FRIDEVI is the largest agro-industrial business of the Argentine Patagonia.
Consolidated as a corporation, it started its activity as a slaughterhouse in 1983, with currently only two shareholders: Asociación de Cooperativas Argentinas (A.C.A., the Association of Argentine Cooperatives): one of the entities with the largest volume of commercial activity in the national and international agricultural and livestock market; and the Cooperativa de Patagones y Viedma Ltda. (Patagones and Viedma Cooperative Ltda.): entity strongly established in the region in the agricultural commercial activity and local consumption.
The story of FRIDEVI starts in October of 1983, when the cooperative entities Asociación de Cooperativas Argentinas (A.C.A., the Association of Argentine Cooperatives) Hogar Obrero and Cooperativa de Patagones y Stroeder, after acquiring FRIDEVI’s share package, the necessary investments for a project delayed for years ended, and set the slaughter of bovines and sheep in a small slaughterhouse. After 1993, the company starts a profound re-structuring and commercial vision process. Gradually, the first butchery and processed meats chamber is opened in 1996 and new refrigerating chambers are built. With the company already established and with a vast distribution network of meats and other products in the region, between 2003 and 2007 the slaughter plant is totally remodeled, offal section, frigorific chambers and is built next to a modern cold meats chamber. In addition, a new butchery chambe and frigorific chambers for refrigerated and frozen products are built.
In September of 2007, the company is authorized to export to the European Union and a place in Quota Hilton is obtained. That way, an interesting project of plant efficiency and notorious upgrade in the company’s positioning is completed, in an interesting mix of consumption-exportation. In February of 2013, the Río Colorado barrier is completely closed, what causes an enormous shock in the company and imposes new game rules in the purchase of cattle and commercialization of meats. Even though since 2012 the company had its own feedlot, facing the new situation, it was decided to expand it to a capacity of 5,000 animals. FRIDEVI, facing the new sanitary reality and barriers, decides to restructure its strategy observing much more the consumption in the Patagonia. This is how the idea of new distribution centers emerged, the first built and opened in 2015, in the city of Allen. Finally, in August of 2016, a modern slaughter and porcine processing plant is opened, comprised of 2,173 square meters and five refrigerating chambers.