Spain is the world’s leading producer of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), with approximately two million tons per year. In terms of autonomous communities, Andalusia is at the forefront, with a production of around 85% of Spanish olive oil. More precisely, in one of the Andalusian provinces, Granada, the Olimaker company has created a project that allows the production of quality olive oil.
In 2017, prompted by the passion for a land rich in oil, Luis Serrano (now CEO of the company) and a friend from his youth launched the idea of designing a micro oil mill through a technology that was able to make olive oil with industrial processes, but in a single element and miniaturized. The process has not been easy. There were four prototypes and a health crisis in between for this project to see the light: it will be officially presented next September at the Expoliva fair.
Although the olive oil sector is more than 7,000 million years old, “no one today has managed to carry out an advanced R&D approach and a disruptive technology” as Luis Serrano told Cinco Días. The Granada-based SME has patented and created “a stroke of genius.”. It is the first integral precision micro-oil mill that concentrates the milling, beating, and centrifugation processes in a single machine about the size of a domestic printer. All processes are done automatically in 30 minutes by introducing three kilos of olives. The result: half a liter of “liquid gold.”.
“The reality of a dream”
When Olimaker decided to pursue this idea, they realized the existence of two very different markets. Firstly, the professional market, for olive growers, to whom they can assist with more functionalities, considering that olive oil processes are complex and require a lot of experimentation until a complete supply. For this reason, the company decided to develop a machine called micro almazara professional MC3 1.0. However, the second market was discovered in the last edition of Expoliva held in 2020. The one demanded by users who “were simply in love with olive oil and making it in their own home.”, explains Serrano. This is how the micro almazara Home was born for citizens and the Horeca sector (hotels, restaurants, and cafeterias).
The project, which its CEO defines as “the reality of a dream”, is “a technological, innovative, and disruptive product worldwide.”. It aims “to revolutionize the EVOO extraction process at a time when the market is undergoing a paradigm shift.” In addition, it has been designed with ecological criteria and the idea of caring for the environment. When the process is finished, the waste is cleaned “easily and manually.”
Source: Cinco Días
