We are OptiCept - Get to Know The Iberica Team

At OptiCept, we believe that a great company is made up of great people, and our Iberica team is no exception. Led by Tomás Pablo Roa, CEO of OptiCept Iberica, our team is comprised of highly talented individuals who are dedicated to driving success for our clients. We are happy to give you a introduction below!

The potential for OptiCept in this area is huge. Not only for olive oil, but also for other technologies Spain is interesting.

OptiCept Technologies – a synonym for game-changing technology. However, a great company is made by great people. Here, we want to give you the opportunity to meet some of the great minds behind our applications.

Since last year, OptiCept has a new office in Barcelona, responsible for the Iberian peninsula. We have had a chat with the team led by Tomás Pablo Roa, CEO of OptiCept Iberica, Country Manager Arturo Puga, who brings extensive industry expertise and a deep understanding of the local market to the team, and Carlos Fuentes, our Sales and Operations Manager.

Tomás Pablo Roa, CEO OptiCept Iberica
Carlos Fuentes, Sales & Operations Manager Iberica
Arturo Puga, Country Manager Spain & Portugal

Tell us more about your different roles.

Tomás Pablo, CEO OptiCept Iberica:

I am the administrator in charge of administration and I split with Carlos on the commercial side, but Carlos is more involved in the engineering and technical part. In the commercial part, we work together.

Carlos Fuentes, Sales & Operations Manager Iberica:

I am the Sales & Operations Manager for the Iberica region. I do the conversations with the customers in the commercial part, but also the installations, the technical support, and after-sales support. 

Arturo Puga, Country Manager Spain & Portugal:

I manage the sales procedures concerning Portugal and one region in Spain, Extremadura, which is very close to Portugal. 

What are your backgrounds and for how long have you been with OptiCept?

Tomás Pablo:

I have been working in this field for close to 30 years, but with OptiCept for the last 1.5 years now. I am originally a lawyer and I have a degree in International Commerce.

Arturo Puga:

I have been studying Civil Engineering in Stockholm and I did later a master’s degree in International Economy and have been working as a consultant for the last 20 years and with OptiCept the last two years. 

Carlos Fuentes:

My background is in Mechanical Engineering with a master in Sustainable Food Production and I have been working with OptiCept for the last two years now. At the beginning in the main office in Lund and since last year directly from Barcelona, in the Iberian office.

Why did OptiCept decide to open an office in Spain?

Tomás Pablo:

Spain is one of the biggest agro-tech nations in Europe. The market for OptiCept in Spain can go over one-hundred-thousand million dollars a year. OptiCept needs to be present in Spain, because the amount of possible customers is really large. We are closer to our customers. Only the olive market consists of two thousand mills.

Carlos Fuentes:

I would also like to add that not only being closer to the customer is really important, but also the technical part. We are able to give a faster technical support. Since we are dealing mostly with food production, the seasons are really short and you need to give a fast technical support. So, if there is any problem, we will solve it as soon as possible.

Arturo Puga:

Another advantage of us being in this region is, that all three of us have deep cultural understanding. And this is very important because to do business in another country, you have to adapt the way to communicate with the customer and the way to approach the customer according to the local rules.

Carlos, can you shortly describe the engineering and installation work compared to other countries?

Carlos Fuentes:

The Iberian region is the most professional in the olive oil extraction business. The customers are the biggest in the world and they are the most industrialized. We work with specialized companies and engineers in the olive oil sector for automation and for different mechanical installations. That has allowed us to increase the quality of the installations in the last year and to achieve industrial scale in all the different mills, where we have located our equipment. We have a dedicated team of service engineers, that, with the help of the main office in Lund, can give dedicated technical support in the local language in Spain or in Portugal.

oliveCEPT installation in Spain
Carlos Fuentes (Second to the right) with the team at customer site in Spain

Portugal is also a part of your market, Arturo, please describe shortly where you see OptiCept heading, especially in Portugal?

Arturo Puga, Country Manager Spain & Portugal:

Portugal is a smaller market than Spain, but it is also an agricultural country. The big potential lies in the production of olive oil definitely. The big producers are very modern and huge. They have been developing new mills for the last ten to fifteen years. But not only that. Portugal has also potential in juice and in the forest industry, which is important for OptiCept too, concerning OptiBoost for cuttings.

You see a potential for the other applications of OptiCept in the Iberica region as well?

The potential for OptiCept in this area is huge. Not only for olive oil but also for other technologies Spain is interesting. Spain is, for example, a huge producer of juice. It is also a huge producer of flowers, in particular roses. There is also quite a big production of Eucalyptus. And, of course, everyone knows of Spanish and Portuguese wine. For OptiCept, this is definitely a fantastic market.

Why do you think that the customers are interested in our PEF technology?

Tomás Pablo:

We are living in a new age. New technology is also reaching the food market. The people in the food industry want to compete and new technology is contributing to competitive advantages.

Lastly, whats the main activities going forward?

Tomás Pablo:

We are happy with what we have achieved so far, we have around ten huge global clients. They are very well known and have good reputations. Spain is also an interesting market regarding the other applications of OptiCept such as juice, wine, Eucalyptus, and flowers. However, at the moment we are focusing on olive oil.

Carlos Fuentes, Sales & Operations Manager Iberica:

The goal for the upcoming years is to establish the technology as a reference in the market, as a reference for olive oil extraction and also to show all the customers in Iberica what the technology can do, how we can improve the lines and how we can reduce waste. We are working with some of the biggest olive oil producers in Iberica, which really helps us get into the market in this region.

Thank you Tomás, Arturo and Carlos!

Get in touch!

Please get in touch with the Iberica team for any further questions and interest. Contact details below:

Tomás Pablo Roa, CEO OptiCept Iberica
Carlos Fuentes, Sales & Operations Manager Iberica
Arturo Puga, Country Manager Spain & Portugal

Book a meeting

Get an introduction to oliveCEPT and/or other applications. Pick a suitable time in the calendar below and set up an online meeting with us.

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