EMS and Jordan Olive Products Exporters Association hold energy-saving methods seminar

The seminar was held on Sunday, March 1st, 2009, at the Intercontinental Hotel with the support of the Tatweer for Business & Export Development for Jordanian Enterprise project (Tatweer), an economic development program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by the Jordanian not-for-profit organization, the Business Development Center (BDC).

The event brought together a number of influential olive industry producers with the aim of highlighting the most prominent issues related to energy consumption in oil production, with a special emphasis on olive oil production, as the olive industry has grown to become one of the most important and promising agricultural industries in Jordan.

The seminar included an introductory presentation conducted by each of Mr. Luay Jildeh, EMS's General Manager and Regional Development Manager, and Eng. Hasan Sobh, Director of the Project Management Department at EMS, where they discussed the importance of energy and water savings in the oil production process in general, and the olive oil production process in particular, in light of the considerable positive environmental and economic benefits adopting such measures would yield.

The presentation discussed the latest specialized technological methods used for treating olive water resulting from pressing olives and reusing it by following specific environmental practices aimed at minimizing the resulting soil and water pollution.

Commenting on his participation in this event, Mr. Jildeh said, "We're very proud of this seminar, through which we look forward to spreading awareness on the energy consumption issues that arise during the olive oil production process and how to properly deal with the waste resulting from olive pressing. Adopting energy efficiency methods and practices in this sector would serve as an added value to the Jordanian economy, as it would contribute to energy and water efficiency during the production process and consequently would allow for lower product prices, thus making this nutritionally-rich commodity available to all citizens. In addition, it would support Jordan's olive oil exports by enhancing their price competitiveness and satisfying the growing international market demand."

He also added, "We would like to thank the organizers at JOPEA for their efforts in making this seminar possible, and hope to achieve our shared goals in developing the Jordanian olive industry and promoting it on a local and international level in accordance with the latest environmentally sound practices."

Eng. Musa Al Saket, Chairman of JOPEA stated, "We strongly believe in the importance of the adoption of the latest technological methodologies by those who operate in this sector in order to improve and develop production mechanisms and elevate the standards of this industry; doing so would contribute to giving Jordan's olive industry an advanced and competitive international standing in terms of quality and specifications."

"We also appreciate the instrumental role that EMS has played in providing consultancy services and advanced environmental solutions to support our goals in this field and to better enable us to carry the responsibility of nurturing private investments for this commodity, which we consider to be a source of national wealth," he added.