DEMASA Palmito Division is the World’s specialist and leader in the production of hearts of palm. Its work is supported by 30 years dedicated to the task of offering the best products and services to its clients, through the use of production methods that are environmental friendly: eliminating pesticides, minimizing the use of chemicals, and continuously diminishing the use of nonrenewable fuel.
DEMASA Palmito Division is a subsidiary of Gruma, who is the global market leader in the production, distribution and commercialization of corn and wheat flour, and its related products.
In 1978 GRUMA ventured into the industry of cultivated hearts of palm, starting the first global palm crops “Bactris gasipaes” in Costa Rica (Central America). Since then, as part of its daily culture, it has been focused in the research and development of agricultural and industrial technology, searching for a continuous improvement of its products.
In order to give a better service to its customers, DEMASA Palmito Division established another production facility, this time in Ecuador, increasing its production capacity in more than two million boxes. This constitutes 50% of the World’s market.
Our hearts of palm are commercialized in many countries around the World, such as: France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, USA, Italy, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Morocco, Chile, Lebanon, and Costa Rica.
Philosophy
The total satisfaction of our customers is the norm on each of our decisions and actions. To this effect, we are immersed in the continuous improvement of our products and services.
In Demasa, our Vision, Mission and corporate guidelines synthesize the work philosophy which has been developed for more than 60 years of continuous effort, in our company, subsidiaries and divisions. Our philosophy feeds and provides content to the effort that each one of us makes every day.
Being a world class company, we aim to better satisfy the needs of our customers, to benefit society, to contribute to the full development of our associates and to create higher value for our shareholders.
History
– In 1978, DEMASA entered the business of cultivated hearts of palm, in Costa Rica.
– By the year of 1950, they begun to be successfully commercialized in Brazil.
– In 1970, hearts of palm were introduced to the World´s market, being a huge success in France. This way, the exportation to Europe begun, followed by the rest of the world.
– In 1978, Demasa established in Costa Rica, its first two commercial plantations of cultivated hearts of palm. Research programs were also established in order to improve the production process.
– In 1996 DEMASA built a plant for the production of hearts of palm, in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. This plant is the largest and the most technologically advanced in the production of this product in the World, enabling us to offer the best product with the best sanitary conditions.
– Cultivated hearts of palm have diminished the exploitation of wild hearts of palm, which used to extract, every year, a great amount of palm trees from the jungle, affecting biodiversity.
Our Mission:
Our passion made hearts of palm for the World.
Our passion is to focus all of our efforts to the commitment of serving our customers with the highest quality products, being kind and socially responsible with nature, through a continuous process of improvement and the development of our own people.
Our Values:
– Passion for our customers.
– Passion for our people.
– Passion for quality in everything that we do.
– Passion for excellence.
Quality & Industrial Technology
Demasa has two processing plants. The most important located in Guapiles, Costa Rica, wich is also the most modern Palmito processing plant in the world. Demasa also operates a smaller plant in Quinindé, Ecuador. Between the 2 plants we have a capacity of production of 2 million cases, which is 50% of the hearts of palm world market.
In Costa Rica we operate the most technologically advanced and best equipped palmito production plant, built with the purpose of obtaining fresher raw material and incorporates the technological improvements of the time, however, the process is continuously analysed and improved, for this reason we have not stopped our constant innovation process.
Our personnel is highly qualified and it constantly receives training, all of this in order to provide an accelerated dynamic of change that results in better processes and products, allowing us to have better textures and better flavors that end as a higher satisfaction in our customers.
Demasa also has its own farm, located next to the production plant, dedicated in the majority to the investigation and constant improvement, which is afterwards shown to the associate producers that also supply us. The raw material arrives to the plant shortly after being harvested and immediately is subjected to a cooling process to eliminate the heat from the farm, and to slow down the breaking down process. This allows us to have a fine tasting, lighter color and better textured product.
Also with this, we have developed a continuous process that allows us to peel the hearts of palm, and cut it in pieces with equipment fully designed by Demasa, the process is an intensive labor, due to which the training of our personnel is fundamental. We are proud to count on loyal and highly dedicated workers that allow us to place on the table a unique product, unequalled by no one.
Social Conscience
Our People
In order to be leaders in the industry it is really important to have a motivated team of people, trained and with dedication that has conviction of the achievement attained by good results in benefit of the society and themselves. This not only applies to the bosses and managers, but to all the personnel related to Demasa.
For this reasons we have the highest respect to our workers, making us work together in the development of programs that allow a social system more in equilibrium with solidarity.
Other Areas
Several years ago, the industrial waste from the plant represented more than 70 tons that were applied to land fills each day. Today these are handled as subproducts from the operation process and are sent either as animal feed or for the production of organic compost that substitutes chemical fertilizers.
In hand with a European investigation institute, Demasa is studying the possibility of building on the short term a power generation unit based on methane gas given off by agricultural waste, not only from Demasa´s plant but also from other activities in the region.
