Copag Playing Cards

The company now known as Copag started out in 1908 as Albino Gonçalves e Cia. Importadores and was founded by Albino Goncalves in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. This company began as an importer of playing cards and a producer of stationary. It was not until 1918 that the company began to manufacture its own playing cards. This new development also led to a name change. The new name was Companhia Paulista de Papéis e Artes Gráficas, which is where you get the acronym COPAG.

However there was not a name change in 1987 when the company acquired new manufacturing facilities in Manaus, which is in the state of Amazonas in Brazil. These new facilities along with new production processes, new equipment, automation, and productivity improvements seem to be the beginning of the popular success of their plastic playing card decks.

Copag is now one of the largest manufacturers of playing cards and claims to be the leading manufacturer of 100% plastic playing cards. Their top quality cards are now available on five continents and are found in many casinos around the world. Additionally the Copag brand of plastic playing cards is one of the most popular brands among poker players, bridge players, and card gamers all over the world. As a testament to this popularity and to their quality, Copag playing cards have been used many times at the World Series of Poker, at World Poker Tour events, and at events for the Heartland Poker Tour.

There are many other indicators of Copag’s commitment to excellence. Among these are various certifications, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and SA 8000. These certifications basically attest to the standards for quality products and also for management practices which lead to quality life for employees. Market research and extensive testing allow Copag to stay current in areas of innovative designs and manufacturing processes. These constant commitments to improve technologies and monitor market conditions help Copag stay competitive in quality and price.

Copag USA is the branch of Copag that serves customers and distributes Copag cards to the US market. This very successful branch of the company is based in Florida and is headed up by Eduardo Soares. Mr. Soares previously owned a successful playing card company in Brazil. For US players the Copag USA office is essentially Copag. For example, if you were to find a rare manufacturing defect in some or all of the cards in a deck, this is the best place to send your defective cards for replacement. Full details on this policy can be viewed at the Copag USA Warranty Service page.