Ceres Cerâmicas Reunidas S.A.
THE ABANDONED FACTORY IN PORTUGAL
This old pottery made tiles and ceramic sanitary ware. Founded in 1956 as ‘Reunidas SA’, later named ‘Ceres Cerâmicas Reunidas S.A.’
Ceres made sanitary ceramic and azulejos. These are painted tin-glazed ceramic tiles. Azulejos are found on the interior and exterior of many buildings in Portugal. They were not only used as an ornamental art form, but also had a specific functional capacity like temperature control in homes.
In 2002, the pottery went bankrupt and as a result it closed in July 2006, leaving 200 workers without a job. Nonetheless, in September 2008 the gates reopen again for 49 workers, the goal was to try to export the bulk of production of coatings and sanitary.
2010
But in March 2010, about 120 employees found the gates locked again. At the end of July of the same year, the assets of Ceres go to auction. But due to legal fights of old employees and the old management, it took two years before the halls were empty.
The slogan of this company was “Eternity in ceramics”, you could think that is somewhat ironic. But in 2016, a month after my visit, the factory actually opened its gates again. The new owner is putting new life into the old, decayed buildings. Today, the huge halls are owned by a construction company.
