| Image Upright: | 0.5 |
| Birth Date: | 1953 |
| Birth Place: | Cervera del Maestre, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain |
| Nationality: | Spanish |
| Education: | Agricultural Engineering, Technical University of Valencia |
| Occupation: | Business man and Philanthropist |
| Organization: | Group MGP |
| Website: | https://grupomgp.es/ |
Manuel García Portillo (Cervera del Maestre, Castellón, 1953) is a Spanish businessman and philanthropist,[1] co-founder of Tecnidex, Chairman of the MGP Group and leader of the Origen Project.[2] He is President of the AINIA Technological Institute.[3]
García Portillo comes from a Catholic family from Mogente, dedicated to agricultural and livestock businesses.[4] He studied agricultural engineering at the Technical University of Valencia, and was a rugby player.[5] He was a member of the Valencia Rugby Club and has been the club's main sponsor since 1989, when the club changed its name to Tecnidex Valencia Rugby Club.[6]
In 1980, after completing his military service, he founded Tecnidex with José Gallach Ferrandis, José Juan Ramón Mesado and Ignacio Errando Mariscal.[7]
After remaining the sole shareholder of Tecnidex in 2008, he sold 75% of the company in 2017 to the US company AgroFresh, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, retaining 25% of the share capital and the position of chairman.[8] From then on, its name was AgroFresh Fruit Protection.[9]
In 2015, King Felipe VI on his first visit to Valencia as king visited Tecnidex, and inaugurated Farmapost.[10] [11] Also in 2017, he was appointed president of AINIA,[12] a technology centre for research and innovation in new foods, food quality and safety, and the green and digital transition in agriculture, in collaboration with universities and companies.[13] García Portillo holds various positions of responsibility in the Chamber of Commerce and Fira de Valencia and is vice-president of Quimacova (association of companies in the chemical sector in Valencia).[14] He also participates in other business projects such as Bodegas Personales, Wine Luthier and Óleos dels Alforins.[15]
The Origen Project is an initiative aimed at restoring and developing the territory of the Alhorines Valley to avoid depopulation, restoring old farms and traditional olive and wine growing, and promoting a culture of self-sufficiency and self-consumption.The restoration includes old wineries and olive oil mills.[16]
It is concentrated in the southwest of the province of Valencia, in the municipalities of Mogente, Fontanars dels Alforins and Fuente la Higuera, where the farmhouses of Sant Antoni, Casa la Muda, El Chortal and Mas del Fondo have been acquired and restored. El Corral de la Vila, Casa Turús, El Corral de Jordà, l'Altet de Reguera and Casa el Poleo (Altos de Navalón) are being restored.[17] In 2020, wine and olive oil production began in the ten farmhouses, including Vino Casa Turús and Casa la Muda.[18]