FRIMESA

The birth certificate of the Frimesa cooperative was signed on December 13, 1977. It was founded with the goal of promoting agro-industrialization in the countryside. This mission has been ongoing for 35 years and, if it's up to the company and its producers, there's no end in sight. Frimesa originated in Francisco Beltrão, in the southwest of Paraná, from the union of six thousand farmers from four cooperatives: Coasul (São João), Comfrabel (Francisco Beltrão), Camdul (Dois Vizinhos), and Coopersabadi (Barracão). The founders sought to integrate the strengths of cooperativism and ensure that producers could remain in the countryside through production and diversification. At the time, the decision on prices in the agricultural market was dominated by multinational companies. Administrative activities began in 1978, in the top floor of the Comfrabel affiliate's facilities. The first business transactions were made through the joint sale of beans, soybeans, and corn. Pig production was already a characteristic of the region, so alongside the agricultural harvest, meat production was aimed at the same goal: trade under the producers' brand. As the project to establish an agro-industry began to materialize, cooperatives from the western region approached the leadership of Sudcoop with a proposal to purchase the bankrupt estate of Frigorífico Medianeira S/A. At this moment, the founding members were joined by: Coagro (Capanema), Cotrefal, now Lar (Medianeira), Copagril (Marechal Cândido Rondon), the now-defunct Coopagro, currently Primato (Toledo), Copacol (Cafelândia), and C.Vale (Palotina). The union of the Southwest and West resulted in the congregation of more than ten thousand cooperative members. On November 23, 1979, the cooperatives announced the purchase of the slaughterhouse. This act revitalized the economic growth of the city of Medianeira and restored jobs for more than 500 residents. It also brought peace of mind to the producers - the farmers - who started benefiting from the agro-industry, which regularly collected and paid for their production.