Antonio Manzano Aranda is an Industrial Engineer with more than 40 years of experience in the sector. He is the manager of the company Calderería Manzano / Flottweg. It was founded in 1918 by Antonio Manzano Carpio and was managed for decades by his sons Miguel, Tomás and Luis. It is still operating and growing both in what it has always done, which is the manufacturing of stainless steel tanks for olive oil. It is also the exclusive representative of the German brand Flottweg, which allows them to supply the sector with the complete line of olive oil extraction. At this moment, they are in a transition period so that the next generation can continue assuming such a beautiful role in the industry.
What do you think was done better in the sector in the past?
After forty years of professional life in the sector, to talk about the past is like talking about a different world, and, if viewed from today’s perspective, it may seem that many things were done badly.
In fact, the conditions that marked the guidelines of the olive oil production chain were so different from those of today that if you tell someone who is familiar with the sector today, he or she will come to the conclusion that almost everything was done wrong.
There were longer campaigns, a lower daily processing capacity, the separation of qualities was not thought of as important, etc… and all this was done with the materials and technical means of the time.
And returning to the question: Is it that nothing was done better in the past? I do believe that almost nothing was done better when referring to cultivation, harvesting and other phases of the chain until putting the bottle of oil on the consumer’s table. Now, what was done better? Now we are going to delve into the typical topics: There was a slower pace at work (perhaps too slow), less pressure in any of the activities done at work and I am almost sure that most of those who were in the sector in those times agree with me that the professional relations became personal and workers became great friends. This was undoubtedly better.
What do you think is better than before?
There is no doubt that the technological changes implemented in the sector at all levels have produced an enormous revolution in recent years.
There are different types of plantations which did not even exist before, extraction plants with large capacities and that are capable of simultaneously processing different varieties and qualities, in turn optimizing quality and production, which results in extra virgin oils that were not even dreamt of not so many years ago.
In general, things are being carried out better now than they were in the past, of course, and the opposite would have been a resounding failure after the effort made by farmers, oil millers, cooperatives, bottlers and institutions.
And it is by no means all done. Research, innovation and development will enable us to say in a few years’ time that we are doing better than we are now.