www.papelaco.pt

Bank automation, office automation, sound and image, security systems and document management are the preferential areas of activity of Papelaco, a group that has already reached a significant size in the Portuguese market.

Papelaco SA, the group's parent company, was born three decades ago and was dedicated to importing and selling office equipment. In 1974, the company was a pioneer in this sector in Portugal, the first to install and sell fax machines in the country. 1982 was a year of change in the course of the history of Papelaco, when it became Panasonic's exclusive representative in Portugal in the fields of office automation, telecommunications and computer peripherals, which granted it the leadership of this sector.

From the end of the 1980s, the size the group reached meant involvement in other areas, investing in the development, production and assistance of equipment for bank automation. Document management, security systems and sound and video equipment were other sectors that Papelaco began to invest in.

Today the group consists of over 20 companies and has over a thousand employees, and is the leader in the Portuguese market of ATM (Automated Teller Machines) equipment.

In 1999 the group had a turnover of 130 million USD, a historic result that was caused in part by the 'production boom' due to the conversion of equipment for year 2000.

Papelaco's expansion strategy isn't limited to just creating companies. According to João Leitão and Paulo Sousa, administrators of PDSL-Papelaco (one of the chief companies in the group), the company produced "a set of platforms to ease the integration of equipment in different computer environments", such as support for Microsoft's platform WOSA/XFS (Windows Open Systems Architecture - Extensions for Financial Services), with the objective of opening the market and being capable of responding to clients using networks different from the Iberian ones.

So as to conquer new markets, PDSL-Papelaco decided to invest in the development of equipment and solutions in the field of automated attendance technologies, which after all is the company's core business, focusing its activity in technological innovation.

From another point of view, the company's activity consists in the diversification of functions and in the adaptation of existing products and solutions, which, in Paulo Sousa's opinion, brings "important gains in efficiency that are valued by both clients and markets". Another of the strategies adopted by PDSL-Papelaco and pointed out by João Leitão is the differentiation through design. "Our philosophy is based on an aesthetic conscience, aimed at creating a warmer and more user-friendly relationship between man and machine".

The product lines launched last year include: three multifunction kiosks, a new equipment of ATM with special note for the ATM Reciclator which allows to use the deposits already done to separate the bills and put them available for automatic withdrawals, without the need for any outside intervention. According to the company's officials, this equipment, although it is already in use in the Japanese market, is a novelty in Europe.

While 85 percent of the Papelaco production volume is for the home market, it is one of the group's objectives to strengthen their presence in other countries.

Because of the high level of production of this equipment (approximately two thousand units are made annually), Papelaco had to create companies in its main external export markets (Spain, Brazil, Cape Verde Is. and Mozambique), in order to ensure the sale and installation of the ATMs. As well as in these countries, the group also trades in Angola, Costa Rica, France, Holland, Poland, Malaysia, Morocco, Panama, Hungary and Timor, using existing distribution networks.

Out of all the countries that Papelaco already trades in, the most strategically important is Spain, where business is specifically directed to the financial sector. According to the group's officials, the evolution in this market will naturally include the "improvement of the distribution network", allowing for a "more significant presence" in the country, and an increase of over 5 percent in this market's yearly sales is expected.

After conquering Spain, Papelaco "will also invest in the entire Euro zone", especially with the new ATM equipment that allows the "recycling" and checking of deposits made, "since a huge amount of equipment updating is expected".

PAPELACO
Zona Industrial Cruz do Barro
Apartado 139
2561 Torres Vedras Codex
Tel: (+351) 261 313374
Fax: (+351) 261 313484
www.papelaco.pt