This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at
El sector de moldes portugués también compite con el EsteThe Portuguese mould sector also competes with the East
The Portuguese molds
Spanish moldistas sector is not the only one who has noticed the competition of Asia and central and Eastern Europe. Portuguese producers have also her warned, although they are confident that the quality of their products and offer value-added services will give maintain hegemony. Explains it Joaquín Menezes, President of the Association of Cefamol moldistas and the technological centre Cetimfe, Manager of Iberomoldes.
Joaquín Menezes, President of the Association of Cefamol moldistas and technological centre Cetimfe
One of the most influential people of the Portuguese moldista industry, Joaquín Menezes – President of the Association of Cefamol moldistas and technological centre Cetimfe-, confident in the positive development of this sector in Portugal despite economic uncertaintySince "the molds are the first tools when they develop new products, and our industrial sector will be the first to recover".
Menezes says that though "noted an increase in budget requests", also have been noticing an increase in competition in the world, "mainly in Asia and the countries of Central Europe, where customers are looking for lower prices". To the President of Cefamol, the trump card of Portugal is high technology at competitive prices, because price Portugal "is at a level half".
One way to lose assets is offering an integral service. In the words of Joaquín Menezes, "there are several companies that are struggling to offer not only molds, but also a part of the engineering and new product development", in this aspect ensures that "there is a determination of enterprises by developing skills in the area of product engineering"", development and prototyping". All such services will provide greater value to the moulds.
In this field, Menezes thinks that the distance between Spain and Portugal is very short and adds that "in Catalonia we have a very close relationship with Ascamm (Catalan Association of moldistas), many joint projects and a personal relationship of friendship and knowledge".
"Technologies assisted by laser, present many problems of finish and detail, which makes them relatively inadequate for the needs of anti-corrosion and precision offered by the molds"
Quick mould
Although Joaquín Menezes recognizes that it is very "risky" anticipate events, it considers that the development of the machining of high speed (AVM) will have more importance in the evolution of the fast mould than not lasers, since "assisted by laser technologies"", they present many problems of finish and detail, which makes them relatively inadequate for the needs of anti-corrosion and precision offered by the molds. For Joaquin Menezes, a very large effort is underway to take advantage of the trends of rapid tooling "maintaining basic moulds production processes and technologies as we know them today".
Ongoing investment
Menezes reviewed the history of the Portuguese industry of moulds for plastic. A sector that was born in the 1940s in the hands of Hannibal Henriques Abrantes and that very soon - 1957 - needed export abroad due to the lack of local market.
"The main reason for the development of the Portuguese industry of moulds is exports, especially since the end of the 1960s, when it became very clear that the market was mostly there" - explains Menezes and adds that this need to deal with large multinational forced to invest - "there is a constant investment"", it is almost like a chronic disease, because the manufacturers of molds around the world are first technologists and then patterns, and his skill and sensitivity for the things of the technology is always present".
Another reason may be that the Portuguese industry is highly concentrated and people know very well. The majority of enterprises, especially in Marinha Grande, have their origin in Hannibal H. Abrantes (the company pioneer now owned by Menezes through Iberomoldes). This signature is known as the University of the moulds and his experience is something shared between the industries of the area. "Because of this, - adds - processes of cooperation between the companies are more agile and easy, allowing us to provide added value that the majority of our competition in the world does not have."
Weight of United States
Menezes explains also that the descent of the quotas of export of United States (which have fallen from 60-70 per cent in the 1960s to 20 per cent at present) is a good thing and more "healthy" because an over-concentration of exports can be dangerous. "Currently, we have a very balanced distribution, which in my opinion is the desirable." while "the strategic plan in the United States is the keep this share, and increase it slightly until the 22 or 25 per cent, already more than that it would not be balanced".
Joaquim Menezes gave us this interview at the end of last year with the occasion of the week moulds Portugal
