Top quality guaranteed CONESA

ToP quaLITy GuaRanTEEd

With more than one million tonnes of fresh tomatoes processed per campaign, Spanish CONESA Group is the largest tomato processing company in the Mediterranean. It is also the world’s leading producer of tomato powder, supplying 80 per cent of its output to export markets outside Spain. Last year, the company completed an important acquisition, further cementing its leading position. Romana Moares reports.

Throughout its history, CONESA has experienced dynamic growth, and today it is present in over 40 countries. The last few years in particular have been a period of constant expansion, as Mr Manuel Vázquez, CEO of the CONESA Group, confirms: “In 2014 we bought TOMIX in Miajadas (currently Conesa Vegas Altas), followed in 2015 by the acquisition of the AGRAZ Group with factories in Extremadura (Spain), California and China. The most recent acquisition was completed in October 2017 when we bought two factories in the Sevilla area that had belonged to the Algosur Group.”

With the latest acquisition CONESA Group has become the largest tomato processing company in the Mediterranean, with a processing capacity of 25,000 tonnes per day and 1.4 million tonnes per crop, placing it among the top five companies in terms of fresh tomato processing volumes worldwide. “Our turnover for the 2019 crop is forecast at €250 million,” says Mr Vázquez. “In terms of produce processing, we control around 37 per cent of the Spanish market but 80 per cent of our turnover is generated in the export markets.”

The widest range

The group currently operates 11 production plants. Six of those process fresh tomatoes into ingredients for the second transformation (tomato paste, diced tomatoes, tomato powder, etc.); three are located in Extremadura, Spain, two in Portugal and one in Xinjiang, China. CONESA also has one plant dedicated to tomato powder production, located in Leemore, California, and two factories in Extremadura (Spain), processing finished products for retail.

The portfolio covers the full scope of tomato products, says the CEO. “In the first processing category, we cover the full range including highly concentrated products (paste from 22/24 brix to 36/38 brix with many different specifications), low brix products (pasata and crushed tomatoes from 06/08 brix to 14/16 brix), diced tomatoes of different sizes and tomato powder.

“The second processing, i.e. finished products, covers different types of tomato sauces, ketchup, crushed tomatoes (tomato triturado for the Spanish market), tomato frito and similar,” he continues. “Our competitive advantages include the breadth of the product portfolio, the different packaging options and the ability to meet individual customers’ needs. Being primarily an ingredient manufacturer, it is not easy to come up with new products, but we always try to differentiate ourselves from the competitors by collaborating with our customers to design products that give them some added value.”

Group synergies

With growing public awareness of food quality and rising interest in product origin (traceability) as well as in the hygienic standards and the actual manufacturing process employed for the food production, the stakes are high. CONESA’s Agricultural Department, aware of this market trend, maintains direct contact with farmers and tomato growers to make sure that the supply chain runs smoothly and efficiently, with the aim of supplying fresh tomatoes of the highest quality in quantities suited to each factory’s capacity.

“Our product range includes baby food and organic products, demand for which has been growing steadily. Although the market is

still relatively small, we have doubled the production of organic products in the last three years,” says the CEO, pointing out that CONESA is now the biggest producer of organic tomatoes for processing in Spain, although this still represents only 3.5 per cent of total volume processed. “Demand for organic products is expected to continue to increase and CONESA will certainly reflect this trend. There is a lot of confusion in the organic market but we guarantee that our organic tomatoes are 100 per cent organic.”

The company is strongly export-oriented, selling its products to 66 countries. The main markets include the UK, Germany, France, USA and Japan. Good, stable supplier relationships are of great importance to CONESA as they contribute significantly to its reputation and growth. “Our main suppliers are farmers, with whom we have annual contracts to cover our needs. Another big group of suppliers are the packaging companies. In this area, we have long-term relationships with drum suppliers Greif and Armando Álvarez, aseptic bag suppliers Goglio and Aran, to name just a few. Other trusted partners include the mechanical services supplier Transfinox, automation services supplier Auser, chemical product supplier Brenntag Química and other companies, such as machine manufacturers CFT and Navatta Group. The list is long and we value our partners greatly,” says Mr Vázquez.

Asked about the company’s plans for the future, he admitted that following the rapid growth in the last few years, the focus will be on consolidation, to take full advantage of the group synergies. “Differentiation and innovation are the other two big topics,” he pointed out. The aim is to continue to stay ahead of competitors and given the recent company development, CONESA is on the way to achieving this objective. n