Independent producer is leader of European hog production
June 7, 2017
Vall Co. is a leading Spanish family-owned agri-food group founded in 1956. The Vall Co. Group operational model is based on the integration of all stages of the production process.
With 206,000 sows in production, Vall Co. is the largest European independent swine company. Vall Co. Group with its 40 companies covers the entire Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands, which optimizes the quality and logistics of the group and ensures a uniform, efficient distribution throughout Spain and export markets.
The Vall Co. Group began its activity in 1956 with the purchase of the flour mill “La Meta” in Lleida, Spain, which is dedicated to the production of bread flours. Using byproducts from the wheat mill, the company manufactured its first animal feeds. The first experience of integration in pig farming marked the creation of an innovative business model for Vall Co., which was characteristic of the 1960s.
The company developed an integration model in which the farmer provides the facilities and labor while Vall Co. provides the animals, feed and health control.The model was first used in the pork business. The increase in pork production led to an increase in feed production and distribution, from individual sacks to bulk orders.
Later, in the 1980-90s, the Vall Co. Group constructed a new flour mill with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year; increased its pig production to attain greater self-sufficiency in the supply of piglets and established its pharmaceutical company for veterinary use in their livestock industry.
Agroturia Co. in Valencia was purchased in 1993. Integration of pig farming continued to develop, with an increase in the number of the group’s own pigs, and self-sufficiency in the supply of piglets. The first artificial insemination stud was built in Lleida in the 1990s.
The first decade of the current century was characterized by the vertical integration of the business with the incorporation of various packing plants for pigs and cattle, as well as poultry processing plants and abattoirs. A new feed manufacturer and a swine AI stud called Agrocesa (Valladolid) were added to the group.
Over the current decade, Vall Co. has started a period of greater contact with the consumer, receiving feedback from the base of the food industry. At the same time, large volumes are produced with a guarantee of quality and cost efficiency. In response to consumers’ demand for better meat quality and the company’s entry into the cured ham business, Vall made a dramatic change in its pork production lines from Pietrain to Duroc.
Key figures
Turnover: 1.49 billion euros ($1.61 billion US)
Meat production (thousand metric tons): Pork, 340; poultry, 115; beef, 13; cured ham, 13, and processed, 7
Swine production:
4.6 million head
Poultry production:
68 million head
Animal feed production: 1.78 million mt
Flour production: 485,000 mt
Associated farms: 2,100
Collaborators: 4,500
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