The Portuguese company Corticeira Amorim is the world’s largest producer and distributor of cork. For 150 years, the company has expanded the Portuguese cork industry, but 20 years ago, the entire cork wine stopper industry was nearly ruined by fungi. We visited Amorim’s headquarters to see how the company has combined traditional techniques and new technologies to save their business while exploring new uses for one of the world’s most versatile materials.
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00:00 – Intro
01:07 – How Cork Trees Are Harvested
03:44 – Processing Cork Bark
04:03 – The History Of Cork Stoppers
04:48 – How Amorim Became A Big Business
05:46 – How Cork Stoppers Are Made
07:06 – Why Cork Is A Good Stopper
07:42 – How The Stopper Industry Almost Collapsed
08:28 – Technology & Products
09:37 – How Amorim Recycles Cork
10:08 – How Cork Flooring Is Made
10:36 – Sending Cork To Space
11:19 – The Portuguese Cork Industry
12:00 – How Amorim Is Planning For The Future
12:57- Credits
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#cork #wine #businessinsider
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How The World’s Largest Cork Company Makes 22 Million Wine Stoppers A Day | Big Business
32 Comments
Very mundane subject but very interesting and informative. My Uncle fought in the 1st world war he had a cork bound diary that he carried with him, we still have it today and the cork is still intact but is a bit dusty, we have it in an air sealed case I believe that has maintained its integrity. I own a pair of Birkenstock cork soled mules bought in 1982 that I still use today , I have sealed the cork and I treat the leather every year and they just get more comfortable with time.
Just came back from a video about pain saying skinning is the worst torture method. I hope those trees don’t feel pain.
Portugal caralho
The harvester work is really a challenge, most oak trees are in the region of Alentejo, a very beatiful place but with temperatures that can reach 46/47º Celsius (around 115 Fahrenheit) in the peak of summer. Not a good place to be while working.
Safety nightmare as expected. Boxed wine proven to be superior for wine storage.
Such high production of corks per day, it’s amazing to me that there are enough trees to produce the bark.
I can’t help but think about the Saturday Night Live episodes of the family of cork soakers. That was hilarious and I highly recommend you watch it if you haven’t seen it.
AI will kill this industry in less than 2 years. Trust me.
What a quirky corky business
2:28 cool headwear
I think that the algorithm sent me here because I watch an SNL skit on cork soakers.
Cork is also a very useful insulation material in the building industry! They are water resistant, so no mold growth. They are fireproof, so also usable in big apartment blocks. They are vapor permeable, meaning that it allows buildings to dry, so the wood you are using to resistant the loads, is protected from decaying too, because wood only decays when it gets too wet. It has a decent R value, higher than fiberglass, and only slightly lower than wood fiber or mineral wool. And, it has a pretty good Thermal mass, it is even much higher than mineral wool. High thermal mass helps to keep buildings cooler in the summer.
But unlike mineral wool, that is also fire safe, this is a completely sustainable product.
And unlike wood fiber, another eco friendly product, cork is naturally resistant to termites, pest, and ants. So there is not need for adding borate, a chemical that is not healthy for your indoor environment to breathe in, and also its effect on the wood fiber decreases every year because the chemical releases into the air.
Thought it was a shame that this wasn't mentioned in the video. So therefor I posted it!
Once you discover cork shoe soles, you really can't go back. There simply isn't any kind of other inner sole that would feel as comfortable, cool in the summer, warm in the winter.
Wow! I love how they literally utilize every single piece of waste into usable products and renewable energy. Quite impressive
Wow!
Cork harvesting is a tough job????????? Have you been outside your house? lol! Give me a nail-clipper, I'm gonna harvest cork for you. lol!
wine stopper 🤦🏻 what a shit name
weird. didn't know Arnold Schwarzenegger was in to fabricating cork. the more you know..
Do not let china, indonesia have it.
22 million per day is insane . Is that number correct?
stop doing that…. instead use polystyrene…
Se Portugal fornece pra Espanha e França.,.de onde vem ss rolhas para os vinhos/ espumantes do Brasil 🤔🤔
fascinating, i had absolutely no idea where cork came from
Such a natural resource, how can we recycle cork?
900 bucks a week, thats 1.5 my salary as an american. gg guys
So normally if you take all the bark off a stretch of tree it kills the tree, why is the cork oak so different?
Too many commercial this was insightful af but I almost didn’t make it to the end cause of all the exact same commercials.
Cocktail 🍸 🍾
Is this a Re-upload?
2:06 "being careful with trees"
Cuts to throwing axe
Corks are the BEST thing to transport in a ship. It will never sink!
❤awesome and amazing story