentiate between theplastics that create a pollution problem, likethe single-use and disposable plastics, andthe plastics involved in technical pieces. At
Plastar, 88 percent of our production are those technical plastics.
Additionally the plastics sector is becoming increasingly technological as well as
global, and I beleive the Portuguese plastics industry, specially in northern Portugal,
is ready to tacke the opportunities that are
thrown at us.
Where do you see Plastar in the next five
years or so?
P.A.- When I started at Plastar more than
20 years ago, this company just injected plastics, yet in 2004 we started to paint plastics,
and soon after that we were assembling whole pieces, because that is what our customers
wanted and demanded.
So we have evolved with the times, and in
the next few years we expect to be involved in all
kinds of new projects dealing with electric bicycles,
autonomous driving and all the different types oftechnical plastic pieces that will be needed. I see
Plastar not just as a plastics injection company

but as a company that offers solutions to ourcustomers in the technical plastics area.
So are you optimistic on the future of Plastar
and the industry as a whole?
P.A.- I am very optimistic, and the best
proof of that is the large investment of overtwo million euros that we have made in orderto have the only injection unit in the world forwhite plastics.
At the time I was called crazy, but I knewthat I had to be different to compete and so far
my bet has proven successful. The rest of theindustry has also great opportunities ahead.

portugal 2019 - II

When was Plastar founded?
P.A.- Plastar was founded in 1995, first working for a company involved in manufacturing
bicycle parts called Ciclo Fapril here in Agueda.
It was our first customer and it is now our partner, although we work independently.

37

Interview with Lurdes Silva
CEO of Fersil Group & Fil Tubos Angola
As the Portuguese economy recovers, piping manufacturer Fersil is taking advantage of the favourable market
conditions to continue its expansion into African markets. While its Angolan company Fil Tubos already stands
on its own, the group has expanded into Mozambique and is looking at the DRC as its newest challenge
How have the last three years been for Fersil
group and Fil Tubos Angola?
L.S.- In Angola our local plant has kept on
working under the name of Fil Tubos, serving the
local market. In Mozambique we have started acommercial operation, with our own warehouse,but at a smaller scale than Angola, as the market
is pretty slow at the moment. From our base here
in Portugal we have been expanding our exports
to other countries in Africa.

L.S.- At the political level there are a number of initiatives regarding the economy that
I believe are bearing fruit. Over the last few
months we have noticed a very slight increaseof the demand in the construction sector, but I
believe this recovery will still take time and it
may need another two to three years to regain
the previous level of activity that we used tohave. We are committed to the Angolan market
so we hope to ride the wave once it arrives.

What markets are you targeting in Africa?
L.S.- We are currently working on Egypt, as
well as Ghana and Senegal, and the countries
bordering with Angola, as we believe they havea great potential for growth. They already represent an important share of our total sales.

The Portuguese exports and tourism sector
have been growing rapidly recently ...
L.S.- That has improved the image of thecountry and I believe it is extremely important!
The general awareness of Portugal has improved
tremendously thanks to the tourism boom.

What other African markets will you bebetting on in 2019?
L.S.- We are actually very focused in Africa,
and will continue to be in the future. We areparticularly interested in being present in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, just north of Angola. It is our major bet at the moment.

Have you noticed this improvement with yourcustomers?
L.S.- Yes, and now everybody knows where
Portugal is on the world map. While this has
not helped our exports directly, it is clear that
there’s the political will to earn an internationalrecognition and that can only be positive.

Have you been affected by the crisis in the
Angolan market?
L.S.- Since the beginning our Angolan
operation is independent from the Portuguese
one, so it has its own accounts and it is geared
towards the local market. So while these last few
years the Angolan construction market has been
weak, our production there is local and Fersil has
not been affected. Fil Tubos Angola produces anddistributes for the Angolan market only.

How has 2018 been for Fersil Group?
L.S.- As far as the company in Portugal, it has
proven to be a good year, and we have surpassed
the fifty million Euro mark in terms of Sales.

portugal 2019 - II

How has the change in the Angolan politicalleadership and economic reforms affectedyour business there?

Is this due to a recovery of the market?
L.S- Well, public works has not yet madea comeback, but we are experiencing a strong
recovery in the rehabilitation market, as therecent tourism boom has been pushing for thereconstruction of old houses in city centres.
The Portuguese job market is able to provide
for your growth needs?

Company of pipes and fittingsin plastic materials for all
sectors.

L.S- We are currently at a situation of almost full employment and our population is
gradually becoming older, so there’s a clear
lack of human resources available. It has really
become a great problem, so in order to solve
it we are trying to bring people from different
countries, and we have even some refugees
working with us at the moment.
Is this need present for all types of jobs?
L.S.- Yes, it is company-wide problem. We
need technicians as well as basic labour, for the
day shift as well as the night shift. All positions
are very hard to find, so we are turning towards
international recruiting.
Have you considered opening new plants
outside of Portugal?
L.S.- Not right now, but we may decide toopen a factory in Mozambique later on as wealready have the warehousing facilities. There
we are currently importing from Portugal, as
importing from Angola is much more expensive,
despite the shorter distance.
Are you confident that the recovery of thePortuguese industry will continue?
L.S.- Yes, indeed. We have the technology, we
have the education institutions, as well as a longcoast line which opens the way for Portuguese
industries to export its products anywhere in theworld, all those are advantages that we can truly
based our industries on.

PORTUGALANGOLA+351 256 856 010 | www.grupofersil.com | fersil@fersil.com

38MOÇAMBIQUE

Interview with Mr Serafim Costa
PRESIDENT OF GEONEXTFor over four decades, this industrial and commercial concern, based in northern Portugal, has carved out
a commendable position in the extremely competitive lighting sector. Branding, innovation and a focus on
customer service are some of the keys to Geonext’s success in the local and foreign markets

How relevant are international markets forGeonext’s growth?
S.C.- Geonext’s growth in international
markets has been a challenge that we haveeagerly undertaken. Even with its inherent
difficulties, we have kept our focus in foreign
markets and we will continue to strive to makeour brands better known and more widely distributed worldwide.

In what foreign markets have you managed to break into?
S.C.- The international markets where wehave experienced the largest penetration arethose where Portuguese is the official language. Our brands, such as Lumitek, Luxtek,
BlinkPro and Fillday, are already present in 17
countries across several continents, and our
total foreign sales account for more thirty percent of our business.
As for the Portuguese market, what is yourmain strategic focus?
S.C.- We have actually based the sustainable growth of our products on the renown of ourhighly respected brands. They are consideredbenchmarks in many markets due to their highquality, reliability and innovation.
How important is your image in the local andforeign markets?
S.C.- Geonext aims to continue offering its
products with accreditations from the competent authorities, as well as with the recognition
obtained from reputed local and internationalarchitects, in order to better serve the lighting
and illumination sector of the 21st century.
Have you obtained any public support foryour expansion plans?
S.C.- Different support programs such as
Portugal 2020 and Compete 2020 have contributed effectively to Portuguese business, and I
consider they had a very positive effect. We also
believe that as long as these programs continue
to be properly applied, they will help the growthof mid and long-term Portuguese exports.
What are the main challenges for the Portuguese companies today?

S.C.- The Portuguese companies thathave achieved international success havedone it so with many sacrifices and a strong
spirit of tenacity. Yet, Portugal’s international
competitiveness is still poor, particularly in
the industrial sector.
Despite the little support we are receiving
we are not giving up, as Portugal is proud tohave entrepreneurs with an enormous spirit for
self sacrifice who don’t give up and never turntheir backs when faced with a struggle.
What other challenges are on the horizon for
the Portuguese Industry?
S.C.- As Portugal is part of the European
Union, we are looking at Brexit with someapprehension. It is still early to know what
effects this will have on the commercial exchanges between the member states and theUnited Kingdom. Whatever agreement is finally reached, we are still confident in the future,
as new routes are always open up when old
ones are closed.
Following a similar pattern, the recent
crisis between the United States and China
regarding their foreign trade with each otherplaces the European Union in a position where it will forced to take up a stand. While weEuropeans are US allies, we must rememberthat China has been an important partner andinvestor in European companies, particularly
in Portugal.

portugal 2019 - II

What’s the business model of Geonext andhow is it working out in present times?
S.C.- Our company’s business model has remained the same since it foundation four decades ago, in 1982. We operate in the demanding
lighting and electrical materials market, where
we hold a paramount position based on thequality and innovativeness of our products.
Currently, Geonext is going through apositive development phase, specially taking
into account the different urban regeneration
projects being launched throughout Europe,
particularly in Portugal.
Our company’s growth is based on distributing good products complemented withthe good added value service that we provide,so we believe that we have growth prospects
both from the industrial and a commercial
standpoint.
At Geonext, innovation is a constant concern in the development of our products. In anever evolving market, we strive to create, develop and update our products with the mostrecent technologies and materials.
We pay particular attention to the sturdinessand reliability of our products, while our designis aligned with the most recent market trends.
Additionally, we give to all of our customers theadded value service that helps them find themost suitable solution for each of their projects.

39Interview with MANUEL EDUARDO S. TAVARESCEO of BTL - Indústrias Metalúrgicas, S.A. - Metal Works Industry
Moving up the value chain to become both more technological and international, BTL - Metal Works Industry
is ready to take advantage of the next industrial revolution. Right from the hearth of the traditional industrial
region of Aveiro, Mr Tavares explains where the main opportunities and challenges lie for the metal industry

How important have your foreign markets
been for this growth?
M.T.- We are world leaders in providing forthe resin industry, so that’s a strong market forus, and currently we are selling nearly half ofour turnover abroad. We are actually working
on whole projects, many of which are large contracts worth millions of euros, and we do thewhole planning, engineering, construction anddelivery, as they are mostly turn-key projects.
What markets have been more receptive to
BTL over these last years?
M.T.- Most of them are European markets,
but we also sell in Africa and the Middle East.
Our logistics operation is well designed and
we attend regularly international trade fairs.
We are finding that once customers get tounderstand the quality of our work, they can
become our clients.
Has the image of “Made in Portugal” been ofhelp for your company ?
M.T.- Yes, and that is specially true in Latin
America, where Portugal is now recognised as aknowledge-based economy and “Made in Portugal”
is already regarded as a sign of quality.

What is the biggest challenge that BTL isfacing to continue its growth?
M.T.- Our biggest challenge is to find andhire the right people. Currently in Portugal it isvery difficult to find both experienced professionals and skilled workers, and the region of
Aveiro pays the highest salaries in the industry
so the unemployment here is virtually zero.
We are interested in attracting workers
from Brazil, Venezuela and Africa, and we have
had several conversations with the authorities
regarding this need. We currently employ over
150 people but our needs are still higher.
What other challenges does the Portuguese
industry face?
M.T.- I think that we have already overcome
any quality-related challenges and the Portuguese
metal-works industry is well regarded in thisrespect. But the challenge of competitivenessremains an important one, as we compete withcountries where the rights of workers are not respected in the same way as in our case, mostly in
products coming from Asia.
The Portuguese workforce is very competitive
with other European countries and we just needto make sure that the final clients understands
and appreciates the added value that goes into
our products and solutions.
All that has improved the image of the country and I believe it is extremely important! The

general awareness of Portugal has also growntremendously, thanks to the tourism boom.
What kind of projects are you currently
involved with?
M.T.- We are currently building a turn-key
factory for Univeler in Portugal, one of theworld leaders in food production. We are mostly
involved in projects dealing with the new waveof Industry 4.0 and 5.0, where artificial intelligence will be taking an even greater role in theindustrial processes.
Where would you like to see BTL and yourindustry in the next five years?
M.T.- I would like BTL and the metal-works
industry in Portugal to continue to progress andgrow. If the country does well indeed that will all
have a positive effect on us and will also cause
the image of Portugal to improve.
In particular I would like to develop abrand-new training centre in BTL where we
could be involved in developing nanotechnologies and biotechnologies together with ourpartners in universities in Portugal and abroad,as we are already working with schools in Aveiro, Porto, as well as in France, Brazil and Israel.
Finally I would like BTL to be perceived as acompany that designs and sells solutions withgreat added value to our customers, becausethat is where we are going.

portugal 2019 - II

How did the crisis of a decade ago affected
BTL’s international and local business?
M.T.- This year BTL - Indústrias Metalúrgicas,
S.A. - Metal Works Industry - just turned 40 years
old, and over this time we have built a strong
reputation both locally and internationally. While BTL started out as a metal-works industrial
company we are now an engineering and process-focused company with an interdisciplinary
approach. This fact and the wide range of industries in which we work has helped us weather
the crisis so we continue to grow our business.

40