Cerâmica de Valadares is a Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 company which produces sanitary ware and ceramic fittings. Cerâmica de Valadares' factory is located in the parish of Valadares, in the city Vila Nova de Gaia

Vila Nova de Gaia

Vila Nova de Gaia, or simply Gaia is a city in Vila Nova de Gaia Municipality, Portugal. It is located in the Porto District, south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper has a population of 178,255 and the municipality contains 24 parishes with a total...

 and was founded in 25 April 1921.

History

Cerâmica de Valadares was founded in 25 April 1921, started by producing minor ceramic products. During the first half of the 20th century it was an important factor of development of Valadares, attracting people from the interior of the country and developing small shops in the zones nearby. In the decade of 80, there was a big change in Cerâmica de Valadares' production; the factory started to invest only in sanitary ware and ceramic fittings for bathrooms. In 1993, there was produced the first ecological "water-saving" toilet in Portugal,.

Present Situation

Nowadays, this company produces per year, between 800000 and 900000 ceramic pieces, employs 560 workers and the factory occupies an area of 176000 square meters. It is the leading exporter of sanitary ware and ceramic fittings in Portugal (exporting 60% of the production), and among other countries, Cerâmica de Valadares exports to Spain, UAE, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. It is frequently present in several fairs about design's sanitary ware and ceramic fittings. Some of Cerâmica de Valadares' projects worldwide, include Palm Island

Palm Island

Palm Island may refer to:* Palm Island, Queensland, Australia, the community on Great Palm Island* Great Palm Island, Queensland, Australia, the island* Palm Island, Grenadines...

, in Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

, the new church of Santíssima Trindade, in Fátima

Fatima

-People:* Fatima , a female given name of Arabic origin* Fatima bint Muhammad, daughter of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad* Fatima Jinnah, the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah...

, Dubai Sports city and Torre Sacyr-VallHermoso in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, Spain., . Recently Cerâmica de Valadares has won a Jury Mention in Tektónica08, a fair dedicated to innovation in construction materials, . The majority of Valadares' products are certified by the Quality Institute of Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, German LGA, Dutch KIWA

Kiwa

Kiwa or KIWA may refer to:* Kiwa , Finland* Kiwa, Mie, Japan* Kiwa , a guardian of the sea in Māori tradition* Kiwa, a genus of crustaceans containing the species Kiwa hirsuta...

and British WRC

WRC

WRC may refer to:Auto racing:* World Rally Championship* World Rally CarVideo games:* World Rally Championship * WRC: Rally Evolved* WRC: FIA World Rally Championship Broadcasting stations:...

,.

Cerâmica de Valadares and Valadares' coat of arms

Valadares' coat of arms has a vase

Vase

The vase is an open container, often used to hold cut flowers. It can be made from a number of materials including ceramics and glass. The vase is often decorated and thus used to extend the beauty of its contents....

with a dentate wheel behind. The vase with the dentate wheel represents the ceramic industry in Valadares, which is represented by the factory Cerâmica de Valadares,