As one of the few Portuguese factories able to stay operating, Francisco Braga, CEO of Mesa Ceramics, tells Tableware International how they approached the Covid-19 crisis
“Mesa Ceramics was fortunate enough to be one of the few ceramic factories in Portugal, and Europe, to able to keep the doors open since the beginning of the coronavirus struggle. It hasn’t been an easy task and it forced the company to change the way it normally operated.
Portugal has been one of the few countries that decided to impose restrictions on the circulation of people since very early on and this has impacted the industry in a general way. Some of our suppliers were forced to close doors and others had to restrict their production capacity and prioritize the food industry. But we would like to acknowledge that our main suppliers made an extra effort to keep the supply chain running and that has allowed us not to stop for lack of material.
“We are still producing and delivering all orders.”
We are proud of the Mesa Ceramics team that currently works in our factory or at home – all united with a strong spirit and professionalism, in order to support and meet the needs of our customers. Mesa Ceramics’ goal is to continue to meet the best expectations of our partners and clients while developing new, exciting products. We have our designing team working to present new and innovative products in the seasons to come. These are not times to stand still and we believe that our future will be bright. We are still producing and delivering all orders.
In countercyclical with the major industries of the country, Mesa Ceramics didn’t stop all efforts and investments on the production area. We continue to invest in the factory and are proud to announce we have just installed the third glazing spray line as well as the investment in Mesa II unit with new roller and ram presses that will help to increase the production response and flexibility.
Hoping for better days and for the excitement of the reopening of markets and stores, Mesa Ceramics efforts to reshape the future will indeed pay off.”
