Oleofinos group has several companies in the states of Jalisco and Chiapas in Mexico. The 2010 USB See for Yourself Program visited and toured the plant just outside of Guadalajara. This plant is an oil refinery for soybean, coconut, palm, sunflower, and maize oil.
The soybean oil brand Hogar is distributed throughout Mexico as well as to Dollar Tree and Dollar General Stores in the United States. Most of the oil from this plant, our hosts told us, is sold in bulk.
In the past, when transporting processed oil to the United States, one company would truck the oil to the border and another company would take over at the border to transport it to a destination in the United States. Now Oleofinos owns a transportation company and all drivers working for that company have a federal license. Once the drivers are approved, our hosts explained, they are allowed to drive the truck through Mexico, across the border and on to the destination in the U.S.
Touring the plant, we saw where soybean oil arrives at Oleofinos on railroad cars from the United States. We were told they use 100% U.S. soybean oil. They use brokers to get the oil, so do not purchase directly from any specific company.
There are 4 steps in the processing of all of these oils before they are ready to be bottled and distributed: Gumming, bleaching, neutralization of fatty acids, and a deodorizing process which involves running steam through the oils to take out the odor.
There are enormous tanks throughout the plant that hold 6,000 metric tons of oil. During our visit, we saw oil processing at every stage as well as the bottling line and the warehouse.
The size, cleanliness and apparently safe working conditions are impressive.
This plant produces 500 metric tons per day (all oils.) The plant operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year with approximately 200 workers. Workers are paid on average $17 per day. On the line, we were told, Oleofinos puts out 160 bottles per minute for a total of 12,000 boxes containing 12 bottles per day.
Shelf life of the oils processed at Oleofinos is one year.
The Mexican Board of Health inspects the oils that will be exported to the U.S. at the plants. There is also an inspection conducted by U.S. inspectors when the product is taken by truck across the border into the United States.
The United States Soybean helped Oleofinos with technical assistance for refining and developing new products as well as with promotional campaigns to increase sales there. The group has a palm oil extraction plant in Chiapas. The palm oil is used for edible fats and as raw material for soaps. The Group also produces texturized soy protein (TSP) from U.S. soybeans that arrive at a small plant nearby on a train. Soybean oil (SBO) shortening and edible fats are produced in other plants in Guadalajara.
The plant we visited also makes soaps.
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