José Alexandre Oliveira has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of Riopele since 2007, but it was on the
"shop floor" that he began his career in what is now one of the biggest textile companies in the country.
"It's where you learn everything! It was extremely important and probably the best experience I could have had," he says.
It was 1977 when he started working at Riopele, but his passion for the textile giant based in Famalicão was born much earlier. More specifically, he remembers his childhood days spent playing in the corridors of the factory founded by his grandfather and later run by his father.
With the Riopele "big family" very close to turning 100 (it was founded in 1927) and having closed 2023 with historic sales of 98 million euros, José Alexandre Oliveira believes that the recipe that has made Riopele grow "is not outdated". "It's always about innovating and developing products," he tells us, recalling the more than thirty professionals who now work at Riopele exclusively in the area of product development.
He is quick to point out that the workers - "everyone" - are Riopele's strong point. "If we are all aligned and if we have an innovative and competitive product, then we have everything to believe in the future," he said.
The journey of José Alexandre Oliveira and Riopele merited the attention of the mayor, as part of the "Faces of the European Entrepreneurial Region" tour, which has showcased many of the names that help position Vila Nova de Famalicão as one of the country's largest and most thriving economies and boost its entrepreneurial DNA.
During his visit to the company last Thursday, 9 May, Mário Passos got to know first-hand the strength of this historic company in the municipality. "I left Riopele very impressed with its vitality and the innovation and sophistication we see throughout the production process. About to turn 100, Riopele is giving us great lessons on what the future of the textile industry should look like," said the mayor.
Founded in 1927, Riopele is one of Portugal's oldest textile companies and an international benchmark in the creation and production of fabrics for fashion and clothing collections. Incorporating sustainable practices at all levels of the business, Riopele is committed to producing high quality fabrics made from natural, synthetic, artificial and recycled fibres, specialising in polyester/ viscose/ elastane.
As a leading company in the production of fashion fabrics, Riopele vertically integrates the areas of R&D, Spinning, Dyeing, Twisting, Weaving and Finishing, offering a vertical textile production service capable of keeping up with the current fast pace of the fashion industry. With almost 100 years' experience in the textile and fashion industry, Riopele also offers a vertical service in the creation and production of garments, based on the values of quality, reliability and excellent customer service.