On March 9th, the company AJ Carvalho brought together around 70 employees to celebrate thirty years of existence. In March 1994, the Carvalho family began an adventure: “when you start there is nothing, there is no name, there is no brand image, so the beginning was difficult”, said Mr. Carvalho, founder of the company.
AJ Carvalho was born from Mr. Carvalho’s desire to have his own business, after being idle for a while, “the idea came up and I was the first to say to my husband, go ahead”, explained Adelaide Carvalho, Mr. Carvalho’s wife, who has always was behind their decisions and supported this change.
The company, which works in the field of civil construction, is already a reference in earthmoving and exterior repair services. Based in Touguinha, Vila do Conde, and with more than 40 machines acquired over these thirty years, Mr. Carvalho states “we are always investing, always innovating. We chose to have new equipment to keep up with market growth and face the competition.” The company operates throughout the country, “mainly more in the north, because if we have work on the doorstep, we don’t go far”, explained Mr. Carvalho, but “we go to the Algarve. We have already worked in the North of Spain and we go anywhere and if the client asks us to go to France we find a way to do it”.
Thirty years later, Mr. Carvalho counts on the help of his sons Armando and Sérgio. Armando completed an engineering course and is the one who manages the company, while Sérgio is more responsible for the shipyard/workshop. “In the future I will retire and I think that success is more than guaranteed because my son Armando has been running the company for a few years now,” added the founder and “if he hadn’t been running the company, it wouldn’t have grown like it did. grew, with a lot of rigor and dedication.”
The company gained the distinction of PME Leader in 2010 and maintains this status to date, and the fleet of trucks and machines grew, which helped to “put AJ Carvalho on the lips of the world”, according to the businessman.
In a festive atmosphere, the celebration of these three decades means a reason for happiness for the family, “I started alone with all the work on my shoulders, at the beginning I didn’t even have money for diesel for the trucks, WWWbut today I know that I help many families at the end of the year. month”, Mr. Carvalho told a little about the journey until today “that it is a very happy day to see my employees here celebrating with me and knowing that they are by my side when I need them. This is rewarding”
At the end, after the extinguished candles and fireworks, the children gave a souvenir to their parents, as a sign of recognition for all their work and dedication over these thirty years. Mr. Carvalho made a point of hugging his employees one by one on this special day, remembering that without those men he would not have gotten this far.
For Mr. Carvalho and his family, the future of the business is worrying, because “those who make the laws do not always have the knowledge of how things work on the ground and pose many obstacles”, explained the founder of AJ Carvalho, who thinks that everything is done in a time-consuming manner and with too many permits, which makes construction work difficult. However, the couple has hope in their children and the knowledge they acquired to innovate and manage the family business in the best way possible.
Before congratulations sung in a chorus with one voice, the Carvalho family paid tribute to three of their employees who have worked at the company for 25 years. Manuel Faria, Rui Couto and Joaquim Ferreira were distinguished with an allusive piece. The party continued, with music, toasts and not even the rain was an impediment to the celebrations.
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