MADEINSITU

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Journal
/Feb
2023

João Amaro, from Fundibronze, talks about the craft of bronze work and the challenges he currently faces.

How did your relationship with bronze first start? 

 

Fundibronze is a family business, I am the second generation, together with my brother. Managing the company was actually never part of my plan, it just happened. If it weren’t for the family influence, I think I would have been an architect, a designer or a sculptor – something in that vein. I’m drawn to the creative process, and to making things. I love to explore different possibilities.

 

 

Why did you embrace this collaboration with Made in Situ? 

 

I like challenges! I’ve always liked design and sculpture, as I said, and I thought the project was very interesting. I liked the pieces and the people. Also, I knew we had the know-how to do it. 

We have worked on many different projects over the years. Traditionally, we have always been linked to the maritime industry, and today it represents the majority of our business, around 80 per cent. But back in the ’90s it wasn’t so: for a period we diversified our production, and our work for the maritime industry was half of what it is now. We did all kinds of things, small and large pieces alike.

The truth is we don’t have the big advantage of repeating pieces to exhaustion. The sand moulds we use to create the pieces can be used only once – the sand gets burned in contact with the liquid bronze, it’s impossible to reuse it.

The only gain we have with scale is a logistical advantage, the craftsmen know what to expect with each piece, to the extent that this is possible with bronze casting, which is a process prone to surprises. But this is not significant in the overall production cost. 

So we have always been open to producing different things, though now it is more difficult, considering how much the market has changed. 

" I think I would have been an architect, a designer or a sculptor – something in that vein. I’m drawn to the creative process, and to making things. I love to explore different possibilities. "

Why did you embrace this collaboration with Made in Situ? 

 

I like challenges! I’ve always liked design and sculpture, as I said, and I thought the project was very interesting. I liked the pieces and the people. Also, I knew we had the know-how to do it. 

We have worked on many different projects over the years. Traditionally, we have always been linked to the maritime industry, and today it represents the majority of our business, around 80 per cent. But back in the ’90s it wasn’t so: for a period we diversified our production, and our work for the maritime industry was half of what it is now. We did all kinds of things, small and large pieces alike.

The truth is we don’t have the big advantage of repeating pieces to exhaustion. The sand moulds we use to create the pieces can be used only once – the sand gets burned in contact with the liquid bronze, it’s impossible to reuse it.

The only gain we have with scale is a logistical advantage, the craftsmen know what to expect with each piece, to the extent that this is possible with bronze casting, which is a process prone to surprises. But this is not significant in the overall production cost. 

So we have always been open to producing different things, though now it is more difficult, considering how much the market has changed. 

 

 

Can you tell us about any other unusual projects you have worked on in the past?

 

Oh, we once made a cannon! A real cannon, it fired. It was a replica of a 16th- or 17th-century ship’s cannon that used to be charged with nails, iron, trash, anything at hand. A sculptor approached us with the idea, was his project for the Lisbon Biennale in 2010.

Before he came to us, he had asked factories in different countries, France, Switzerland, England, and no one would do it, they told him it was impossible. But we decided to give it a go. The final piece weighed around a ton, and we still added lead to the structure, to make it heavier. There’s a video of it at the opening of the show, you can watch it online, I think. 

Besides that, we have produced many sculptures. For instance, we made the smaller wings in the ‘Migratory Birds’ by Óscar de Guimarães, which you can see on a roundabout in Oeiras. 

" I like challenges! I’ve always liked design and sculpture, as I said, and I thought the project was very interesting. I liked the pieces and the people. Also, I knew we had the know-how to do it. "

The production of the collection suffered many delays. Could you say anything about the challenges you have faced?

 

When I accepted this project, I had no idea we would be facing so many challenges in the near future. I take pride in fulfilling my professional commitments and it pains me that I have failed to do so lately. I wish I had been able to do better, and I know Made in Situ has been very patient about it. 

 

Things became difficult when several people left the company. We tried to replace them, but we still haven’t found people as skilled as those who left. Also, working in a foundry is very demanding, not everyone is willing to do it.

 

We were already struggling when COVID hit, and the pandemic made everything worse. Production levels have dropped, there was a lack of investment, and people’s attitudes have changed. And of course, the war in Ukraine, this terrible war is having a huge impact. Prices for casting materials – sand, silicates, filters, paint – have increased three times this year. Alcohol costs 60 per cent more now.

It’s very hard to explain to people you have been working with for years that what used to cost a certain amount now costs 50 per cent more. Besides the price, many things are harder to get. Our suppliers used to have stock, and in many cases that’s no longer true. When we order something and it’s out of stock, delivery times are often unpredictable. 

 

One of the major issues for us and other businesses involved in the production and reparation of small fishing boats is that our ability to work normally depends on certain companies that are very limited in number. When one is in trouble, this affects the whole production ecosystem – and unfortunately, most of us are reeling. 

 

Still, we are trying to turn things around. I hope we can!

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