Novafrut joins Grupo Criado & López: from manufacturing the netting to installing it

In August 2025 Novafrut became part of Grupo Criado & López, an international manufacturer and distributor of agrotextiles for agriculture headquartered in El Ejido (Almería). It is the most important step in our history since 2001, when we started installing anti-hail netting over the orchards of Lleida and Aragon.

The idea is simple: the group manufactures and tests the materials, and Novafrut designs and installs them. For the first time, the netting and the installation are under the same roof.

Who Grupo Criado & López is

Since 1989 Criado y López has been offering tailor-made solutions to growers, and it was a pioneer in the custom production of fabrics for crop protection. These are some of its figures:

• More than 9,000 m² of facilities in El Ejido, with cutting, sewing and bonding machinery to adapt each product to each customer.
• Its own subsidiaries in Mexico, Morocco and Peru, a presence on four continents and customers in more than 30 countries.
• ISO 9001 certified quality from AENOR and IQNET, with quality control, traceability and after-sales service.
• Its own laboratory and experimental greenhouse, with an accelerated ageing chamber, a universal testing machine and equipment to measure light transmission, aerodynamic behaviour and how effectively the netting stops insects from passing through.
• R&D and innovation projects with universities and research centres, such as ECOHORTITEC, TEXTnoINSECTS, S3 and IRRGEO.

Its range includes agricultural netting (the CYLNET, CYLSHADE, CYLBIRD, CYLCOVER, CYLTUTOR and CYLNET PLAST brands), thermal blankets, plastics and greenhouse accessories, and an ECO line of bio-compostable raffia and biodegradable twines.

Closing the loop: from the factory to the field

A protection net only works if two conditions are met at the same time: the material must be the right one and well manufactured, and the structure that supports it must be well designed and properly installed. Until now, those two halves were usually in the hands of different companies.

With Novafrut joining the group, the whole process is brought together:

1. Custom manufacturing at the El Ejido plants.
2. Laboratory testing of strength, ageing, light transmission and behaviour against wind and insects.
3. System design by Novafrut: study of the plot, the crop and the machinery, and calculation of posts, cables and anchors.
4. Field installation by our teams in Figueres (Girona) and Vila-Sana (Lleida).

What changes for our customers

• A single point of contact for the material and the installation, with no intermediaries.
• Greater quality control: materials arrive already tested in the group's laboratory.
• A wider range: in addition to NovaNet® anti-hail netting, access to the group's full catalogue of insect netting, shade netting, bird netting, thermal blankets and plastics.
• Greater international reach: the group's network in Mexico, Morocco and Peru adds to our projects in Spain, France, Portugal, Morocco and Mexico.

What does not change is the way Novafrut works: the same teams and the same offices, and the same approach of studying each farm before proposing a solution.

More information

We have prepared a page covering everything the group brings: Novafrut and Grupo Criado & López. You can also learn about our track record in About us or visit the group's website at criadoylopez.com.

If you have a project under way, tell us about it and we will propose the right system and material.