Our Process

Most modern olive mills use hammer mills to crush the olives. After considering the options we chose to use a stone wheel press to crush the olives. Our research told us that stone pressed olive oil has slightly better keeping qualities and is slightly "softer" than hammer milled oil.

The softer oil from stones is a plus because Great Southern oil is known for its robustness. If the stone press can take the edge of the taste then everyone benefits.

The photo doesn't do justice to the stones, however for the technically minded the total weight is 2.7 tonnes, they were sourced from Italy and keep people entertained for hours as they work. The wheels are off set from each other and paddles keep the olives moving under them as they go around.

When the olives are all crushed a side door opens and another paddle drops down to direct the crushed olives out into the malaxer.

After twenty minutes or so in the malaxer the paste is then sent through the decanter which separates the oil from the rest.

Our plant currently processes about 250kg per hour depending on the type of fruit being processed.

Visitors are welcome - please contact us to find out when we are operating.