Companies

Solpré flies high in foreign markets

Oct 16, 2023 Portugal

The Portuguese footwear components company already exports over 35% of its total sales, while continuing to make strides in the sustainability area

“This figure, when we’re talking about components, which is a subsector of the footwear industry, is quite a difficult target to achieve, since proximity to the supply chain is usually a key element in the decision of brands and manufacturers”, explained Alexandre Pimenta, the responsible for the company.

“Direct exports have been one of our main growth drivers. As we know, demand for prefabricated soles in Portugal is substantially lower than for injected soles, so we had to turn to international markets if we wanted to increase our turnover. Our goal is to consolidate the percentage in the long term, so that reaches at least always over 30%”, he added. Therefore, to strengthen its position in foreign markets, it participated for the first time in the last edition of Lineapelle, in Milan.

Founded in 1988, Solpré specializes in the production of prefabricated soles but has also implemented the production of other types of components, which allows it to respond more quickly to customer requests. What’s more, it does so by providing a vertical service, from development to production, which, in Alexandre Pimenta’s view, sets Solpré apart from the competition. “This verticalization conveys a message of great exclusivity and trust because we have internalised practically all the operations that relate to the manufacture of soles”.

The company also finds in sustainability another key advantage. Solpré has just obtained the Global Recycled Standard (GRS 4.0) certification, thus validating its commitment to the circular economy and recycled materials, as this is a globally recognised standard that assesses the companies’ compliance with the production, traceability, and authenticity of products made with recycled materials.

In addition, in 2005, was certified by the NP EN 9001:2000 standard, in 2021 certified its environmental management system (NP EN ISO 14001:2015) and, in 2022, obtained FSC certification.

Source and Image Credits: portugueseshoes.pt

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