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Cláudia Costa Santos

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Carlos Vaz

Founder of Telfor

He has one of those pasts where the right place and the right time crossed paths, although these events have developed over a relatively long period, as is the case with the best businesses. Carlos Vaz founded Telfor influenced by the first company in which he worked, having entered it without any other reason besides chance and the need to earn a living. Today he has a business specialised in technical textiles and marquee rental, the latter being an area of constant growth and increasingly spread throughout the year. There are other companies in his portfolio, added in the course of a career made of determination and insight.

Carlos Vaz
Can you tell us a bit about your story?
I was born, raised and live in exactly the same place, in Guimarães. We are 11 siblings and our father was a self-made man. He traded wolfram during World War II, then he had warehouses with cereals and pesticides, and then he ran a bakery, where his children would work on the weekend, when not studying. I attended school at the Liceu de Guimarães and at a certain point I failed the year, so I did my national service instead. After that I did not want to study any more. I finished my military service and went to Endutex to work, joining the field of materials that we sell and represent today. I founded Telfor in 1987 with the Miguel Abreu, but I continued to collaborate with Endutex until 2000, where I was responsible for stock planning and management, as well as cost calculation and monitoring. I was a founding partner of the current Companhia Industrial de Embalagens, but I gave my share to the current owner, my brother. In 2003, I founded Coverflex together with my nephew, Hélder Vaz, and in 2010 I acquired L. Pereira, Lda.
«The demands were always high at that level. This is what sets us apart and we have clients who have been with us from the beginning»
Have you ever felt the desire to expand Telfor from Guimarães to other, more central locations?
There is this intention. We have a lot of work in the Lisbon and Alentejo areas, so we thought we would have someone who could work with us in these areas. This is the idea, anyway. We need to create the conditions for this, and find the right people.

What were the company’s main innovations in recent years?
This is not a sector that innovates much, in terms of innovation as such. We mainly diversify, in terms of selling and supplying of marquees, both in terms of format and colour. For example, before, there were only white marquees and now coloured marquees are in use. There are also two-colour marquees, grey on the outside and white or black inside, which are often chosen because white is not always the most suitable.

Portugal has seen a large increase in outdoor events. Does this reflect in the customers' demands regarding the marquees available in the market?
We are in the upper middle sector and have been working for 31 years with some of the best national decorators. So the demands were always high at that level. This is what sets us apart and we have clients who have been with us from the beginning.
What are your goals for the coming years?
We intend to continue to diversify markets, aiming to offer new products, always with deliveries within a maximum period of 48 hours, as is our company prerogative.
T. Sérgio Gomes da Costa
P. ©PMC
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