Salvador Caetano
Encyclopedia
Grupo Salvador Caetano, SGPS, SA is a Portuguese holding based in Vila Nova de Gaia
Vila Nova de Gaia
Vila Nova de Gaia, or simply Gaia is a city in Vila Nova de Gaia Municipality, Portugal. It is located in the Porto District, south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper has a population of 178,255 and the municipality contains 24 parishes with a total...

, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 that controls some enterprises on vehicle assembly, components and distribution business.

It has a turnover of
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

 2.4 thousand million and is responsible for 6500 jobs, distributed, besides Portugal, by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

 and Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

.

History

The roots of Grupo Salvador Caetano was started to be traced, in 1946, by Salvador Fernandes Caetano (1926-2011) (then with the name "Martins, Caetano & Irmão, Lda.", in the sector of coachbuilding, becoming the first coachbuilder in Portugal (Salvador's brother (irmão), Alfredo Caetano, some years after founded another coachbuilding company, named after him, recently the company was renamed as Starbus, as well as Mr. Joaquim Martins who founded JD Martins).

In 1965 the workshops in Oliveira do Douro are inaugurated and in 1971 Salvador Caetanos's first industrial unit for vehicle assembly was built in Ovar
Ovar
Ovar Municipality is a municipality in Aveiro District, Baixo Vouga Subregion in Portugal. It has a total area of 147.4 km² and a total population of 56,296 inhabitants, and 42,582 electors . The city of Ovar itself has a population of 16,849....

.

In 1968, Salvador Caetano became the importer of Toyota, introducing the brand in Portugal.

In 1982, Baviera, the importer of BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

 in Portugal, was acquired by Salvador Caetano.

On 27 June 2011, the company founder, Salvador Fernandes Caetano, died. Caetano's achievements brought him several commendations from both the Portuguese and the Japanese government.

Grupo Salvador Caetano

Grupo Salvador Caetano (SGPS), SA is the parent company that controls the Group and is responsible for managing the holdings, as well as setting the strategy and coordinating all activities of business, which consists of three main business units, organized by three sub-holdings:
  • Toyota Caetano Portugal SA, which aggregates the business and industrial representation of Toyota and Lexus
    Lexus
    is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...

    . It's economic activity is focused on managing imports of Toyota, in manufacturing and export to Europe the model Toyota Dyna
    Toyota Dyna
    The Toyota Dyna is a light truck for commercial use. In the Japanese market, the Dyna is sold alongside its twin called Toyoace. The original Toyoace of 1956 was an improvement over the Toyopet SKB Truck...

     and Hilux
    Toyota Hilux
    The Toyota Hilux is a series of compact pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Most countries used the Hilux name for the entire life of the series but in North America, the Hilux name was retired in 1976 in favor of Truck, Pickup Truck, or Compact Truck...

    , as well as the production of mini-bus Caetano Optimo;
  • Salvador Caetano Auto (SGPS), SA, which aggregates the business of retail multi-brand car to the Iberian market. Represents the major investment that the Group has been engaged on multi-brand car retail in the Iberian Peninsula
    Iberian Peninsula
    The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

    , through sustained growth based on a plan of acquisitions and joint ventures;
  • Salvador Caetano.Com (SGPS), SA, which is the business in the area of information technology.


As well as:
  • Caetano Bus, SA, for the production of buses: COBUS (airport) and CAETANO (urban, intercity and touring) to the world.
  • Caetano Components, SA, for the production of components for automobile industry.


Grupo Salvador Caetano is responsible for about 50 companies, in Portugal, UK, Spain, Germany, Cape Verde and Angola.

Caetano UK Limited

Salvador Caetano (UK) Limited was established in 1984 as an associated United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 company of Salvador Caetano. It specialises in both the marketing of new own brand vehicles and used vehicles of other coachbuilders, along with repairs.

The initial location was in rented premises on Weedon Road in Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. In 1986, the company was briefly associated with The Moseley Group, based in Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...

, England, which bought a proportion of the UK business. This link was short lived, being cancelled a few months afterwards.

The company moved to a purpose built facility in Heather, Leicestershire
Heather, Leicestershire
The village of Heather is due west of the village of Ibstock in North West Leicestershire, England. In the Domesday Book of 1086, its name is recorded as Hadre, meaning "the heathland"...

, England in 1989, built on land acquired from (and located next to) Reliant Coaches Limited, which it subsequently purchased in 1998.

Also in 1998, the company set up a new company S C Coachbuilders Ltd, which was based at a factory in Waterlooville
Waterlooville
Waterlooville is a town in Hampshire, England approximately 8 miles north of Portsmouth.The town has a population itself of about 10,000 and is surrounded by Purbrook, Blendworth, Cowplain, Lovedean, Clanfield, Catherington, Crookhorn, Denmead, Hambledon, Horndean and Widley. It forms part of...

, England, acquired from administrators acting on behalf of Universal Vehicles Group. The site was developed to include a repair facility and parts warehouse as well as new vehicle production. However, production of new bodywork ceased in 2007, and the site was sold in 2009.

In 2006 after a management restructure the UK division started operating under the name of Caetano UK Limited.

Current

  • Compass (S C Coachbuilders)
  • Cobus 3000 (Airport)
  • Optimo (Minibus)
  • Nimbus
    Caetano Nimbus
    The Caetano Nimbus was a bus body built by Salvador Caetano in Waterlooville, Hampshire, England, between 1999 and 2007. It was constructed exclusively on the Dennis Dart SLF....

     (S C Coachbuilders)
  • CityGold (Urban: Standard and Articulated versions)
  • CI 200 (Inter-Urban/Inter-City)
  • Slimbus (S C Coachbuilders)
  • Cutlass
  • Enigma (Toruing coach introduced in late 90's to replace Gaia and Delta range)
  • Levante
    Caetano Levante
    The Caetano Levante is a coach body built on the Scania K-series 6x2 & 4x2, Volvo B12B 4x2 chassis and recently Volvo B9R 4x2 chassis, exclusively for National Express in the UK...

  • Winner (coded as CT600)

Historical

Between 1983 and 1988, Caetano also built trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...

es for the Coimbra trolleybus system
Trolleybuses in Coimbra
The Coimbra trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network in the city of Coimbra, Portugal. Opened in 1947, it supplemented, and then eventually replaced, the Coimbra tramway network.-History:...

 and the Porto trolleybus system, both in Portugal.

Other products made in past

  • Estoril (Touring coach from 1960s/1970s)
  • Alpha
    Caetano Alpha
    The Caetano Alpha was a design of coach bodywork built by Salvador Caetano of Portugal between 1975 and 1983...

    (Touring coach from 1970s/1980s. Produced over 5 generations, known as Alpha, Alpha 77, Alpha 79, Alpha 80 and Alpha 81. It was a best seller in Portugal)
  • Beta (Touring Coach from 1980s/1990s, available also in Super-High-Decker (SHD) version (known as Beta 3700) and Double-decker (known as Super Beta 4000). Comprised 2 generations, Beta I and Beta II)
  • Delta (Touring Coach introduced in early 1990s, produced over 3 generations, Delta I, II and III)
  • Ovar (Minibus)
  • Gaia (Introduced in late 1980s for Intercity/Entry-Touring range, also available with articulated version, produced over 3 generations, Gaia I, II, III)
  • Algarve (UK version of Delta II)
  • Codenamed Urban and Interurban buses (from 1970s ahead).

External links

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