The Plastifa is a famalicense company specialized in plastic injection, focusing on the production of components for the automotive sector. With a turnover close to 7.5 million euros in the last year, the company created a new biomaterial produced with olive stone and thermoplastic, 100% biological, which has already been tested and will be applied in consumer products, thus replacing the use of polymer, a petroleum-based material used in the compounding of plastic, and responding to a growing concern with sustainability.
"We have passed the testing phase with great results and we are in a production start-up phase" announced Manuel Carvalho, director of Plastifa, explaining that the development process was done together with a partner "that collects the product, from olive trees in the Alentejo, and that through extrusion leaves us the component of the olive stone so that we can mix it with polypropylene, ensuring reliability and quality characteristics that a product of this nature requires".
In addition to this novelty, the management also mentioned that, alongside the concern with the environmental footprint, the company has also invested in the "digitalisation of the entire production process", allowing the client to be able to follow the development of the product, from the moment they place an order "until it leaves the factory".
"It's another successful company that reflects the innovative and creative potential of our territory" highlighted the Mayor, Mário Passos, during his visit to Plastifa's facilities, on Wednesday morning, under the Famalicão Created IN route. The mayor highlights that this company "represents well the evolution of the productive fabric of the municipality, which today is based on a paradigm of research and product development, and not only in its production".
The company inaugurated a new production unit in Requião in 2018, a space that it intends to expand in the next two years, in order to keep up with the company's expected growth.