Casal

Metalurgia Casal was the largest Portuguese motorcycle manufacturer, based in Aveiro. It was founded in 1953 and its first products included agricultural engines. Business leader João Casal met representatives of Zündapp at a trade fair in Hanover in the early 60:s, and then started to build mopeds with Zündapp engines. From 1966 he made his own engine, the Casal engine, which is a modified copy of the Zündapp, to be built in a many variants. The first all-Casal model was the four speed 50 cc scooter Casal S170 Carina. Casal expanded the production to ordinary mopeds and motorcycles. The first was called K181. In the early 70:s Casal began to export their products, for example to the UK, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. Car production was also planned, but not realised. As the increased purchasing power in their home country Portugal, their most important market, slowed down the sales of mopeds, bankruptcy was a fact in February 2000. In connection with this, unfortunately, parts of the company's archives were destroyed. Today it operates as a Suzuki representative in Portugal.