Cork has always been associated with bases of all kinds. The coatings – the soundproofing of studios or the musicians are well aware of its importance. And so it was for decades. But cork is much more than that and, after the crisis of the late nineties of the last century, came to be present in many other sectors of industry activity. It opened the horizons. Bet on innovation and reinvention. Today we can see industrial cork closures in sectors such as footwear, clothing, automobile, rail, aeronautics or aerospace. And, according to official indicators, this tendency is to continue through an incessant search for new applications.
It is something that is already beginning to be verified in the export values. The industry exports to a total of 133 countries, with the cork weighing 72%, building material reaching 25% and many products reaching 3%, but with new application having great potential of growth. In fact, cork wants to carry on to assert itself not only in the world of wine, but also through an incessant search for new applications.
In a sector that involves about 600 companies and more than eight thousand workers, the main markets are European and North American. And growth is still the big challenge.
The cork sector is extremely interesting from various perspectives, both from operations, from the market and even from the financial management of the business itself. Despite being a traditional sector, it has managed to outline a strategy that is beginning to consistently deliver its results. Look at the entire value chain, from raw materials to the market where the product is consumed. I would even say it is the only business where you can get fully control over the entire value chain. It is a vertical business from a global perspective and at the same time challenging because it leads the production of raw materials, but it also leads the production of their transformation and distribution.
Ryan Myers is a business blog author and writer. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009 with a degree in Political Science. His favorite topics to write about are blogging for small businesses and becoming an entrepreneur.
