A small Swedish materials-technology company has found its way into Portugal’s textile cluster. Prebona AB, listed on Spotlight Stock Market, announced on 29 October that two textile companies in Barcelos — the dyer and finisher Acatel and the circular knitter Casa da Malha — have started a cooperation with it. After what Prebona calls “very good test results”, both will begin using its Cool&OdorControl treatment in the production of functional fabrics.

Prebona says the deal gives it “an established position in Portugal, one of Europe’s most important areas for the production of functional and sustainable textiles”. No volumes or financial terms were disclosed.

Who the Portuguese partners are

Acatel – Acabamentos Têxteis, S.A. was founded in 1985 and dyes, mercerises, prints (digitally and traditionally) and applies technical finishes to knitted and woven fabrics. It is part of the Barcelos textile group Impetus and is already a supplier to the Nordics: H&M Group’s public supplier list (August 2026) names its Gilmonde plant as a component unit working for the Swedish retailer. Casa da Malha – House of Knitting, also in Barcelos, is a circular knitter making premium fabrics for sport, athleisure and fashion; Prebona dates it to 2017, and its legal entity, Casa da Malha – C5M, Lda (NIF 514084278), is registered in Barcelos. It is certified to GOTS, GRS and OEKO-TEX Standard 100.

According to Prebona, the two companies form part of an integrated Portuguese production chain “from yarn to finished garment”, with customers among international brands in Europe, North America and Australia. That is the point of the deal for Prebona: if the treatment is applied in Barcelos, it reaches the brands that buy fabric there without Prebona having to sell to each of them.

What the treatment does

Cool&OdorControl combines odour removal with a cooling function. Prebona says the cooling comes from better moisture transport, efficient evaporation and what it calls a “supercooling” effect, and that the treatment is biocide-free, environmentally certified and cheap enough for large-scale textile production.

“It is very pleasing that two such innovation-driven and quality-focused textile companies choose Cool&OdorControl after their own tests,” said Christian Östberg, Prebona’s CEO, in the release (translated from Swedish). “Acatel and Casa da Malha supply international brands in sport and fashion, and the cooperation becomes an important reference as we continue to broaden our presence in the European textile industry.”

A small company building a textile channel

Prebona is small. Its net sales were about SEK 1.48 million in the first half of 2026, up from SEK 1.13 million, and it has raised money through directed share issues of about SEK 1.78 million in September and about SEK 2.1 million in October. Textiles are where it sees its breakthrough: in the second quarter it signed distributors in Türkiye and Italy for Cool&OdorControl and OdorControl, in August it signed an international textile reseller covering Europe and parts of Asia, and on 19 October it announced a European sport and outdoor brand that will sell its OdorControl spray, with a first order of about SEK 50,000.

Why it matters for the corridor

Most Nordic entries into Portugal that NSHQ covers are factories, shops or offices. This one is different and, for Nordic technology suppliers, more replicable: a Swedish company with no Portuguese subsidiary getting its product specified inside a Portuguese supply chain that already works for Nordic and global brands. Barcelos, Guimarães and Famalicão host many of the Portuguese mills on H&M’s and Marimekko’s supplier lists, and Finland’s Spinnova has signed a letter of intent to buy a Guimarães spinning mill. For other Nordic fibre, finishing and chemicals companies, convincing a Portuguese dyer or knitter to adopt their product is a way to reach many brands at once.

Sources: Prebona AB press releases via Cision (29 October 2026, “Prebona inleder samarbete med portugisiska textilföretagen Acatel och Casa da Malha”; 19 October 2026; 7 October 2026; 25 September 2026; 3 August 2026) and interim report Q2 2026 (27 August 2026); H&M Group supplier list (August 2026); nif.pt.