In August of this year, Cooperativa del Valle de Los Pedroches (COVAP) opened its first outpost in the United States and established an office in Stonehouse Commerce Park, Toano, Virginia. Founded in 1959, COVAP is located outside of Cordoba, Spain and is the largest agricultural cooperative in Spain with over 145,000 small family farmers as members. A leading producer of milk, feed stuff and Iberian pork, COVAP began exporting to the United States approximately 10 years ago and its continued growth led them to establish COVAP USA in 2016.
"We studied several different areas before choosing James City County as our home base. The proximity to the port of Norfolk, easy access to the Interstate 95 corridor and James City County's central location on the East Coast were all factors in our decision, " said Juan Antonio Ballesteros, COO of COVAP USA. Mr. Ballesteros moved from Madrid with his wife and 4 children this summer, settling in a home in Williamsburg and enrolling his children in the public school system.
COVAP USA operates out of the Stonehouse Commerce Park, in close association with Virginia Packing LLC who will provide storage, logistic and manufacturing services. From its base in Toano, COVAP USA will ship its Iberian pork and cheese products to distributors, specialty food stores and fine dining establishments in the USA, Canada and Mexico. To find out more about COVAP and the products they offer, visit their website at http://www.covap.es.
Media contact:
Russell Seymour, Director, Economic Development, James City County
757-253-6607
russell.seymour@jamescitycountyva.gov