La Unión

Over the 17/18 campaign we market over 430.000 tons of produce, with a turnover of around 298 million euros. La Unión’s employee workforce amounts to 1500 employes through its 26 facilities between Almeria and Granada, of which 56% are women and 44% men.

La Unión stands as a synonym for quality production. We take care of our farmers as the essential part of the process they are. We offer consultation, facilitate production means, support them through the entire production process so that they can comply with the most demanding standards and we guarantee them the best marketing prospects.

To ensure both quality and safety in our products we count with several teams of specialists, systems and homologated certifications dealing with control and management of productions processes.

The Quality Control Department then is able to handle certification of farming and manipulation processes. The Technical Department, on the other hand, is charged with offering technical consultation to farmers and to oversee that the regulations established by the certifications are being followed correctly.

They also count with the support of their own laboratories for chemical analysis to run phytosanitary controls on products, which have been certified by ENAC following regulations under the UNE-EN ISO/IEC 17025 resolution. Furthermore, they have physical analysis laboratories with which to run tests on crops to study the soils, flora, nutritive solutions and water requirements; and microbiological analysis to control pathogenic microorganisms such as mold and yeast on food, surfaces, environment and water.

On 2011 we started producing our own electrical power thanks to a 1,5 megawatts cogeneration plant. The resulting heat from this process is able to power a cold storage with room for over 3000 pallets.

The cucumber and pepper packaging lines have been automated through the setting up of robotic terminals that simplify the process, avoid mistakes and maintain the product features intact. Yet another step towards the farming of the future, one that guarantees efficiency and the utmost care and dedication to the quality of its products.

The NEAR INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY is a non-invasive technique that allows for the measuring of sugar content in a product, guaranteeing optimum Bx numbers and its quality.

Through the use of advanced optical sensors for the analysis and categorization of products, NIRS can automate the manipulation and packaging lines, reaching a rate of 2 pieces of fruit per second without generating residues.

We strive to make every phase of production and packaging a sustainable process. We not only comply to the international standards IFS, BRC, GLOBAL GAP, GRAPS and the Integrated Production Regulation. We went further and received the certification under GlobalGap GRASP.

La Unión counts with 4 different recycling facilities run by Sigfito to deal with the collection of phytosanitary packages used by our farmers. Distinct containers are employed for the selective collection of organic, glass, cardboard and metal residues. Plastic residue produced by the company’s facilities and farmers are managed by the recycling company BEFESA.

The water used at our greenhouses, as well as by the farmers following our technicians’ advice, is supported by evapotranspiration and crop coefficient data.