CEOLPE Arbequina - Glass bottle 500 ml.

The Baix Penedès region is an area where, at the beginning of the 20th century, the cooperative spirit was deeply rooted, a result of the area’s agricultural wealth, which was organised under this system for the processing of its staple products, mainly grapes and olives.

Virtually every village set up its own agricultural cooperative to meet these processing needs, as well as to provide other services and benefits offered by the cooperative.

In 1984 and 1985, a new phase began for the cooperative sector in the area, driven by the competitive demands of the market, and a new entity emerged: the second-degree cooperative.

In 1988, the Centre Oleícola del Penedès SCCL (CEOLPE) was established, with the various oil mills of the cooperatives in Albinyana, L’Arboç, Banyeres, Bellvei, Calafell, Llorenç del Penedès and El Vendrell being closed down to create a new, modern processing plant that serves the needs of all of them.

This step made it possible to bottle all the oil produced whilst maintaining a high standard of quality. It also provided a solution for the waste produced by the mill (pomace), as the new mill established a treatment plant using microbiological techniques to ensure proper processing, and recovered the wastewater for use in irrigating the local area.

In line with its inclusive approach, CEOLPE continues to grow in terms of new members. Currently, this mill processes olives from 70 villages grouped into 14 primary cooperatives, bringing together different regions such as Alt and Baix Penedès, Garraf, Alt and Baix Camp, Tarragonès and Conca de Barberà in the production of high-quality extra virgin olive oil. In total, around 5,000,000 kilos of olives are processed, yielding an approximate production of 900,000 litres of oil.

CEOLPE’s growth has necessitated industrial expansion to meet current and future needs, given the large number of new olive groves, mainly of the Arbequina variety, that have been planted in recent years.

In 1988, the CEOLPE mill began operations, comprising facilities of 457 m² with a production capacity of 1,600,000 kg of olives, a storage capacity of 250,000 kg of oil, and bottling facilities capable of producing 800 litres per hour.

Due to the incorporation of new cooperatives, a new building was constructed in 2000. These facilities, among the most innovative in the whole of Catalonia, are ready and open to accommodate further cooperatives. The built area exceeds 1,200 m².