The Vall Companys group began its activity with the purchase of the bread flour mill "La Meta" in Lleida (1956). The first animal feeds were produced making use of the by-products of milling wheat. The first experience of pig farm integration marked the creation, in the 60s, of an innovative, singular and characteristic business model. The company also began working in the poultry sector. The constitution as a limited company of Vall Companys and its installation in "El Segre" industrial estate brought volume and production capacity (1970).

Development of the Integration Model: the farmer brings the installations and his own work. The other services (animals, feed, veterinary control) are provided by the integrating company. This model, began in the pig sector, is also developed in the poultry sector. The increase in the pig sector marks the increase in factory produced feeds, moving from production anddistribution in sacks to loose, bulk production. The decade was marked by the large growth of integrated farming and by the need for rigorous logistic management which was guaranteed by the creation of Transegre; the logistics company of the Vall Companys Group. In 1977 the group's geographical expansion began with the purchase of Gepesa; pig and poultry feed factory in Vic (Barcelona).

The Vall Companys group built a new flour factory with a capacity of 300 000 metric tonnes a year. The production of its own sows increased in order to achieve greater self-supply of piglets (a precursor to traceability) and the poultry sector was vertically integrated with the first slaughter house, located in Tarragona (1984). The production of pharmaceuticals for veterinary use guaranteed, after 1981, the control of medicines used by the group (the origin of Mevet; the group's laboratory and independent auditor since 1989).

The Vall Companys group invested in quality and sanitary control in the face of a market which prioritises and demands food safety. The process of geographical expansion in the production of compound feed both for pig and poultry sectors was continued throughout the peninsular. The hatchery Pondex (Lleida) was built and Agroturia (Valencia) was purchased in 1993. The integration of pig farms continued its development with the increase in the number of its own sows and self-sufficiency in piglets. The construction of the first pig artificial insemination centre (Lleida) provided a total guarantee of exhaustive genetic control.

The vertical integration of the company is consolidated by the incorporation of diverse pig slaughter houses; Patel (Vic) and Cárnicas Frivall (Cuenca); quartering rooms and chicken slaughter house, Costa (Gerona) and Torrent (Barcelona); new feed factory and pig artificial insemination centre, Agrocesa (Valladolid). The bread flour sector extends its distribution capacity and customer services begun in the previous decade.

Our company has embarked upon a process of coming closer to the consumer without neglecting the large-volume, quality-assured production at an efficient cost that has become the Vall Companys Group's hallmark. We continue to invest in industrial facilities such as the construction of a new feed plant at Ejea de los Caballeros and major improvements of the poultry abattoirs and quartering facilities at Avidel and Avigal. The processed product line is also being developed, with a focus on the marketing of cured Duroc and Iberian hams and shoulders.