1910
ALCOBRE Condutores Elétricos, S.A. is the oldest Electric Cable Factory in Portugal and is the result of the Handicraft Unit started by Mr. Álvaro Pinto dos Santos in 1910 at Avenida de França - 434, in Porto.
1961
ALCOBRE Condutores Elétricos, S.A. is the oldest Electric Cable Factory in Portugal and is the result of the Handicraft Unit started by Mr. Álvaro Pinto dos Santos in 1910 at Avenida de França - 434, in Porto.
1988
In 1988 it was acquired by Prof. Eng. Campos Costa and Grupo Sumolis.
1989
In 1989, with the entry of the Amorim Group into the shareholder structure, the Company changed its corporate name to ALCOBRE Condutores Eléctricos, S.A., and increased its capital to 300,000,000 $ 00. Following the dynamics introduced by the Amorim and Sumolis Groups, Qualified Technicians with experience in the Sector are recruited and an investment process begins - in equipment and buildings - for the restructuring, expansion and modernization of ALCOBRE with a view to improving the Product quality, expansion of the range and production capacity. With the reinforcement of the quality of the company, ALCOBRE obtained in 1989 the approval of its products by CTT - Direcção Geral de Telecomunicações.
1991
This is followed by the approval of ALCOBRE products, in 1990, by TLP - Telephones of Lisbon and Porto, S.A. and, in 1991, by EDP - Electricidade de Portugal. Still in 1991, ALCOBRE exports electrical cables for the first time.
1992
In 1992 ALCOBRE's sales exceeded 1 billion escudos and the company establishes a program for the implementation of the Quality Management criteria expressed in NP EN 29002.
1993
At the beginning of 1993, ALCOBRE transferred the Manufacturing Facilities and Headquarters to the new Ovar Industrial Unit, which allows it to more efficiently implement the Quality Management System in order to achieve one of the Company's strategic objectives - the ALCOBRE certification.
1994
In 1994, ALCOBRE became part of the Aberdare Group, the largest cable manufacturer in South Africa. A process of significant investments in industrial equipment began, which doubled the company's production capacity.
Still in 1994, it is worth noting:
• Obtaining the License for the Use of the
1995
In 1995, and following the improvements and capacity increases introduced in the company's production structure, it was possible to reinforce ALCOBRE's market share in Portugal Telecom and EDP. ALCOBRE has, year after year, consolidated the Quality Management System, in search of Total Quality Management.
1996
In 1996, ALCOBRE extended the scope of the License for the Use of the
1997
In 1997, the Company defined NP EN ISO 9001 certification as a strategic objective. This year ALCOBRE's sales reach 2,500,000 contos, with exports exceeding 30% of sales volume. The Aberdare / Altron Group - ALCOBRE shareholder - consolidates its position in the world cable market, forecasting a turnover of PTE 240 million for 1998, of which 130 million related to sales of telephone and power cables, which allows it to integrate the group of the 25 largest world manufacturers in the electric cable sector. ALCOBRE's Quality Management System is certified according to the NP EN ISO 9001 standard by APCER. ALCOBRE is distinguished with the “Company of the Year 1997” Award given by the Luso-South African Chamber of Commerce.
1999
In 1999, ALCOBRE significantly increased its share in the Warehousing and Installer market, thanks to the consolidation of the manufacture of armored aluminum cables of large section.
2000
In 2000, ALCOBRE was considered by the newspaper “Semanário Económico” to be the first SME (Small and Medium Enterprises), in the ranking of the largest 1500. It should be noted that SMEs dominate the Portuguese economy, representing the vast majority of the national business fabric . ALCOBRE's sales exceeded PTE 3 million for the first time, reaching PTE 3,291,000. It should be noted that exports represent more than one million contos. Completion of a three-year investment project, within the scope of community support - PEDIP, for remodeling and industrial development.
2001
In 2001, ALCOBRE renewed the Certification of its Quality Management System according to the standard NP EN ISO 9001: 1995, having APCER as the certifying body. PT Comunicações renewed the contract for the supply of telephone cables, for the year 2001. Exports increased significantly, having grown 71% over the previous year.
2002
In January 2002, the project to adapt the Quality Management System to the new requirements of NP EN ISO 9001 begins. With this new change project, ALCOBRE intends to implement, through process management, a new model that based on management by facts and indicators and allows to stimulate the continuous improvement of the organization and product. In 2002, ALCOBRE's profound restructuring was also highlighted, both at departmental and human resources levels.
2003
In 2003, culminating the process of adapting the QMS to NP EN ISO 9001: 2000, APCER granted certification to ALCOBRE. Following an internationalization strategy for ALCOBRE, which started some years ago, in 2003 the cable approval was successfully carried out by EDF - Eléctricité de France. Taking into account the constraints imposed by the market, it was decided by the Administration and approved by Aberdare, to make investments in the scope of the verticalization of the manufacturing activities, by the acquisition of a wire drawing machine and a cable maker, and ALCOBRE started to draw the machine wire and the cablear their conducting souls.
2004
Also worthy of note during 2003 was an important financial restructuring of the Company, which culminated in an increase in share capital to € 3,300,000 in February 2004. Still in 2004, the investment process continued with the entry into operation of new equipment for the manufacture of flexible copper, in addition to the industrial improvements started in 2003. During 2004, we continued with the qualification of RV Al cables in the Spanish electric companies, Endesa and Union Fenosa, which were completed in April 2005. Likewise, approval processes were initiated in 2004 at AENOR, for copper cables RV and RV-K, and halogen-free cables ES 07Z1-K and RZ1-K, with the first three being completed in July 2005. In 2004, ALCOBRE saw its share strengthened in Iberian terms.
2005
During 2005, the most relevant facts are: • Implementation of a new IT tool (SAP) with the objective of making Alcobre's management more efficient and the faster and more reliable recording and treatment of results of the Company's activities • Restructuring of the Laboratory with regard to the distribution of tasks related to testing activities, with a significant improvement in the preparation times and recording of results; The restructuring of the metrological evaluation process of the Laboratory's EMM's was carried out, obtaining a significant gain in terms of costs and acquisition of AESA equipment for testing telephone cables in the Laboratory. ALCOBRE continued with its commitment to growth in foreign markets.
2006
In 2006/07, ALCOBRE's net sales recorded a substantial increase in volume by approximately 63% compared to 2005. Also in 2006, ALCOBRE consolidated its position in the Spanish market, significantly increasing sales and also the number of customers. The internal wiring of 150 mm2 and 240 mm2 aluminum cores contributed significantly to the RV Al cables, whose sales rose sharply. There was also an increase in exports to France, Cyprus and Malta, but mainly West Africa and South Africa. As a reflection of ALCOBRE's global improvement, we note that exports in the last year have exceeded 50% of the total sales volume. In production there was an increase of 13% in the equivalent metal transformed, which translated into a real increase in industrial activity. There was an improvement in the delivery times to the customer and the consolidation of the SAP computer system, allowing a better and faster management of the finished product stocks, looking for the continuous and progressive increase of its rotation. In terms of quality, approval was obtained from AENOR (Spain) for halogen-free cables up to a section of 95 mm2; we obtained the renewal of ISO 9001: 2000 Certification by APCER, as well as the maintenance of product certification by CERTIF. Training actions were carried out in the scope of Quality and Safety. We started the homologation of U-1000 R2V and U-1000 RVFV cables by LCIE (France), to continue our strategic export policy.
2007
In 2007, the investment decision was made to manufacture aluminum conductors, with the order of an aluminum rod drawing machine, for the first time at ALCOBRE. This investment comes in line with previous actions, with the purpose of increasing our value added chain in production, and our autonomy in relation to raw material suppliers. We continue with the sales strategy in the foreign market, mainly in Spain, but with the reinforcement of our actions in France, both in the commercial aspect and in the product certification aspect. This led us to homologation by the LCIE - Laboratoire Central des Industries Electrics of the most common BT cables on the market, U-1000 R2V, U-1000 AR2V and even U-1000 RVFV. Within the scope of a Health and Safety at Work Plan, and in an evolutionary way, the company has carried out several projects of marked improvements and implementation of new working conditions.
2008
In 2008, in view of the great reduction of the Spanish market, ALCOBRE bet on the continued penetration in the French stock market to compensate for the first. The aluminum rod drawing machine has been installed and is fully operational. Despite the retraction of investments in general, ALCOBRE pursued its investment policy, in the sense of greater autonomy in production, and acquired an aluminum and copper wire and insulated wire harness. As an internal investment, it is worth noting the start of the manufacture of sectorial multi-wire aluminum conductors. The conclusion of this point, in conjunction with the previous one, is another important step in our goal of greater incorporation of industrial added value. In the continuous search for new markets, cables with the NF USE brand (U-1000 R2V) and twisted aluminum 2x16 and 4x16 mm2 were homologated in Algeria.
2009
In 2009, major strategies were identified to overcome the current market crisis, whose tactics and implementation will take place during 2010.
2010
In 2010, the organization improved its internal processes. The improvement is due to a set of organic changes that involved the reorganization of the Company's Management, allowing the optimization of resources, both human and in the manufacture of cables. Given the prolongation of the global economic crisis, new markets were sought. Thus, the manufacture of new products started, essentially Halogen-free cables, for the domestic and foreign market, allowing to increase the number of new customers. We started the homologation of the XZ1 (S) Al cable range by AENOR (Spain), to continue our strategic export policy, concluded in early 2011.
2012
In 2012, ALCOBRE continued its policy of continuous improvement with a special focus on increasing competitiveness and quality of service. Stock rotation has increased significantly. Improved productivity as well as flexibility of production means, reducing financial and manufacturing costs. The need to satisfy new markets led to the development of new products and new manufacturing processes, bringing to more than 600 the number of references currently produced by ALCOBRE. Exposure to risky customers was reduced and through sales monitoring of customers identified as “key”, sales volume was maintained. This year was also a period of major internal restructuring. Without losing quality of product, service and maintaining the production capacity almost unchanged, ALCOBRE reduced its human resources by 25%, becoming a “Lean” company. Despite the impact that such a restructuring has on a company's day-to-day life, this was done in order to maintain commitments to all shareholders. ALCOBRE achieved its intended objectives both operationally and in terms of the market.
2013
In 2013 Alcobre was named the company with the biggest improvement within the ALTRON group. This restructuring allowed Alcobre to post positive and growing results year after year, supported by moderate organic growth, but all the more relevant as competitors lost market share in the same period. The team's motivation as well as the internal effort to update equipment and processes brought improvements in all productivity ratios. New references were integrated in the product portfolio as well as new customers achieved even within the traditional market. As the intention of the Altron group to divest its industrial activities was already known, potential buyers for the various sectors appeared on the scene, with the Chinese group Hengtong having acquired all the activity of producing electric cables as well as optical fiber.
2016
This acquisition took place on August 1, 2016 and given the size of HENGTONG, the integration in this group opens up very positive perspectives for Alcobre not only in terms of investment, technology and consequently growth.
2020
In the last few years, Alcobre has invested more than 3 million euros in new equipment and production facilities, expanding the product and customer portfolio.
2020
