Marín Giménez, at the Forefront of innovation in the transformation of fruits and vegetables

Marín Giménez Hns. S.A. is a company group devoted to the transformation of fruits and vegetables located in the Northeast of the Region. Its foundation in Caravaca de la Cruz in 1957 set the beginning of a family Project, which has been growing steadily and progressively until becoming a model for the sector at a national and international level. Nowadays, its main production centre is found in Moratalla and contributes to impulse local economy bringing employment to a numerous group of workers belonging to the surrounding communities: Moratalla, Cehegín, Caravaca and Calasparra.

Origins

In its origins, canned food was the main line of bussiness of the company, later becoming specialized in the manufacturing of vegetable cans, like apricot, peach or tomato. The product range has been extended constantly throughout the years. Nonetheless, the main change in the activity of the company took place during the crisis the canned food sector suffered in the nineties. Marín Giménez then proved their innovative character and future vision when becoming the first european company in using an aseptic packaging system for sliced fruit. Since then, the company has known how to establish itself as an industry leader by transforming vegetables for the B2B market, becoming an strategic supplier for the most important manufacturers of dairy products, beverages, pastries and marmalades at a global level.

In an ever-shifting and global world like the current one, holding up to the top level is no easy task. It requires of an open to change, risk-taking mindset and with great knowledge of the existing opportunities in a greatly competitive market. This way, holding on to those premises, Marín Giménez has laid the foundation for its growth in four fundamental vectors: innovation, cicles of media investments and resources and commitment to quality, food security and the environment.

The company’s innovative nature is one of its defining characteristics, and as such has it been acknowlegded in diverse occasions. As, for example, the receiving of the Regional Award for Company Innovation in 2012, the Agro Special Industry Award in 2017 or the 7 Channel’s “Diary of the Countryside” Award last year may be mentioned. These awards, together with the directly granted by some of their clients, are a reason for pride and at the same time work as an incentive to keep finding new ways of growth and progress.

The continuous cicles of investment have allowed the company group to grow and change throughout the years. Cicles that have been oriented to the improvement and optimization of products already belonging to the catalogue, as well as to the installation of productive lines that allowed to explore new bussiness oportunities. Some of the more important investments accomplished during the last years have been the launch of a complete line of tangerine production or the expansion of the fruits and vegetables’s mash and purées manufacturing line’s capacity . These lines incorporate the last technological advances in order to develop products with organoleptic exceptional characteristics, which meet up with the highest quality and food security standards, and which are produced sustainably and respectfully in regards to the environment.

Thanks to the investments, Marín Giménez productive’s capacity has grown firmly and gradually until reaching an anual average of 60.000 tons of fruits and vegetables transformed and exported to more than 50 countries all around the world. The company’s vocation in regards to quality, food security and good know-how is supported by international certifications such as BRCGS, IFS, Kosher, Halal, FDA or SMETA. These certifications endorse the qualitiy of their aseptic canned fruit and vegetables, but of other products from their catalogue as well,  such as frozen fruits and fruit and vegetable preparations, which are products of high added value that are served to the main yogurt and other dairy products’ manufacturers.

In order to keep the installations and services according to the local, regional and national requirements, the firm has worked intensely in identifiying and minimizing their possible environmental impact. During the last years, the company has undertaken various energetic and water consumption audits which have allowed them to focus their efforts in the rational use of resources, proving that commitment to the environment has always been another fundamental vector to the actions of the company.

In this sense, Marín Giménez has a water purification system for the treatment of waters of industrial origins. Its capacity has been growing constantly throughout the years and it features the latest technology in order to meticulously meet up with all the legal and environmental requirements. This process of purification later allows the reusing of water in agricultural irrigation. Its excellent management has been acknowledged in several occasions and exposed as a model in diverse forums by organizations such as Esamur (Entity for the Drainage and Purification of the Region of Murcia).

Amongst the most relevant environmental measures and projects of the company, the installation of a biomass boiler, developed eight years ago, has notably allowed to reduce its dependency on fossile fuels, as well as reduce the emission of greenhouse effect gases. The company has developed the installation of a photovoltaic generation plant, oriented to self-supply, with which it will reduce even more its energetic and environmental impact.

This environmental commitment is transverse for all the areas of the company, and because of that the sustainability measures arrive as well to the plantations in which the company raises part of its more exclusive raw materials, those devoted to child food or to organic production. The management of plantations is handled by an agronomic department focused on optimization and improvement of cultivations, as well as on their certification in the standards most demanded by clients, like the Global G.A.P. GRASP SRPING, which assures good agricultural practices, regarding the product as well as human and natural resources management.

Nowadays, the company is undertaking several improvement projects in what concerns sustainability and biodiversity of their crops, together with some of their bigger clients. These projects encourage the integration of agricultural production with the environment, promoting the generation of natural habitats for local flora and fauna species. This integration contributes to biological control of the crops as well, reducing the need for pesticides in those plantations who require them.

The company works directly with a lot of farmers, advising them technically and being able that way to guarantee the quality and harmlessness of the raw materials used in the manufacturing of their products. On this matter, Marín Giménez takes pride in strenghtening a model of production based in Vertical Integration. This model is based on promoting the direct contact with the raw material’s origin, and Marín Giménez relies on its privileged location in the apex of the Mediterranean arch to achieve it. This location is a competitive advantage that greatly favours access to raw materials, from Huelva’s strawberries to Lleida’s pears, and allows to point the value in the direct fruit’s journey from the plantation to the final producer.

The good situation of the company nowadays allows it to look to the future with optimism. In line with its investor spirit and continous strive for improvement, the company has traced a Master Industrial Plan, foreseeably qualified as of social interest in the short term, which will allow the expansion and upgrade of actual installations, as well as the construction of their own logistics centre in Moratalla. In this way, the firm continues developing within the path of progress and will continue to create welth in the Northeast Region.