The company, which emerged from the joint venture between the Belgian group VEOS and the Spanish group Vall Companys, will revalue the blood from pig slaughterhouses in Spain by transforming it into a functional protein that is used in the production of animal feed ( pet food).
This process will be carried out at the VEOS Ibérica plant in the Huesca town of Monzón, where an investment of 30 million euros has been made and 25 qualified jobs have been generated so far, explains Javier Viscarri, general director of VEOS Ibérica, to the Economist
VEOS Ibérica’s investment has focused on the purchase of land -the plant is located on a 66,000 square meter plot of which 15,000 square meters have been built-, as well as on the machinery and innovative technology for the revaluation of the blood from pig slaughterhouses with its transformation into protein for feeding pets such as dogs and cats.
This plant is a pioneer in Spain and, with its start-up, the business model that the Belgian group Veos has successfully implemented in Belgium and France has been implemented, incorporating all the technological advances in the Monzón plant.
The VEOS Ibérica facilities began operating last July after the completion of all the construction works of the plant and the obtaining of all the certificates and licenses. The plant is currently transforming two million liters a week, although its maximum transformation capacity is four million liters a week, which will allow it to address the entire Spanish market without the need to have more plants in Spain.
The Monzón facilities are receiving blood from the neighboring slaughterhouses of Aragon and Catalonia, although the radius of action to other areas of Spain continues to increase, since the objective is to work with all the slaughterhouses in the country. Precisely, in the choice of Monzón for the location of the plant, its central and important position in swine production was taken into account, as well as the fact that it houses the most important slaughter facilities in the country, as well as its privileged and equidistant location with respect to other livestock areas of Spain and their logistics connection that favors connectivity and the transport of goods.
The VEOS Ibérica project in Monzón does not only include this process of transforming pig blood into protein for animal feed. The company has already acquired sufficient area with the 66,000 square meters for possible expansions and to launch other lines of business related to collagen and eggs. Precisely, the latter is already included in the investment made of 30 million. These are new projects that will start up once activity has been consolidated on the current line, which is expected to be achieved in March or April 2022.
The consolidation of this activity is going faster than initially planned by the company, which has been possible due to the financial capacity of the two partners and the qualified team. Two factors that have favored this growth and reaching a market share of 35%.
The company’s goal is also to continue expanding its staff to reach 40 people. An incorporation of new workers that will take place in rhythm with the increase in transformation capacity. In addition, the company has also generated indirect employment, especially in the area of logistics and machinery.
circular economy
The activity of VEOS Ibérica also has a significant economic and environmental impact. The blood used in the plant is purchased from pig slaughterhouses, which receive financial compensation for it. In this way, it is possible to transform waste -before it was thrown away- into a useful and sustainable by-product through a biotechnological process, which allows protein enrichment of other products intended for animal feed.
In fact, in slaughterhouses it has been a very well received initiative because now this waste has become a line of economic activity, which translates into added value. In addition, by not throwing away, the environmental impact is reduced. Likewise, the technology used is aimed at protecting the environment and the safety of people.
The company, whose DNA is the circular economy, also actively participates in R&D projects that improve the performance and knowledge of products in order to maximize their value, being used as raw material in animal feed, and optimizing energy expenditure and water consumption, reaching the point of reusing most of the products in its different processes.
joint venture
VEOS Iberica was born in 2021 in Monzón with the joint venture between the Belgian group VEOS, which has a turnover of around 100 million euros, and the Spanish group Vall Companys. The company has undertaken during the years 2019 and 2021 one of the 100 most important investments in Spain and Aragon.
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