Ria Stone, part of Portugal’s Vista Alegre Atlantis group (Grupo Visabeira), is a high-volume stoneware tableware factory in Ílhavo created specifically to supply Sweden’s IKEA. Established after winning an IKEA international tender, it produces tens of millions of pieces a year, almost entirely for export to Europe.
Ria Stone was created in 2012 in Ílhavo after Vista Alegre/Visabeira won an international competition launched by Sweden’s IKEA to produce stoneware tableware for the European market. Production began in 2014 and, by 2019, installed capacity had reached around 50 million pieces a year, with roughly 99% destined for export. The plant is built around a highly automated, single-firing stoneware process designed for energy efficiency.
In 2026 the partnership deepened. With the existing IKEA contract running to December 2026 and already agreed to be renewed for a further seven years — to 2034 — Ria Stone is investing about €40 million in a new industrial unit, “Ria III”, in Ílhavo’s Mota industrial zone, creating around 100 new jobs. It is one of the most concrete manufacturing links in the entire Portugal↔Scandinavia corridor.
April 2026 — Vista Alegre announced a €40 million investment in the new Ria III plant in Ílhavo and confirmed the renewal of the IKEA stoneware contract through 2034, securing roughly 100 additional jobs (reported by ECO, Observador and the Município de Ílhavo).
Ria Stone is a flagship Direction-B story — a Portuguese factory purpose-built to serve a Swedish multinational, anchoring long-term Nordic demand in Portuguese industry and skilled employment. The seven-year contract renewal to 2034 shows how deep and durable Portugal↔Nordic supply relationships can become.
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