The tribute included inauguration of a sculpture by Pedro Cabrita Reis, of a street renamed Rua Comendador Américo Ferreira Amorim and a bust of the businessman. The Amorim family, Amorim Group executives and representatives of various local authorities attended the ceremony.
The morning began with inauguration of a sculpture by Pedro Cabrita Reis (in the roundabout that connects the former Rua de Meladas and the Avenida Albertina Ferreira de Amorim). The sculpture is based on a continuous dialogue between the harmony of Nature, as represented by a steel sculpture of an ancestral cork oak tree and the action of Man, represented by a solid column, also made of steel. The monument is accompanied by one of Américo Amorim's iconic phrases: the future begins every day. This moment was followed by inauguration of the renamed street, the Rua Comendador Américo Ferreira Amorim (formerly known as the Rua de Meladas). Finally, a bronze bust of Américo Amorim was created by the sculptor Artur Moreira, next to the family home (in the Parque do Murado).
Born in Mozelos, in the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, in 1934, Américo Amorim became one of Portugal’s all-time greatest businessmen. Passionate about geography, an excellent cultivator of diplomatic relations and with a rare talent for business, at the age of 19 he commenced the transformation of his 2.5% inheritance of a cork stopper factory that was founded by his grandfather in 1870, António Alves de Amorim, into the largest group in the cork sector, that is now the world leader. Immediately after concluding his General Course in Commerce in the Escola Académica, in Porto, he began his trajectory and went on to overcome several industrial constraints and economic crises, different political regimes, countless territorial obstacles and revolutions in Portugal and abroad.
He was marked by a spirit of boldness and pragmatism, for whom travel, contact with different cultures and living in different countries in a context of political change played a central role. It was on his first trip to Europe in 1955, accompanied by his brothers José, António and Joaquim, the great companions in a triumphant life journey, that the young Américo Amorim reinforced his conviction in the importance of a liberalised economy, free from constraints and operating at a global scale. This began the construction of the world’s largest cork transformation group.
A key step was taken in 1963, with the creation of Corticeira Amorim. After laying the first stone in this process of vertical expansion, Américo Amorim implemented the next steps with inexhaustible energy, including the opening of an insulation unit in Silves in 1967 (Corticeira Amorim Algarve), the establishment of a flooring unit in 1978 (IPOCORK) and the foundation of a production unit for sparkling wine stoppers in 1983 (Champcork). Domestically, he also oversaw the construction of two factories for the preparation of raw materials, in Ponte de Sor and Coruche.
This bold expansion programme, which included Américo Amorim's valid aspirations to achieve success abroad, was further anchored when the company was listed on the Portuguese stock exchange in 1988. Investments ensued at a frenetic pace (Amorim Cork América, Amorim France, Víctor & Amorim, in Spain, Amorim Cork Australasia, Indústria Corchera, in Chile, among others). The companies of the Amorim group invested in Research & Development, and the founding pillars of the Amorim spirit emerged - based on pride, attitude, ambition, initiative and discretion. Américo Amorim added his own personal vision, conviction and firmness, embodied in one of his famous maxims: “If I could, I would build a new factory every day.”
At the same time, while establishing the world’s largest cork processing group, Américo Amorim diversified his appetites, interests and investments. Just some of the areas that attracted his keen attention included banking (as the founder of the first Portuguese private bank - BCP), telecommunications (as member of the winning consortium of the first private mobile telecommunications operator in Portugal - Telecel), tourism (joint venture with the French group ACCOR, the world's largest hotel operator), real estate (creation of Amorim Empreendimentos Imobiliários, acquisition of Sociedade Figueira Praia, SA, acquisition of a qualified holding in Estoril-Sol, SGPS, SA), energy (the Amorim Group is part of Finpetro - a consortium of investors for the acquisition of Petrogal - Petróleos de Portugal) and wines (purchase of Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo). In the entrepreneur’s private sphere, he forged an economic conglomerate that acquired shareholdings in Galp, Banco Popular Espanhol and Tom Ford International, etc.
An undisputed leader among his closest friends, Américo Amorim masterfully understood how to align the skills, merits and complementary expertise of his brothers José (forestry and supplies), António (industrial management and social responsibility) and Joaquim (foreign relations). Declared “King of Cork” by Forbes magazine in 1992, Américo Amorim was the first Portuguese person to be awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the Board of Trustees of St. John University, New York. António Ramalho Eanes, following a proposal by the Portuguese Government, presented him with the Order of Agricultural and Industrial Merit, in the class of Industrial Merit. The role as Honorary Consul-General of Hungary in Portugal was another role that he performed with his usual aplomb.
An extremely doting husband, attentive father and a proud grandfather, always ready to greet others with a broad smile, Américo Amorim married Maria Fernanda Amorim, had three daughters, Paula, Marta and Luísa, and six grandchildren.
Américo Amorim passed away on July 13, 2017.
