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With new competition from low-cost production locations like Eastern Europe and Asia, Portugal's textile industry has concentrated on a new formula to keep the industry competitive internationally, namely, quality. In the past, multinationals chose to manufacture their textiles in Portugal due to the country's low labor costs. Today Portugal's numbers cannot compete with that of some countries outside Europe. Textile producers are now using quality as their ammunition in the global fight for customers. Sonicarla is one Portuguese textile company obsessed with improving quality. This manufacturer of seamless textiles has an ongoing strategy of equipment modernization to provide the quality demanded by customers. This has put the company in a leading position among both local and foreign companies in the same sector. "By June of 2003 we will be one of the most modern in seamless textile manufacturing in Europe," says Antonio Ferreira, Sonicarla's president and founder. With its high quality products, Sonicarla has managed to acquire an impressive portfolio of clients. Today the company works with prestigious brands like Armani, Donna Karan and Jockey. Ferrera is now turning his gaze to Asia, and especially to Japanese clients. He points out: "I believe we have the quality that the Japanese textile producers are looking for." Sonicarla has kept up the quality of its products partly by resisting the lure of outsourcing production. "We prefer to have total control of the technology and quality of our products," Ferreira stresses. A newly developed brand, Nerva, is selling successfully in Europe. Sonicarla is introducing another brand this month - Filfine - which will be availablecan in Sonicarla shops in Lisbon and Porto. Ferreira and his two daughters, Sonia and Carla -- who both work in the company -- are looking forward to their company's growth. "This being a family company, I am always thinking about what I will leave behind for my daughters," says Ferreira. "I want to leave behind the best. In the future we will focus always on updating our technology and focusing on what we know best: seamless textiles and sportswear."
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