WHO WE ARE

MAQUINDAL Lda. Estrada Nacional nº 247 Zona Industrial - Pav. 7 LOUREL PARK Limites do Ral - 2710-234 SINTRA - PT Tel.: (351) 21 961 33 51 Fax: (351) 21 961 33 52 elem: (351) 96 662 18 82 e.mail:  vmartins@maquindal.pt fabrica@maquindal.pt

HISTORY

MAQUINDAL – Máquinas Equipamentos para Industria Alimentar Lda. (Machinery and Equipment for the Nourishing Industry) – was constituted in 1992 by a group of 5 ex-workers from the company REKENA – Fornos e Máquinas (Oven and Machinery). At that time this company was passing through serious difficulties, which led to the firing of these workers.
Aware of their skills, either technical either of marketing knowledge, they decided to constitute MAQUINDAL Lda, creating then their own jobs.
For that effect, they’ve prepared an investment plan, and besides asking in advance for the payment of the unemployment benefits (CPE), they’ve also applied for the program of Local Development Initiatives.
With their own capitals and some financial means coming from these two programs, they’ve managed to achieve the investment needed for the beginning of their activity of producing machines for the nourishing industry, centralising their production in the execution of two types of machines: blenders for the pastry industry and separators/rollers for panification industry (several models of each machine).

The company was constituted by means of a public deed on the 14th of September 1992.
Its activity started in December 1992, having immediately reached a considerable productive and commercial success, surpassing during the first year in full activity (1993) 33% of the goals established in the plan. At present MAQUINDAL Lda. is producing and commercializing 100% above the initial perspectives.

For these results, the following aspects were very important:

• The excellent relation quality/price, has a result of a good evaluation of the market conditions either in the supply either in the fulfilment of the client’s requests;
• The quality and inducement of human resources allowed an 80% increase of the production between 1993 and 1996 making investments in fixed capital only equivalent to the accomplished amortizations;
• The development of export activities starting in 1994, that represents now more than 25% of the company receipts;
• The balance of the company’s financial situation, with an increasing financial autonomy and a comfortable treasury.

This company has been following a logic of specialization of the initial equipment’s production, as a result of an initial option of concentrating their production in a specified model of similar equipment in order to gain experience and to be implanted in the market.
As soon as the initial viability stage was finally surpassed, their goal was to conclude gradually a range of equipment that answered all the needs of bread-making industry (also the pastry industry, in a secondary position) in the entire dough handling area.
With one year in advance of the foreseen result (1993), the mentioned stage was finally surpassed and the company started to gather enough means in order to widen their range of equipment, starting to develop a type of mixer and then proceeding to its execution and commercialization.
In the meantime, they were hindered from widening that activity for several strangling reasons either in what concerns the installations that did not allow neither the production’s increase nor diversification, either in what concerns the installed equipment that also had to face the same restrictions.
It was then impossible to complete the product’s range with complementary equipment, either in the technological point of view, either in the market’s point of view, limiting since the beginning the benefits of eventual commercial and productive cooperations.
On the other hand, they soon realized that the facilities, besides all its deficiencies, were rendering impossibly the correct progress of the company in what concerned their goal of certifying the situation through the complete licensing of the company’s activity.
Also their intention of starting a quality development process, with the objective of certifying the company, improving its commercial relations namely in European Union, also failed in spite of all support given by IEFP once that the facilities would have hindered any process and also because of their characteristics and dimensions that would not allow the development of the process without losing the production capacity.
MAQUINDAL was then unable to accomplish its initial objectives in what concerned the quality plan, having to concentrate all efforts in the development of a productive and business activity with a diminished range of products following an exclusive economical logic.
They’ve managed to succeed in that specific area as the economic results and the company’s financial situation during 1994 to 1996 can prove it.
Besides all good results they’ve obtained, they thought they were able to go further and didn’t quit to accumulate some resources that would allow them to find the right solution for the situation.
In the field of the activities that tended to ensure the company’s future development and modernization, they’ve developed a Diagnostic of Investment that besides some other actuation, defined a whole of necessary investments, as well as the need of implementing and certifying a quality system.

MAQUINDAL Lda. has been certified  – rule NP EN ISO 9001 – in the quality area.

MAQUINDAL is a national registered mark – Register Number 288743 – in the Industrial Property National Institute.

ACTIVITY

The company’s activity is centralized in the main objective of producing machinery and equipment for the nourishing industry, more specifically for the bread-making and pastry industries (CAE 29530), namely blenders, separators – rollers and almond mills.
The company develops several activities on the productive cycle of these equipment, namely the components’ scheme and mounting, the final mounting, painting and finishing, having to subcontract the remaining operations (melting, sectioning and edging).
Maquindal does not have an internal commercial structure, for what the supply of the products is done through a distributors net.
Its commercial circuit is settled in a partnership basis, spread all over the country and abroad.

• Maquindal’s production is mainly characterized by nine types of equipment :
• Semi automatic Douh Divider and Rounder (2 types - 6 models) 
• Automatic Douh Divider and Rounder (2 types - 6 models) 
• Dough Divider (3 models - 2 options) 
• Automatic spiral kneading machine (7 models) 
• Planetary mixer machine (3 models - 2 options) 
• Almond grinder Dough Sheeters (2 types - 8 models) 
• Semi-automatic Bread Slicer (2 models) 
• Automatic Dosing system

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Maquindal’s associates are Albino dos Santos Brás, Francisco Lourenço de Araujo, Vitor Manuel Domingos Martins, Germinal Maria da Silva and Rui Manuel Alexandre Grilo, the same persons who had formerly constituted the company.
The company has a social capital of 20 million Portuguese Escudos.
All the associates, besides their long experience in the execution of machinery and equipment for the nourishing industry, have been a firm contribute for the development and modernization of this sector, being nowadays a reference point in the national and international markets. At the moment 30% of the production is reserved for the external market.

ORGANIZATION AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MAQUINDAL has 12 workers, of which 10 are affected to the production area (3 in the instrument machines and 7 in the mounting sector).

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