The Spanish Agri-food Cooperative "SAT del Campo", dedicated to the cultivation of high-quality organic pistachios, has chosen the TOMRA 5C to achieve the flexibility needed to address the growing demand, quickly adapt to the changing requests of its customers, meet the high-quality standards required by European markets, and optimize its results. The sorter has proved highly effective in sorting the deformed and aborted kernels and particles resulting from cracking the closed pistachios.
SAT del Campo is an Agri-food cooperative founded in 2010 and based in Villacañas, near Toledo in the Spanish region of Castilla la Mancha, where it grows high-quality organic pistachios for the premium segment of the market.
The cooperative has introduced a TOMRA 5C into its Separation, Grading and Sorting phase of the process, where it separates the stained pistachios from the clean ones and sorts with precision the kernels after the closed nuts are cracked.
"Undoubtedly, the TOMRA 5C's ability to detect foreign materials is remarkable, it has no competition. The truth is that the TOMRA 5C continues to surprise us. As we work with it, we become more efficient in its operation and keep discovering new possibilities for the equipment," adds Pérez.
5% increase in volumes, improved quality to IFS standards – investment for future
The cooperative has evolved fast, as David Pérez Pardo-Pimentel, General Manager of its processing plant, explains: "We started with 5 farmers full of enthusiasm and a desire to innovate in the agricultural sector of Castilla la Mancha, and we have seen many changes and advances. By 2024, we have grown to 75 farmer members and over 1,400 hectares of pistachios, with 95% being organic and 5% in the process of conversion to organic. In the last 14 years, production has increased by 15% to 20% annually."
This increase has led to important decisions to set the foundations for sustained growth: "The needs of our cooperative increased exponentially due to the growing demand from our increasingly quality-conscious and deadline-driven customers. This became even more important when we obtained the IFS Food Certification. The IFS has been crucial for us to penetrate new markets in the European Union that require this high certification level," says Pérez.
"Managing such production volumes required investing in innovation and adopting state-of-the-art equipment. That's why we decided to acquire the TOMRA 5C, and it proved to be an excellent decision," explains David Pérez. The optical sorter has allowed the cooperative to process higher volumes while maintaining high-quality standards: "To date, we have increased the plant's productivity by 5%, and I am confident we can improve even further. We are processing up to 1,000 kg/h, and even 2,000 kg/h depending on the type of product, with a quality level that meets our customers' specifications and a quantity that allows us to respond to market demand."
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