The Olive Mill – The Art of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The New Oil Mill: a production system that has become increasingly sustainable

Discover how our Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made through an enhanced process combining expertise, technology, and sustainability.

The New Oil Mill: a production system that has become increasingly sustainable

Discover how our Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made through an enhanced process combining expertise, technology, and sustainability.

+30% Production Yield

A single, more efficient processing line now produces 30% more, without consuming additional energy.

–50% Water Consumption

The new two-phase decanter reduces water usage by 50%, making the process more sustainable and modern.

Nothing Goes to Waste

Olive wastewater and pomace become reusable by-products: “Nocciolino” (crushed olive seed) for heating and liquid pomace for biomethane production.

Automated Process

Automated management eliminates manual workload, allowing operators to focus on monitoring and quality.

How Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is Made

Harvesting and arrival at the olive mill

1. Harvesting and Arrival at the Mill

Olives delivered by growers arrive in crates, which are emptied into the leaf remover. Once cleaned, the olives are collected and weighed directly inside the bins.
They are no longer handled manually but transferred to the loading machine by using pallet trucks.
This system reduces manual steps and allows operators to focus on process control and management.

2. Washing

From the loading machine (“Gira Bins”), the olives move to the washing unit, where they are cleaned with room-temperature water.
The water removes soil, dust, leaves, and small branches, thus ensuring that only perfectly clean olives are used in the following phases.

3. Crushing

The cleaned olives are conveyed into a stainless-steel knife crusher that operates at about 2,800 revolutions per minute with 30 horsepower.
This system replaces the traditional millstones and crushes the olives within minutes, significantly reducing processing time.
The result is a homogeneous olive paste, ready for malaxation.

4. Malaxation

The olive paste is slowly and continuously mixed by a screw conveyor inside a temperature-controlled tank (never exceeding 26°C).
During the approximately 40-minute process, tiny droplets of oil merge into larger drops, facilitating the separation of the oily phase.
The mill is equipped with four kneaders, each with a capacity of 700 kg.

5. Separation via Decanter

After malaxation, the paste passes into the decanter, a horizontal centrifuge operating at around 4,000 revolutions per minute.
The decanter separates the components based on their specific weight, dividing the oil from the rest of the paste.
The new two-phase system uses no added water (unlike older models) and produces no waste—only reusable by-products.

6. Final centrifugation

The extracted oil then moves to a vertical centrifuge, which removes any remaining traces of water.
To aid this final separation, approximately one liter of water per minute is added.
At the end of the process, all water is removed, resulting in pure, clear, and stable oil, ready for quality analysis.

7. Analysis and Storage

The oil is analyzed directly in the mill to check its acidity rate and organoleptic characteristics.
It is then stored in stainless-steel silos.
Four storage silos are located beneath the production area.

8. By-product management

From the decanter, the non-oily part of the paste (pomace) is collected in a tank below and transferred to the de-pitter, where the separation between nocciolino and liquid pomace takes place:

Nocciolino: a dry, clean, non-polluting product used as a heating fuel. It has a higher calorific value in comparison with pellet fuel.
Liquid pomace: it is sent to companies operating in biomethane production.

In this way, nothing is wasted: every phase contributes to a circular and sustainable production model.

Taste, discover, create your own blend

FOR YOU: OUR KNOW-HOW ABOUT EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

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Every year, in our Empori, we host an exclusive sensory experience to explore the world of extra virgin olive oil, learn about the distinctive features of our work as olive oil makers, taste and discover our oils—and feel the excitement of creating your own personalised blend.

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