FEPSA - Feltros Portugueses, S.A.R.L. was founded on March 31st 1969 by six Portuguese hat manufacturers who joined forces with a strategic purpose of consolidation and a clear goal of creating the best conditions for the production and supply of high-quality felt hat bodies. Each of the shareholders maintained their own hat finishing companies and identities, sourcing customized felt bodies from FEPSA. Since the very beginning, FEPSA had a mission of producing different products for each different customer, who were the shareholders. But soon the synergies created by the merger led the new company to seek for more clients, abroad.

The Carnation Revolution of April 25th brought a new social and labour reality that disrupted the stability that had been previously achieved. Social turmoil, rising operational costs and raw material prices, staggering inflation and currency devaluation, combined with a sharp decline in national felt hat consumption, presented FEPSA with one of its greatest challenges. Under such difficult circumstances, even greater emphasis was placed on exports.

The company's economic and financial balance was restored. That same year, FEPSA acquired a building on Rua da Indústria in São João da Madeira, and all operations were relocated there.

Facing far more demand than it could meet, FEPSA established a strategic partnership with Mayser, the leading hatmaker in Germany, to build a new felt hat body plant production in Portugal, bringing the back shop equipment of both companies under the same roof. The joint venture represented a significant consolidation within the European sector, strengthening technical infrastructure and commercial reach across the continent. Construction of the new plant began in September 1989.

In September 1990, FEPSA inaugurated its new facilities at Rua de Cucujães, 192, in São João da Madeira, significantly expanding production capacity and laying the foundations for the growth of the decades to come.

In a context of a shrinking and highly competitive European market, FEPSA launched a strategic push into the North American market, with a growing commitment to felts for Western hats. The United States would soon become the company's primary export market.

FEPSA reacquired from Mayser the shares previously held under the joint venture agreement.

Recognising a high dependence on the North American market and an economy showing some signs of strain, while at the same time identifying renewed opportunities in Europe, FEPSA decided that the moment had come to shift its focus back to the European market. Over the following two years, the company invested in technology upgrades and information systems to better serve the growing diversity of European demand, characterised by smaller production runs.

Amid the subprime crisis, FEPSA shifted its focus from the North American to the European market, moving from two-thirds of its sales in the USA to two thirds in Europe, while maintaining overall revenue.

FEPSA acquired its first knitting machines, starting a new product line and broadening its portfolio beyond traditional felt hat bodies.

A new plant was built, dedicated exclusively to wool felt manufacturing, congregating old with newly acquired machines, expanding technical capabilities and strengthening its offer in this segment of the global hat market.

FEPSA became the main shareholder of ISESA - Industrias Sombrereras Españolas S.A., based in Seville. The transaction, formalized on 21 December 2015, created significant synergies between the two companies, with a shared ambition to grow in the global felt hat sector.

On 27 April 2018, FEPSA obtained double certification across double management systems:

• NP EN ISO 9001:2015 - Quality Management System
• NP EN ISO 14001:2015 - Environmental Management System

This milestone formally recognised FEPSA's commitment to excellence across all dimensions of its operations - product quality, environmental responsibility and the well-being of its people.

In conjunction with Cortadoria Nacional de Pêlo, SA, FEPSA underwent a reorganisation of the Group's shareholding structure, consolidating its governance framework and strengthening the family management model for future generations.

FEPSA opened a new production site dedicated to expanding fur felt capacity, including two additional production lines and reinforcing the company's position as the world's leading supplier of high-quality felt hat bodies.

FEPSA surpassed the milestone of one million felt hat bodies produced in a single year for the first time, a historic achievement reflecting decades of investment in technology, quality and dedication to customers around the world.

FEPSA began producing Samet velour bodies for the Jewish market, a high-value, technically demanding segment where felt carries deep cultural and religious significance.

With over 55 years of history and with roots dating back to the early 1900s, FEPSA is today exporting 99% of its production to the most prestigious international brands and is responsible for an estimated half of the world's fur felt hat body production.