Cargill and Hojiblanca inaugurate olive oil bottling plant in Spain
Antequera, Spain – 30 September 2009
Contact:
Francis De Rosa +44 1932 861174 francis_derosa@cargill.com
Corinne Holtshausen +44 1932 861174 corinne_holtshausen@cargill.com
Esteban M Carneros +34 952841451 info@hojiblanca.es
Cargill and Hojiblanca have inaugurated a new oil bottling plant at Antequera, near Malaga. The 50/50 joint venture between the companies under the name of Mercaóleo represents an investment of €18 million in the plant itself, in addition to the working capital required to operate at full capacity. The oil bottled will be sold and distributed to customers by its parent companies.
The state-of-the-art, highly automated facility has the ability to bottle more than 100 million litres of olive oil annually, with the potential to increase capacity through future expansion. The plant will be bottling a whole range of high quality olive oils in a variety of sizes to meet the needs of customers globally.
Olive oil demand continues to grow across the world due to its unique taste, premium quality and healthy profile. Mercaóleo will produce private label olive oil using the highest quality raw materials, backed by the most advanced bottling practices and capabilities to serve Hojiblanca’s and Cargill’s customers. This plant is a sign of its parent companies’ goal to become leaders in both the European and worldwide private label olive oil markets. Together the two companies will provide clients with expertise on all aspects of the process, from tree to table.
“Mercaóleo brings together two compelling sets of capabilities”, said Stan Ryan, head of Cargill’s refined oils business in Europe. “Hojiblanca truly understands olive oil and provides reliability, quality and access to large volumes. Meanwhile, Cargill brings production technology and risk management expertise, and a vast global trade, distribution and export network. As well as opening up new, international markets for olive oil, this joint venture highlights Cargill’s commitment to long-term growth and investment opportunities within Spain. This exciting venture should create the best private label olive oil supply chain in the world.”
For Hojiblanca this alliance will strengthen its position in the global olive oil sector – accessing new opportunities as the international market for their product grows. “Hojiblanca is the world's largest producer of olive oil and market leader in Spain for extra-virgin olive and higher quality oils”, said Jose Moreno, Hojiblanca’s president. “Together we will work to enhance the development and growth of a healthy product like virgin olive oil. Thousands of families are depending on this joint venture, so the relationship between the partners is very important. We have a strong belief that our future is going to be improved because of the relationship with Cargill.”
This project will allow the two companies to market a high quality range of private label olive oils to existing and new customers, offering them the opportunity to retail products that are tailor-made to their requirements.
Strengthening its involvement in high premium olive oil will complement Cargill’s existing oil offering to customers that in volume terms has focused on many oils, such as sunflower, rapeseed, soya, corn and palm, among others. Cargill currently bottles olive oil at its plants in Seville, Spain and Izegem, Belgium. The company also distributes to customers across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Hojiblanca currently exports high premium olive oil worldwide and also produces and markets table olives. The company will continue to work with farmers and cooperatives to produce large volumes of high quality olive oil.
The new bottling facility already has about 20 employees and will create further employment opportunities for production, quality, logistical and financial specialists with proven experience in manufacturing.
Cargill
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 159,000 people in 68 countries.
Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to sharing its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business.
For more information, visit www.cargill.com.
Cargill has been active in Spain since 1960. Its business activities in Spain include: grain and oilseed trading; oilseed crushing, refining, bottling; agriculture risk management; commodity trading; malt production; specialty food ingredients including flavours and texturizers and the production and sales of starches, sweeteners and starch derivatives.
For more information, visit: www.cargill.es
Hojiblanca
Hojiblanca is the world’s biggest olive oil producer. It is a farmer cooperative in the South of Spain with headquarters in Antequera, a few kilometres from Malaga. The co-operative produces an increasing average of 130,000 tonnes of olive oil annually, has more than 50 oil mills and represents over 35,000 farmers. The company also produces tinned and packaged olives, and is the second largest producer in the world in this sector. It is the market leader in Spain for extra virgin olive oil and is highly regarded internationally for its commitment to high quality products and reliability. Hojiblanca has an annual turnover of €300 million.
For more information, contact Hojiblanca at info@hojiblanca.es