Inside The Machines Manuel Pereira

43 years at Adalberto. He leaves home early every morning to check the stocks, because if the warehouse stops, the factory stops.

43 Years Making Sure Nothing Runs Out

Manuel Pereira joined Adalberto in March 1983 and started in the dyeing department. He stayed there until 1989, when Dona Noémia herself invited him to move to the chemical warehouse. He accepted. That was 37 years ago. Today he is the person who makes sure the factory always has what it needs to keep running.

"I've been at Adalberto since March 1983. I went to dyeing and stayed until 1989. That year I was invited by the company's owner, Dona Noémia, to come to the chemical warehouse. And I accepted."

Not an Ordinary Warehouse

A chemical warehouse in a textile factory is nothing like a regular one. Materials that cannot be stored near each other. And on top of that, a stock that has to be managed every single day.

"It's not an ordinary warehouse. It's a chemical warehouse, with a lot of responsibility. And on top of that, stock management that has to be done daily."

For Manuel, the real weight is something else: purchasing. Prices change from one day to the next, and in uncertain times they can swing sharply. The skill is in knowing when to buy, and when to build a bigger stock to benefit the company.

"Stocks are mouths that eat and don't produce. But you also need the essentials so the factory doesn't stop."

A Job You Take Home

Responsibility like this doesn't stay at the factory gate. Sometimes the phone rings outside working hours. Sometimes he comes back in to solve a problem, or to pick up a product himself.

"Yes, I think about it. Sometimes they call me outside working hours and I come in to solve it. It's a responsibility I really feel, and I try to fulfil it as best I can."

His family knows it too. They see him leave home early, before everyone else, to check stocks and orders and decide whether anything needs buying.

"Every day is an unknown. There are new orders, new situations. I never know what's waiting for me."

Keeping Up With the Rules

Chemical regulations in textiles have become far more demanding in recent years. For someone who has been in the job for more than four decades, that means constant adaptation.

"In recent years the requirements have become very demanding. At Adalberto, fortunately, we receive training that follows those changes, and we stay up to date."

When the Warehouse Stops, Everything Stops

Ask Manuel if he feels the weight of his role, and the answer is immediate.

"Yes. A lot. Really a lot. Because if the factory stops, there are no orders, no money comes in. That's why I come in early, to get a feel for what the factory needs that day."

He also feels the recognition of his colleagues and of the company's leadership, and he works to earn it.

"I feel recognised. And I also work for it. Fortunately we have a good employer and good managers who recognise that every day."

Three Generations. Still Glad to Come In.

Manuel has worked under three generations of leadership, and through three very different eras of the textile industry. Each generation was different, he says, but always with the same direction.

"Each one different, but always, I believe, for the better, and keeping up with times that are evolving very fast."

After 43 years, the pleasure is still there.

"I feel immense pleasure in coming to work here. If I didn't, I wouldn't have stayed so many years."

Manuel Pereira has worked at Adalberto Textile Solutions since 1983. He came to dyeing, was invited by Dona Noémia to run the chemical warehouse, and has kept the factory supplied ever since.

Inside the Machines is a series of eight conversations with the people behind Adalberto Textile Solutions.