Welcome Center

Located in the Oliva tower – one of the most emblematic and historic buildings of S. João da Madeira -, the Welcome Center is a space where people can get all the information that they need about Industrial Tourism in S. João da Madeira and about the Industrial Patrimony circuits.

Here it’s possible to book industries tours; request an industrial tourist guide; ask questions and to register in a workshop. A team will be available to help, to present the industrial touristic guide and to provide the multimedia guide of the factories and institutions that the people want to visit.

Make yourself a visit to Welcome Center and find out, right there, what we have to show. Check the interactive table with the information about the circuit and get to know the history of Viarco and the Oliva factory by using two chronologic interactive bars.

This space is the starting point for an unforgettable trip to the past, present and future of our manufacturing history.

"Cortadoria Nacional de Pelo"

Up until the 40’s decade, collecting, conserving and classifying national fur was carried out with deficiencies, increased by the lack of infrastructures and means, which the method of preparing the fur demanded. In an attempt to meet these needs, the "Cortadoria Nacional do Pelo" is established in 1943, and since then, it is dedicated to the preparation of rabbit, hare and beaver fur for the hat and wool industries.

In 1960, under António Oliveira Figueiredo, the society’s manager, the factory building, where the company continues to work until today, is opened. At the time the building’s first stone was laid, in 1957, a glass vase with coins from that time was set into the foundations, in order to perpetuate the memory of the event.

Nowadays, it is one of the biggest companies from the sector worldwide, marketing a wide range of products in different parts of the world. Here, the raw materials are handled in a way to obtain high quality fur for the manufacturing of felt and non-felt textiles.

Evereste

Running in family molds, Evereste has about sixty employees in the production of high quality shoes, maintaining a great manufacturing component. João Fernandes created the company in 1942, when production would not go beyond ten pairs a day.

Entering the second decade of the twenty-first century, Everest is run by the second generation of the family, in collaboration with the third generation and ruled by the principles and values undertaken since its inception.

The company carries out the entire production line, which includes the stages of investigation, creation, marketing, production, distribution and post-sales support. There are high quality raw materials being used associated with the fashion concept. Everest produces different brands, such as Cohibas, Miguel Vieira, Fugato, Evereste e Chibs.

"FEPSA - Feltros Portugueses S.A."

Emerging from the strategic vision of six industrials that in 1969 decided to join forces and merge the production of felts in a single company, "FEPSA - Feltros Portugueses, S.A." is today the world leader in the production of quality felt hat bodies.

Over the years, FEPSA has been innovating, both in terms of technologies, processes and products, and in terms of management systems, which allowed a significant competitive advantage which ultimately lead to the control of one fourth of global market share.

Comprised by 200 employees, the company has an annual turnover of nine million Euros, corresponding to half million units sold in five the continents.

Footwear Industry Professional Training Centre

Founded in 1965, the "Centro de Formação Profissional da Indústria de Calçado" had as a primary mission to provide the workers with the indispensable qualifications for industrial activity. In an early stage, small courses in the area of footwear sewing, patetern and cut were introduced.

In 1974, its current facilities were inaugurated, which allowed a response to the development known by the Portuguese industry in that decade. At the time, several training locations were opened throughout the country. Later on, especially from the 80’s onwards, the centre was able to answer challenges brought up by new technologies and their growing relevance in corporate life.

Nowadays, the centre develops an educational policy where technical excellence combines with design and brand concept. Ensuring the adequacy of school curricula in an increasingly demanding global market is a constant concern, which translates into quality teaching, benefiting from a building equipped with training means at the forefront of the sector.

Hat Museum

The city's Hat Museum, the only one of its kind in all Iberian Peninsula, is located in an historical hat factory called “Empresa Industrial da Chapelaria”. Inside the Museum, the exhibition includes machinery, tools, raw materials, hats and testimonials by old workers.

All of this is presented in a dynamic building, always in motion.

Visitors have the possibility to see, touch, smell and feel the raw materials. They can also watch workers shaping hats that are sold in the Museum shop.

Heliotextil

"Heliotextil - Etiquetas e Passamanarias S. A." was founded in 1964 under the name "Bulhosas e Aguiar Lda." And only in 1972 did it change to the current designation. Throughout the years, it has grown significantly, increasing its productivity, as well as the quality of its products and services provided.

The company creates, develops, produces and commercializes labels, transfers, ribbons and rubber bands, among other accessories. Customers specialize in a variety of industries, such as the textile, footwear and car industries, commerce, services and advertising.

The investment made in the infrastructures and equipment, the certification and value given to its assets, as well as a continued training are crucial points of the company's strategy to achieve success. It employs about one hundred workers and it is a complete and modern industrial unit in the production of textile accessories.

Helsar

The name emerged from the junction of other two, Hélder and Sara, and it intended to pay homage to the first born children of the two founding partners. Created in 1979. Helsar was initially dedicated to the manufacturing of children shoes. One year later, it started to produce, exclusively, women's high quality footwear, an activity that continued until today.

It is essentially a family business, which has grown and developed itself as a result of the know how acquired throughout the years, and also because of a clear bet on design and the quality of the materials used. Sophistication, creativity and originality are present in every creation and sustain the status that the company achieved, positioning itself among the best, nationally, in regards to women's shoe industries.

Helsar exports to different countries and it is known for its exclusive and totally personalized service in bridal shoes. In Portugal, it is also a pioneer in the manufacturing of twisted shoes, carried out through a manual process and with an exclusive design.

Portugal's Footwear Technological Centre

The "Centro Tecnológico do Calçado de Portugal" is a non-profit organization, founded in 1986 by the sector's industrials association (APICCAPS) and by two institutes from the Ministry of Economy dedicated to innovation support - IAPMEI and INETI. It helps the companies from the sector, in terms of human resources' technical training, product development, as well as materials and equipment investigation.

Sharing technical information with the industry is another one of this structure's aims. The "Centro Tecnológico do Calçado de Portugal" thus provides a set of services in the area of industrial organization, which include quality control, company certification, environmental consultancy, chemical and physical trials, technological surveillance, hygiene and safety conditions at work, design and multimedia, among others.

Viarco

Viarco is the only pencil factory in Portugal and, probably, also one of the most versatile in the world. Its ancient history begins in Vila do Conde, in the year 1907 and, at the time, it was known as “Portugália – Fábrica Portuguesa de Lápis” (Portugália – Portuguese Pencil Factory).

In 1931, it comes to a turning point, when Manoel Vieira Araújo, an experienced industry producer from the hat industry, acquires the company. In the year 1936, the brand Viarco was registered, a brand that would become extremely significant to the country and that would accompany different generations of Portuguese people up to the present. Five years later, in 1941, the company moves to S. João da Madeira, where it operates even today.

Always paying attention to the development in the sector, Viarco produces a wide variety of technical and common use pencils, as well as specific products by order. Without neglecting the social aspect of its functions, the company often establishes social partnerships and associates with educational, cultural and solidarity institutions. Building the Pencil Museum and providing different workshops for young artists in the beginning of their careers are projects under development.