Son Figuera: the Manacor project of three million euros to save Mallorca's dairy sector
ManacorAfter the crisis in Mallorca's dairy sector and the closure of Agama, there have been many doubts and administrative procedures to ensure that the island's producing farms could sell the thousands of liters of milk they had been supplying to the Barcelona-based Damm group company. A sudden and critical situation that forced the Government to explore various solutions to save face, so that the remaining producers could continue supplying cow's milk to Mallorcan processing companies.
A few months ago, these demands from the sector reached Hipercentro, the Manacor company that precisely last Saturday celebrated its first 40 years. An offer that the three founding partners, Pere Gonçal Aguiló, Bernat Font, and Pere Nicolau, saw favorably and that is already in the process of becoming a reality. “It is true that the Government came looking for us, and they asked us if we could help them move local produce and milk now that there is a surplus,” recalls Miquel Nicolau, head of production at Hipercentro. “The company's leaders, within their philosophy of betting on local products, decided that we had to go for it. It is true that it is also a very important investment, but at the same time we think we owe it to the people here. It is about giving them a return for everything they have given us over these 40 years,” adds Nicolau.
To achieve this, Hipercentro will renovate three warehouses on its Son Figuera estate, located between Manacor and Felanitx, to set it up as a dairy products factory, in a new company strategy, which has just presented a new processing and distribution center for meat products and a future 1,000 m2 warehouse to manufacture its own pastries, empanadas, and other bakery products in Manacor, which will open in September.
“The Son Figuera project is one we are working hard on. We already have the go-ahead from the Ministry of Agriculture to set up a cheese factory, a line for fresh milk, yogurt, kefir and various types of specialties. Now, what will need to be done is the modernization of three of the farm buildings,” explains Nicolau. One will become the cheese factory, the second will house a showcooking and a small shop to directly sell the products made at Son Figuera, and the third, for the milking machines for the sheep line that will be there. “We will purchase cow's milk from these farms that have been abandoned, frankly speaking, by the Damm group, which has left them without a commercial outlet”.
A 40-year-old company, but expanding
Months of work now begin so that the project can become operational "in approximately one year. We will try to hurry, because right now it is a priority for the company". According to initial estimates, the investment will be close to 3 million euros. It should be recalled that, currently, Hipercentro has 15 supermarkets in Mallorca (another one opens this July in Sóller), 10 in Ibiza, and 2 in Menorca, in addition to 4 large DIY stores. That is, more than 30 stores in the Balearic Islands.
At the beginning of last March, the Government tried to negotiate with the Damm group for the continuity of productive activity and to maintain the production and commercialization of milk on the island. "The Ministry approached this proposal with maximum diligence and commitment, given that it considered it a strategic opportunity to preserve a key activity for the Mallorcan primary sector", they explained.
The basis of the project foresaw the creation of a public-private company structured in three pillars: a 25% stake by the Government, 50% contributed by a private investor, and the remaining 25% corresponding to the workers and the farmers who supplied milk to the Damm Group. This scheme was to allow for the continuity of the industry, reinforce the value chain, and improve the viability of the linked dairy farms. However, the three farmers who supplied milk to the Damm Group finally decided not to join the proposal and opted to explore other alternatives for the future of their farms.