Staying true to who we are

They date back to 1878, when Maria Vilaplana, owner of a butcher’s shop in Sarrià de Ter, and Josep Boadas, from a family of farmers in Riudellots de la Selva, got married. After Josep’s death, Maria remarried her brother-in-law, Pere Boadas, her late husband’s brother, to continue the family business.

Maria Vilaplana and Pere Boadas Xifra open the butcher shop «Can Vilaplana» in Pont Major. A strategic location: next to the train station and at the gates of Girona, where people going to the market entered.

Distribution of cured meats by cart and train to different regions. The proximity to the station allowed unloading directly at the factory.

The word “Boadas” meant a “measure of land” or a place related to cattle.

All products were wrapped in parchment paper to improve their preservation.

In 1921, the first cured meat factory in Girona was established, featuring slaughtering, its own livestock, a feed mill, and quality control including trichinosis testing and industrialization.

The factory featured 4 floors of natural drying rooms and electric machines for kneading and stuffing, in addition to a cold storage room. A trichinoscope was installed to guarantee food safety.

Control of all processes: marinades, feeding, livestock, slaughter, pasteurization, and curing.

Masters and servants shared a roof at Can Vilaplana.

In 1932, the product reached all of Spain under the La Preferida brand.

The Civil War—which even went as far as expropriating the factory—and the Second World War left it badly affected, but the family remained at the helm, maintaining the service and spirit.

Construction of the first cold storage facility in the province of Girona.

Between 1946 and 1964, the business was structured as a company and split into three firms that supplied each other: cured sausages, hams and salted meats, and cooked hams.

Efforts are concentrated on production.

The family business grows without losing its soul. The company Hijos de Pedro Boadas Vilaplana, S.A. is incorporated. The Pont Major slaughterhouse closes to increase production capacity.

Creation of a proprietary product patent, the Linolomo.

Pere Boadas and Sons. Establishment of BECSA (Boadas, Embutidos y Conservas, S.A.). The creation of three companies enables the integration and guarantee of product supply among them.

Three specialized factories: production of cured sausages, hams and salted products, and cooked hams (canned and molded).

The growth culminates in 1979 with the third expansion of the Pont Major factory.

Creation of automatic drying rooms. They allowed moving the cured meats without needing to take them down.

With Vicenç Boadas Hernández-Sonseca at the helm, the Pont Major factory reaches 12,000 m².

Specialization in slicing and self-service in modern distribution.

The hams travel to Salamanca for curing. Boadas know-how, exported to the land of ham.

They were orphaned at a very young age and took charge of a business with great potential.

10 slicing lines at the Pont Major factory.

Loins and cured meats with state-of-the-art technology.

Assessment and classification of hams (according to curing)

Joan and Ignasi Boadas join the project. 146 years later, the story continues.