Eurofragance triples production with tech-driven fragrance facility expansion

Eurofragance has announced a €10 million (US$11.58 million) investment to expand its fragrance manufacturing plant in Barcelona, Spain, tripling its production capacity in Rubí, Spain. The investment supports new facilities and dosing robots to drive technological innovation and sustainability.  

“With this expansion, we have automated 80% of our operations. This allows us to improve our processes’ reliability and traceability and increase our fragrances’ quality,” Santiago Giménez, global plant engineering manager at Eurofragance, tells Personal Care Insights.  

The dosing robots are machines that automate the fragrance formulation process. “They weigh and dispense ingredients with extremely high precision, speed, and efficiency, ensuring consistent product quality and optimizing production times,” says Giménez.

Expanding the manufacturing plant in Barcelona allows the company to improve production for product categories beyond fine fragrances.

“The over 2,000 square meters expansion of our production facility includes remodeled offices and labs to ensure greater ergonomics,” adds Clara Mena, COO at Eurofragance.

The dosing robots are machines that automate the fragrance formulation process.Automated production

The main driver of the tripled production is Eurofragance’s need to meet its projected global growth. 

“This expansion allows the plant to play a key role in the company’s global contingency production plan, ensuring operational continuity in any scenario,” says Giménez.

The expansion will cause fragrance production at Rubí to account for half of the company’s annual global output. The company says this will support it in meeting the growing demand in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

In Eurofragance’s sales report for 2024, released earlier this year, the company reported €180 million (US$204.4 million) in sales, which it attributed to its expansion in the Middle East and Asia.

Tech and fragrances

The newly expanded plant will also have streamlined automation, which the fragrance house says will be at the company’s technological forefront.

“We have also incorporated resource optimization systems, such as using solar panels that generate over one-third of our energy needs. Additionally, we have strategic internal resources to ensure the continuity of our production process in the event of an unexpected situation,” says Giménez.

“Eurofragance now has the production capacity to support the projected growth for the coming years while maintaining or enhancing our delivery times, quality standards, and overall service.”

The automation of operations is also aligned with sustainable growth. Alongside the expansion, Eurofragance has increased partnerships with local suppliers and institutions, such as universities and training centers. 

The expansion will also create specialized jobs for engineers, technicians, and operators to manage the automation production process.

Technology and fragrance creation are increasingly mixing. Previous research explored a machine learning approach that enables more targeted and “efficient” fragrance development by using graphs and generative neural networks to create new molecules that match desired fragrance profiles.

Another study explored an artificial intelligence nose that can smell and distinguish scents like a human nose. The device showed 95% accuracy when identifying nine fragrances commonly used in cosmetics and perfumes.

Meanwhile, Eurofragance has also announced that it is partnering with Palau de la Música Catalana, a concert hall in Barcelona. The fragrance house has created ten scents inspired by the building’s architectural work. The tours combine art and perfumes in a sensory experience, “Essència Palau.”