Grup Pons has received a €1.12 million ICF Eurocrèdit loan from the Institut Català de Finances (ICF) to expand and modernise its olive oil mill in L'Albagés, in Les Garrigues county.

The investment is part of the company's strategic growth plan to boost its productivity and competitiveness. With this project, the family-owned company expects to process up to 3,000 tonnes of olives a year from 2030, around 800 more than at present.

The project includes expanding the mill, installing new machinery, upgrading the processing and quality control equipment and renovating the water, electrical and thermal systems.

In addition, the entire plant will be integrated into a single control system, which will improve traceability and allow more precise monitoring of the production of organic extra virgin olive oil.

As a result, the company will be better able to adapt to each harvest season and will avoid the bottlenecks that have so far limited its production.

The upgrade will also make the mill more sustainable. On the one hand, it will significantly reduce the plant's energy consumption. On the other, it includes a new recovery and second extraction area to obtain more value from each olive and reduce by-product generation.

ICF already financed the mill's start-up

"We supported Grup Pons when this mill was still a project on paper, and we are by their side again now that they are taking a strategic step in the company's development. Supporting a family-owned business that is rooted in the region and has an international outlook means supporting the present and future of Catalonia's primary sector," said ICF CEO Vanessa Servera.

ICF has financed around 80% of the investment through an ICF Eurocrèdit loan. These loans offer favourable terms to Catalan SMEs looking to drive investment, open up new markets and develop innovative projects, thanks to European Union co-financing through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

A strategic investment for the decades ahead

"The Molí Nou represents much more than a capacity expansion. It is a strategic investment that prepares us for growth over the coming decades and strengthens our commitment to excellence, innovation and sustainability in the production of organic extra virgin olive oil," explained Eduard Pons, CEO of Grup Pons.

"The incorporation of new technologies, the full digitalisation of the process and the new recovery and second extraction area will enable us to improve traceability, make better use of every olive and keep raising our quality standards. It is a commitment to a more efficient and circular model, capable of reducing pomace generation and turning part of this by-product into high-quality extra virgin olive oil," he added.

"This project also has a strong local focus. We are consolidating an industrial activity linked to its place of origin, generating value from Les Garrigues and strengthening the competitiveness of a family business that exports its products to major international markets," Pons stressed.

Grup Pons is a fourth-generation family business based in L'Albagés with more than 80 years of history. Its core business is the production of organic extra virgin olive oil, which accounts for around 90% of its activity and is exported to more than 140 markets. Since 2005, it has also produced wine under the Clos Pons brand.