From the past to the present...

                 Augusto Sousa                                                                                                         Serafim Caetano

- It is the year 1949. This year three men in the place of Mirões, decided to join and form an irregular company under the name of Alberto, Caetano & Sousa. Were they;

- Germano Alberto de Pinho, 35, married, Tinker and industrial worker in Melo Reis & Oliveira, Lda, no schooling;

- Augusto Gomes de Sousa, 25, also married and also Tinker and worker in the same company, possessing the fourth grade of schooling;

- Serafim José Caetano, 35, married, Tinker, worker in Claudino Azevedo Tavares and also without any schooling.

- First installations in place of Picoto until 1958, as industry of tin sheet and brass.


First installations

- The main products were watering cans, basins, buckets, gasometers, blowers, and other related products, and had as main raw materials galvanized steel sheet, the sheet of tin and wood.


Products manufactured until 1975.

- In 1953, the partner Germano leaves the company.

- On April 30, 1955, (Augusto Gomes de Sousa and José Serafim Caetano) decide to consolidate the business relationship through a public deed.

- Given the difficult accessibility to the main thoroughfare for loading and unloading that were done manually, the partners decided to move premises in 1958 for a dwelling of two floors, close to the Chapel of Our Lady of Grace. This house belonged to Antonio Thomas, who also provided assistance to the company as a bookkeeper (as it was called then) and came to have an important role in difficult times and for that we express our gratitude.


Company facilities from 1958 to 1972

- On April 9, 1960, a tragic motorcycle accident in Albergaria-a-Velha, victims the partner Augusto. This is a crucial time for the continuity of small industry. If up until this day had the problems peculiar to the life of any company, from that time was almost decapitated, as was the only partner who could read and write and the only one with skills for commercial work.

- The widow of a deceased partner - Natália Alves de Oliveira - takes the place of her husband. Being a willful gesture on her part, will also be the fulfillment of a promise of intimacy in which the husband, perhaps following a hunch, have asked her "if anything happens to me I wish that the plant reaches our children." And his fears were justified now.

- In 1967, the partner Serafim leaves the company, being thereafter Natalia, who had only the capacity of their work. As was also illiterate, had the eldest son (Cesario) then aged 17, to assume the leadership of the industry.

- New challenges are posed to the continuity of the industry with the untimely death of the second boy's family at age 16, when he was expected to replace older, while he fulfilled his military service. Again the plant is set adrift.

- The "invasion" of the plastics industry has complicated greatly the continuity of this type of industry. In fact, the buckets, bowls and watering cans galvanized sheet metal products that were relevant, they begin to see themselves replaced by vessels for the same purpose in plastic. The arrival of electricity to the countryside, led to the end of the production of gasometers, ending what was left of this industry.

At this height the claw of Natalie while the eldest son was away on military service, was vital for the industry did not have an end.

Later and against all odds, the company buys land in Mirões, and then builds the principle than it is today. The move to the new flag and own property was made in 1972, being carried out by bullock carts.

- In 1995, Natalia gives the children their share (13/16) and after several negotiations, the company was fully acquired by Cesario and his wife Alice.

Was carried out restructuring and conversion of the Company after April 25, 1974 and then opened up new frontiers. Was abandoned tin and the products were now manufactured ironing boards, ladders and camping equipment. Were introduced later clothes driers.

The new management has been designated for export which has come to represent 80% of net turnover, forced the company to engage in productive processes in large quantities, so that the company became competitive in international markets. Right now employs 100 people, and has found solutions to the challenges of their time. It has customers in all continents, and presents its products at international fairs such as Lisbon, Bilbao, Birmingham, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt and Dubai.

- The company currently Sonecol Industria Metalúrgica de Utilidades Domésticas, S.A., has as administrators Cesario Sousa Sousa and his wife Alice, their daughters, Ana Teresa Sousa and Ana Cristina Santos and her husband Sergio Santos in the bodies of the company, not deviating from its core family.