Development in Portugal
In 1963, a group of Portuguese industrialists founded the company Gametal Metalúrgica da Gandarinha, S.A. in Cucujães, 40 km south of Porto, Portugal's industrial capital. After its foundation, from 1967, production was initially carried out in a small workshop in Cucujães. Right from the start, Gametal produced tools and forming parts primarily for the automotive industry, which at the time was just in its infancy in Portugal.
In the 1980s, the French group of companies Bertrand Faure-now Faurecia-acquired Gametal and expanded its activities. In 1993 the company was then sold to KIRCHHOFF Automotive and experienced a rapid expansion. Although production in Cucujães had been increased many times, the location reached its capacity limit at the end of the 1990s. In 1998, all presses and units of the welding stations were eventually transferred to a second plant in Ovar, which had also already been extended several times. The number of employees grew from the initial 70 to nearly 550 and annual sales quadrupled. In December 2014, a new historic milestone was achieved with the change of the Company's corporate name from Gametal to KIRCHHOFF Automotive Portugal, S.A. providing a global identification with the KIRCHHOFF Automotive Group, to which it belongs. Also the company headquarters moved from the Cucujães facilities to Ovar.
The combination of German know-how and Portuguese adaptability is the key to this success. The focus is always on implementing the latest technologies and equipment: the main production processes include forming, robot welding, and surface treatment. Daily, the parts manufactured in Ovar and Cucujães are dispatched to large automobile manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Ford, and General Motors, as well as Tier 1 suppliers.
We regularly invest in new technologies and in the training of our staff in order to meet the high quality and service requirements.