Founded in 1973 in the home textiles sector, Salvador e Filhos shifted its focus 25 years ago towards industrial embroidery, badges, flags and textile personalisation. Based in Nelas, in the Viseu district, and now led by the family’s second generation, the company has embroidery as its core business, with only a residual activity remaining in home textiles.
The move into embroidery initially came through the personalisation of home textile products for the hospitality sector, such as bed sheets, pillowcases and towels, but quickly expanded into other areas, including workwear, merchandising, motorcycle clubs, fire brigades, sports, and the production of flags and banners.
With a workforce of eight, Salvador e Filhos is capable of producing between 1,000 and 2,000 embroidered pieces per day, depending on the complexity of the work. «We have industrial and electronic machines with high capacity. They require very little human intervention», explains Álvaro Salvador, managing director and son of the company’s founder.
Over the past two years, the company has invested around 300,000 euros in new machinery and its own facilities, which comprise 2,000 square metres of covered space. According to Álvaro Salvador, the investment has doubled production capacity. «Within our field, there are not many companies in Portugal with the conditions we have. Technologically, we have highly modernised machinery and excellent working conditions», he stresses.
In 2025, the company recorded turnover of close to 500,000 euros, with around 40% of revenue generated from exports. France, Spain and Switzerland are among its main foreign markets, largely due to the presence of Portuguese communities.
Despite the positive results achieved last year, the managing director acknowledges a slowdown at the beginning of this year, estimating a decline of between 10% and 15% compared with the same period in 2025. «You can see that this year has been more turbulent», he says, pointing to economic uncertainty and reduced purchasing power as the main factors affecting the market.
The unpredictability of orders is another challenge identified by the company. «There are more orders, but they are smaller», he notes. «It is much more advantageous to have fewer, but larger orders», he adds, explaining that urgent, small-scale requests put pressure on production planning and profitability.
To accelerate the acquisition of new customers, particularly international ones, Salvador e Filhos took part for the first time in ITF Intertex, held in Matosinhos in May, and plans to exhibit at the Madrid edition. «I believe Intertex will be a good trade fair to support our internationalisation, because it attracts visitors and exhibitors from many different countries», says Álvaro Salvador.
