‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step’ is a common proverb.
For us at EPOCA, it has a more profound reflection, meaning that significant achievements are made through small but concrete resolutions.
Nowadays, our group is a leader in the manufacture of luxury furniture for some of the most important hospitality brands on the international scene.
The company results from meticulous improvement processes: the attention to detail and craftsmanship enhances creativity, elegance, and design, always balancing tradition and innovation.
In this article, we will unveil EPOCA‘s journey through creating furniture of excellent artistry that, at every stage, exalted the Made in Portugal values.
THE FORTIES
To know someone well is to know her story—the experiences that have shaped her, the trials and turning points that have tested her.
It’s no different for a company.
In such an unsettling transition, telling EPOCA’s story to our coworkers, partners, and clients inspires belief in our motives, character, and capacity to reach our goals.
Let’s be clear: we’re not opening the door to tall tales urging a compelling narrative. By “story,” we don’t mean “something made up to make a bad situation look good.”
Instead, we’re talking about profoundly authentic and engaging accounts that listeners feel they have a stake in our success.
The Rocha family business in the furniture industry began in 1947 with António Rocha, who started by specializing in the manufacture of chairs. In the next generation, with Francisco Rocha, the family business evolved into furniture.
In 1981 José Rocha joined his father in the factory to continue the furniture production business, doing justice to the legacy started by his grandfather.
Over the years, Francisco’s factory produced increasingly quality furniture, and his deep artisan knowledge soon became a byword for top-quality furniture products in Portugal.
CREATION OF THE EPOCA BRAND
The creation of the EPOCA brand dates to 1989, when José Rocha decided to set up his own furniture company.
During the next decade, José Rocha continued to work in his father’s factory, mastering and perfecting the art of furniture year after year.
In 2000, José Rocha, EPOCA‘s founder, established his own business and built his factory in Paços de Ferreira, Porto, Portugal.
NEW MILLENIUM
The turn of the century and millennium brought the entry of José Rocha’s sons into the family furniture business. Luís and Diogo Rocha who today take over as CEO and COO.
EPOCA became an undisputed leader in “turnkey” solutions for home furniture and the company had a significative turning point in its history – the renovation of the Ritz Hotel Paris.
Its high-quality furniture has extended beyond the Portuguese borders and has become internationally specialized in hospitality.
From then on, EPOCA started working on hotel projects as a worldwide furniture and FF&E supplier and begin operating under major lodging brands such as Ritz, Four Seasons, Belmond, Savoy, Kempinski, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG in the following years.
During the subsequent years, EPOCA experienced tremendous growth with its professionalism and dedication to furniture art.
76 YEARS OF HISTORY
Celebrating 76 years old, the company is now active on all five continents.
The brand creates enduring value using superior design and finishes and supports them with a deeply instilled ethic of personal service.
The company has chosen to specialize within the hospitality industry by providing only furniture of exceptional quality, focusing on hotel guestrooms and public areas, including lobbies, F&B outlets, Spa, meeting spaces, and outdoor areas.
All the achievements resulted from the constant investments made by EPOCA founder and chairman – Mr. José Rocha.
The CEME: EPOCA’s logistic center with 20k m2 is an example of his tenacity and will to continuous growth.
THE FUTURE NOW
EPOCA’s market strategy is and always will be based on values such as responsibility, rigor, efficiency, solidarity, sustainability, respect for Man and commitment to good environmental performance, and the use of wood and other forest products with a sustainable origin.
As in the past, we remain focused on improving how we do business to ensure we can deliver our commitments to you, our customers, our team, our partners, and the planet.
We started before the word “sustainability” was fashionable.
For us, this is a calling and not just a business.
A calling that we put our heart and soul into – and have for over a decade. Throughout our company’s history, we have been guided by our founding values, which compel us to put people and the planet first.
Revisioning existing processes to deliver enriching services without compromising the highest quality benchmark while creating a positive environmental and social footprint it’s today’s one of the biggest challenges at EPOCA.
Blending high-quality furniture manufacturing with responsible environmental practices emphasizes the company’s approach to looking beyond ‘business as usual’ towards’ business that cares.’
The DNA of our organization requires us to constantly re-think and re-question our product and processes to address emerging customers’ needs.
The most significant challenges and opportunities are within the global hospitality sector.
So, for us, the future is now.
EPOCA
