The Plaginsa Group is celebrating 40 years in business, strengthened by a management model based on innovation, flexibility and experience acquired over decades.
The Plaginsa Group, founded in 1983 by Gaspar Navarro, and today managed by his son Javier Navarro Dura, is considered one of the leading rubber sheet manufacturers in the world. With a management model based on innovation, flexibility and experience accumulated over decades, the Plaginsa Group is a group of leading, internationally recognized companies in the footwear, construction, livestock, sports and online retail sectors. The determined attitude of the founder in satisfying the most demanding customers and perfectly understanding the requirements of creativity, design and quality, has resulted in a solid, agile and flexible group that offers a rapid response to market demands with constant innovation of materials, processes and products. At the end of Lineapelle, Javier Navarro, General Manager, and Manuel Martinez, Export Manager, tell us how it went.
“In general, the fair was in line with our expectations. We did not see a significant increase in demand, but neither did we see a meaningful decrease. We kept on focusing on our recycled products, which are increasingly in demand. In particular, we presented a new product with an even higher percentage of recycled material, as well as new colors and styles. The market, however, is more complex. Work is being done, but there is a feeling of slowing down. Customers are buying less, probably due to inflation and the desire to spend on other activities, such as travel and restaurants. This also translates into a slowdown in the footwear sector. It is difficult to make long-term predictions, but this is the current situation in which all operators in the sector find themselves,’ says Manuel Martinez. Despite the current context, the Plaginsa Group maintains its dedication to innovation and sustainability. The company continues to work on products made from recycled materials, although Javier Navarro Dura notes that “Recycling is still an emerging theme, but the reality is different from how it is perceived. GRS certification is still requested by few customers. However, we have achieved an important result: we have brought the cost of recycled material in line with that of traditional one. A year ago, recycled was much more expensive, but today it is even cheaper by a few cents.”
Talking about current trends in the industry, ‘Sporty casual continues, although we hope that classic will return,’ comments the Export Manager. The Plaginsa Group is aware of customer preferences and strives to meet their needs by offering products that reflect current trends.
Why should customers choose to buy from the Plaginsa Group? “We make the difference in everything,” continues Manuel Martinez. “Our core values are quality, service, reliability and speed. We are not the cheapest, but we offer consistent quality and impeccable service. We are constantly innovating our production, which results in high quality products. We are able to handle large orders as fast as possible, but we can also meet the needs of small orders equally quickly. This is an important added value for the fashion industry, which today demands ever shorter delivery times. Our responsiveness is outstanding.”
Boasting 40 years of experience and know-how carries significant weight, continues Javier Navarro: “Our company is unceasingly growing, year after year. We are constantly innovating, with the aim of reducing energy and light consumption and implementing a 100 per cent circular economy. This is a strategic priority of ours, which we pursued with foresight as early as 20 years ago, when nobody was yet dealing with these issues. Our 40 years of experience have enabled us to handle things proactively and have boosted our will to grow. In the early days, we started to diversify our markets, also making special rubber flooring and soundproofing panels. Crises are times of great opportunity and competition forces us to constantly improve, creating benefits for our customers as well.”
From the left: Manuel Martinez e Javier Navarro at Lineapelle 102