The image above shows the retail premises of the Simotal Company at 27A Avenida de Roma in Lisbon where the manufacturer’s underwater hunting products would once have been on public sale. The following tentative timeline provides a potted history of the commercial enterprises involved.
1953. On 3 July 1953, Simotal was founded in Sesimbra, a small fishing village on the southern side of the headland where the Portuguese capital Lisbon is located.
1974. In 1974, Italian spearfishing enthusiast Alessandro Picasso created the firm then known as “Tender Sub” and now known as “Picasso” to manufacture hand-stitched wetsuits. As the years went by, the company increasingly collaborated with Simotal.
1989. Simotal opened retail premises as an import-export trader on 19 May 1989 at 27A Avenida de Roma in Lisbon.
1997. The two companies eventually merged in 1997 under the name “Latomis” (“Simotal” backwards), discontinuing “Simotal” brand name use and manufacturing equipment exclusively under the “Picasso” brand name.
The images below show the exterior of the Latomis plant in Sesimbra where the Simotal underwater hunting products were manufactured.
At the weekend we shall begin exploring what Simotal made and distributed in the way of basic underwater equipment, starting with the company's diving mask.
