SOPAZ

For more than a half a century the SOPAZ building of the Cooperative Central Bank has been the site of compound animal feed production, meeting all the needs of Cyprus’s agricultural sector.

The Cooperative Food Production Organisation (SOPAZ) Ltd was established in 1961 as a collaborative corporation of all the cooperative companies in Cyprus and the Cooperative Central Bank Ltd, with the main purpose of producing and selling compound animal feed.

Since its establishment, SOPAZ has been identified with the growth of the agriculture sector in Cyprus. In its 54 years of activity in this field, it succeeded in becoming the largest organisation in animal feed production. It was operating in three markets: the trading of cereals, the production of compound animal feed and the trading of fertilisers and pesticides.

Despite the economic crisis in Cyprus, the organisation managed to maintain a good level of liquidity and remain financially powerful. They were looking for ways to reduce production costs in order to reduce the product price. In addition, they continued to invest in research and development, creating new products and expanding services.

On the last day of its operation, 19th of October 2015, a fire broke out in the interior of the building due to an explosion of a power distribution panel. The electrical installation of the entire factory was damaged. The fire at SOPAZ occurred while four employees were working in the building.

Researcher Elia Neophytou