The sea hides many treasures that can bring unexpected benefits on land as well. Pego’s company Plymag, located in the municipality of Alicante, in this case, production of fertilizers based on algae extracts. These are high-quality biostimulants that respect the environment, increasing the yield of crop fields exponentially. The high level of the product has ensured the continued growth of this company, which exports to the main agricultural areas of the world.
Plymag’s origins date back to 1978. Its president, Carlos Feliu, remembers that it was founded by his father, who initially bought the fertilizers he had packaged for sale, always adapting to the needs he identified in the farming of the environment. From 1990, as a result of the inclusion of both Carlos and his brothers Fernando and Ana, the company already began to manufacture its own products.
From then on, although production became the company’s trademark, he still continued to buy some products. Among them are seaweed extracts, which at that time only began to be produced in Northern Europe. As Fernando Feliu, technician and managing director at Plymag explains, “When we seriously considered the possibility of producing our own extracts in 2015, it was a result of some supply issues with British suppliers. So we started researching which extraction equipment we could use and the right algae for it. They are found in both the North Atlantic and Southern Africa.».
The result of this process was the launch of the plant, which, according to Plymag, remains the only seaweed extract plant operating for the agricultural sector in Spain. «The methodology he emphasizes is mechanical, so the product purely biological and, as a result, with maximum respect for the environment». Moreover, the algae they work with are not uprooted, but rather “cut down like pruning so they continue to grow without problems.”
The effects of these biostimulants on crops are staggering, and the company’s executive director said:The only and inhospitable habitat for these algae is the Atlantic coast. It is located in cold latitudes and is periodically subject to tidal floods. To resist these extreme conditions, they had to develop natural defenses in the form of chemical compounds that we inject into our biostimulants.”
Plymag produces 300 tons of algae-based fertilizers per year, representing 15% of its total production. 40% is exported to regions such as South Africa, Europe, the Maghreb or Southeast Asia. In fact, it has three commercial subsidiaries in Chile, Colombia and Portugal. With 50 employees, turnover last year was 13.5 million, after an increase of one and a half million.