The first year of the consolidation of the accounts of all the Group's cork operations. The turnover of CORTICEIRA AMORIM, S.G.P.S., S.A. reaches 23.6 billion Escudos, their products represent 34% of Portuguese cork exports and their 2593 workers account for 18% of the sector.
Acquisition of the Swedish Wicanders group, an important step in the added diversification in the coverings segment, with a vast distribution network, particularly in northern and central European countries.
Acquisition of RARO - Rufino Alves Ribeiro e filhos, Lda. (currently Amorim & Irmãos, S.A. - Raro Industrial Unit), a company specialised in the manufacture of capsulated cork stoppers, in operation since 1926.
Corticeira Amorim's four largest companies - Amorim & Irmãos, S.A., Corticeira Amorim Indústria, S.A., Ipocork - Indústria de Pavimentos e Decoração, S.A. and Champcork - Rolhas de Champanhe, S.A., launch an initial public offering on the Lisbon Stock Exchange.
Corticeira Amorim wins the International Quality Trophy, for which companies from 140 countries compete. «Quality is never an accident. It is the result of an intelligent effort», emphasises Américo Amorim.
The first Portuguese-Hungarian industrial joint venture is created - Hungarocork-Amorim, GmbH,the result of the merger of the Amorim Group with two Hungarian state companies. These factory units have the capacity to produce 120 million cork stoppers annually and process waste into granulates for use in applications in construction.
Labcork, Laboratório Central do Grupo Amorim, S.A. emerges, the result of a new strategy of differentiation by quality. With the industrial units possessing the capacity to produce all cork by-products, Corticeira Amorim strengthens its policies and competencies in Research & Development and quality control. Labcork covers the activity of the whole Group. It aims to anticipate and respond to the foreseeable demands of this developing market: adapting production to new bottling processes and to the market requirements of various beverages, in compliance with strict international quality standards.
At the time, cork agglomerates were increasingly used in the production of components for sophisticated equipment, such as cars, spacecraft and nuclear power plants. Floor coverings and parquets undergo a period of constant technical development.
The creation of Champcork Rolhas de Champanhe, S.A., a company set up to produce stoppers for champagne and sparkling wines. Champcork sells 80 million cork stoppers/year and has the capacity to double this number, thanks to cutting-edge technology used in production.
Establishment of a company in Canada, to market cork rubber. Due to the proximity to the USA, the new company enables Corticeira Amorim to enter the American market, the most important in the cork rubber products sector.