HISTORY

1956 - 1970: Bread Flours

The Vall Companys Group began its activity with the purchase of the four mill "La Meta" in Lleida, which is dedicated to the production of bread flours (1956). Using by-products 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 Companys, which was characteristic of the 1960s. The company began to enter the poultry sector. The foundation of the public limited company Vall Companys, and its establishment on the El Segre industrial estate, led to an increase in production volume and capacity (1970).

1970 - 1980: Livestock Integration

Development of an integration model, in which farmers provide facilities and labour. The rest of the services—animals, feed, veterinary control–are provided by the integrating company. The model was first used in the pork sector, and subsequently introduced in the poultry area. The increase in pork production led to an increase in feed production and distribution, from individual sacks to bulk orders. In a decade marked by sharp growth in livestock integration, the need for rigorous logistics management was met by the creation of Transegre, the Vall Companys Group's logistics company. In 1977, the company began to expand geographically, with the purchase of , a poultry and pig feed manufacturer in Vic (Barcelona).

1980 - 1990: Volume and Logistics

The Vall Companys Group constructed a new flour mill with a capacity of 300,000 t/year; increased its own pig production to attain greater self-sufficiency in the supply of piglets (a precursor of traceability), and made its poultry market more vertical with the addition of its first abattoir, located in Tarragona (1984). The production of pharmaceutical products for veterinary use (in Mevet, the group's laboratory, and an independent internal auditor since 1989) ensured control of the medicines used in the Group from 1981 onwards.

1990 - 2000: Quality and Traceability

Vall Companys Group invested in quality and health control in a market that prioritized and demanded food safety. The Group continued its process of geographic expansion in the manufacture of commercial mixed feeds for pigs and poultry throughout the peninsula, constructed the Pondex hatchery (Lleida), and purchased Agroturia (Valencia) 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 centre was constructed for the insemination of pigs (in Lleida), to totally guarantee full genetic control.

2000 - 2010: Verticalization

The verticalization of the business was consolidated with the incorporation of various abattoirs for pigs and cattle, including Patel (Vic), Cárnicas Frivall (Cuenca) and Frimancha (Valdepeñas), as well as poultry processing plants and abattoirs for poultry, namely Costa (Girona) and Torrent (Barcelona). A new feed manufacturer and artificial insemination centre for pigs called Agrocesa (Valladolid) was added to the Group. The verticalization of the poultry business was completed with the purchase of the French multinational Doux in Spain (Avidel and Avigal). In the area of bread flours, the distribution capacity and customer services introduced in the previous decade was expanded.

2010 - 2015: Guarantees for the future

A period of greater contact with the consumer has begun. At the same time, large volumes are produced with a guarantee of quality, and the cost efficiency that characterizes the Vall Companys Group. Investments have continued in the industrial division, with the construction of a new feed plant in Ejea de los Caballeros and renovations in the abattoirs and poultry processing plants in Avidel and Avigal. The processed meat line has been boosted, as has the marketing of cured Duroc and Iberian hams and shoulders.