Beginning – 1870
The beginning of CORTICEIRA AMORIM’s activity, with the establishment of a factory to produce Port Wine corks by hand.

Founding of the first company – 1922
Constitution of Amorim & Irmãos, Lda., the company which gave rise to the universe of companies that now make up CORTICEIRA AMORIM.
By the 1930s, Amorim & Irmãos was the biggest cork stopper factory in the North of Portugal.

1st Phase
Downstream: diversification of uses and applications of cork

Although Portugal led the production of cork, most of the raw material was exported unrefined then processed in other countries. A verticalisation strategy was urgently needed, so that Portugal would also lead the cork transformation process.

Pursuing the strategy outlined, in 1963 Corticeira Amorim Lda. was set up to transform the cork waste produced by Amorim & Irmãos.

1966 saw the creation of Corticeira Amorim Algarve, Lda., established to produce black agglomerates used in thermal, acoustic and anti-vibratic insulation.

In 1978 CORTICEIRA AMORIM entered the parquets, floor and wall coverings market, with the founding of Ipocork - Indústria de Pavimentos e Decoração, S.A. (now Amorim Revestimentos, S.A.). Production of gaskets and other corkrubber components also begins in this year.

In 1982 Champcork was set up, a company designed to produce stoppers for champagne and sparkling wines. Thanks to their ultramodern technology, within two years the company was selling 80 million cork stoppers per year, with the capacity to double this number.

2nd Phase
Upstream: diversification of the geographical supply zones and presence in the cork-producing countries

In 1972 Comatral - Compagnie Marocaine de Transformation du Liège, S.A. (the first manufacturing unit outside the national territory) is installed in Morocco, to process the local raw material.

1976 sees the acquisition of Samec, S.A., one of the biggest Spanish cork-producing companies, located in a geographical region with significant cork forests.

The establishment of Amorim & Irmãos, S.A. – Ponte de Sôr Unit in 2000 drives the creation of a centre for preparation of raw material and manufacture of discs for the Twin Top® stopper. The revolutionary CONVEX® cork-boiling system is introduced.

In a process of privatisations of competing sectors that are not considered strategic for the Tunisian State, in 2001 a major share is acquired in the Société Nationale du Liège (SNL), a company located in the centre of the main cork-producing region in Tunisia and Algeria that carries out its activity in various segments of cork processing (natural cork stoppers, discs, granulates and agglomerates).

In 2001 Amorim & Irmãos, S.A. sets up the Coruche Unit, identical to the Ponte de Sôr factory and intended for the production of discs for champagne corks marketed under the Spark® brand.

In 1967 Gerhard Schiesser GmbH is founded in Vienna, Austria, a commercial warehouse important for promoting relations with the Eastern European markets, given the political restrictions in this geographical area.

1984 sees the emergence of the first mixed Luso-Hungarian industrial company, Hungarocork-Amorim, GmbH, the result of merging CORTICEIRA AMORIM with two Hungarian state companies. Because it owns manufacturing units, Hungarocork has the capacity to produce 120 million cork stoppers per year and to transform the waste into granules destined for applications in civil construction.

In 1989 the Swedish group Wicanders is acquired, an important step that reinforces competencies in the flooring segment, since the group has a powerful, prestigious image and considerable marketing strength based on a vast distribution network, especially in the countries of Northern and Central Europe.

1992, acquisition of Carlo Ed. Meyer, GmbH & Co., German leader in importing and distributing cork flooring, responsible for marketing 2,000,000 metres² of decorative flooring and parquets every year.

CDM – Composite Damping Material, S.A. is also acquired, a Belgian company specialising in acoustic and anti-vibratic insulation, and a joint venture is set up with Kies Kurk, B.V., a Dutch company founded in 1845 which owned a network of more than 150 distributors of material for flooring and wall covering materials.

1999 sees the acquisition of 50% of Industria Corchera, S.A., a Chilean company that leads in supplying components to the wine-producing industry, from equipment, capsules, muselets and barrels, to the natural cork stoppers which are their main product line.

2006 Amorim & Irmãos acquires shares in the French company Société Nouvelle des Bouchons Trescases, S.A., a byword for prestige in the French stoppers market, possessing excellent commercial positioning, above all in natural stoppers destined for top-of-the-range wines.

In 2007, CORTICEIRA AMORIM acquires 87% total stake in the Oller Group, by acquiring an equivalent percentage of the share capital of the French company S.A. OLLER ET CIE, based in Reims, and the Catalan company Francisco Oller, S.A. with head-office in Cassà de la Selva. With this participation, CORTICEIRA AMORIM intends the strengthen its production and distribution capacities of champagne cork stoppers.

Amorim France announces the acquisition of SOBEFI, a sales and production unit of bar-top Closures, located in France's Cognac region, an important contribution towards the Stopper Business Unit Strategy of achieving growth in premium, high value-added segments.

Organisation, R&D and sustainable development

With industrial units capable of producing all cork derived products, CORTICEIRA AMORIM defines a new strategy: differentiation by quality, thus reinforcing its policies and competencies in research and quality control.
It is in this context that Labcork - Laboratório Central do Grupo Amorim, S.A., emerges in 1983, cutting across all of the Group’s cork-related activity, aimed at anticipating and responding to the foreseeable demands of this expanding market, adapting production to the new bottling processes and the market needs of different drinks, complying with strict international standards.
Foundation of the Amorim Academy in 1991, an international institution to promote wine, whose mission is to encourage research and scientific work to improve wine conservation conditions. The Amorim Academy continues to be a landmark institution.

2002 sees the beginning of the process to restructure the universe of the Natural Cork Stopper Business Unit factories, the objective being to rationalise costs, centralise services and standardise production processes which are scattered across the different manufacturing units. Amorim & Irmãos leads a process of merger with other manufacturing units that had previously operated independently in the market.

In 2004, CORTICEIRA AMORIM strengthens internal competencies and partnerships with a view to promoting Research and Development activities able to bring transversal benefits to all the Business Units that it encompasses. The Department for Developing New Applications and Products in / with Cork is created. In this way a network of knowledge is established to reinforce the sharing and transfer of knowledge between Business Units.

In 2007, CORTICEIRA AMORIM announces the creation of two macro-divisions through which its business strategy will be run - Amorim Natural Cork (for the Raw Material and Cork Stopper activities) and Amorim Cork Composites (encompassing all the agglomerated cork technical applications whether products or solutions) - and of a new horizontal support area - Amorim Cork Research, whose purpose is to meet the "innovation" challenge.

In addition to benefiting from a gift of Nature, CORTICEIRA AMORIM has conducted its activity by adopting and strengthening practices of sustainable development.

In 2007, embracing the cause of sustainability, the Group launches the CARDS PROJECT – CORTICEIRA AMORIM Towards Sustainable Development. CORTICEIRA AMORIM’s long-term contribution to competitiveness, through the operability of the Sustainable Development concept, and integration of sustainability in its control are the main vectors of the project.

In this context, CORTICEIRA AMORIM publishes the first cork industry Sustainability Report, promoting a regular and structured communication of its sustainability politics.

The Sustainability Report of CORTICEIRA AMORIM is considered, by Corporate Register, as one of the best three world’s sustainability report as regards Openness and Honesty.