Infrastructure
Chios Mastiha Growers Association’s owned facilities have a total covered surface of approximately 10,000 m2 and house the total range of its activities, including two production units:
- Mastiha processing & packaging.
- Confection of ELMA products and distillation of mastiha oil.
Thanks to the volume of its infrastructure (immovable property, production facilities), Chios Mastiha Growers Association holds the first place among the economic entities of the island.
The offices and the Administration are housed in a company building situated in Chios town, 1 Konstantinou Monomachou Street.
Mastiha Factory
Right after the first cleaning process done by the growers themselves, mastiha is delivered to the Association’s factory, where it is sorted out into categories (depending on the grains’ size), it is then washed and dried, it undergoes a final cleaning and is finally packaged. The mastiha factory has been moved to its new premises, close to the chewing gum factory, since the beginning of 2010.
Chewing Gum Factory
The chewing gum factory is situated at 6 km far from Chios town, in Kardamada area. It is where take place the confection and packaging of all products under the brand name ELMA; the same premises also house the production unit of mastiha oil, that is mastiha’s distillation process.
Chios Mastiha Growers Association started to investigate the procedure of making a chewing gum out of mastiha in 1955. The chewing gum factory was opened in 1957 and the first year of its operation it produced 8 tons of ELMA chewing gum (ELLiniki MAstiha - Greek Mastiha). In 1962 the production reached 65 tons and in 1986 almost 200 tons.
The confection of a chewing gum begins by stirring the raw materials, following a scrupulous and specific procedure (as to the order, the temperature, the duration, etc.). The gummy paste produced is then forwarded into a special modeling machine, where the product takes a specific size, ruled by the weight and dimensions of the final tablet. Right after that, the formed cores are dried in a cabin under controlled conditions (temperature, humidity) before they are finally delivered to the tablet modeling machines for the final coating process.
Furthermore, along with the aforementioned infrastructure and in the context of organizing and supporting the agricultural production, the Association keeps many privately owned storing spaces, secondary facilities and land properties in southern Chios.