Motril – Old Factory

The Nuestra Señora del Pilar sugar factory is an old industrial complex located in the municipality of Motril, in the province of Granada. The Nuestra Señora del Pilar plant was built at the end of the 19th century as a sugar factory, and remained in operation between 1883 and 1984. It is now partially preserved and houses the Industrial Sugar Museum.

The original factory was designed by the architect Francisco Jiménez Arévalo, and the complex was built in several phases. The administration house and warehouses were built in 1882, and the four factory buildings were erected in 1883. The Sociedad General Azucarera de España acquired the factory around 1928-1929 and proceeded to expand its production capacity in order to concentrate all the sugar activity in the Vega del Guadalfeo. The sugar factory ceased to operate in 1984, after almost a century of activity.

The sugar factory is located in the eastern part of Motril, on a hill in the Rambla de las Brujas area, and is part of the town’s urban perimeter. It is a complex made up of the following facilities: the factory itself, the administration house, three warehouses for effects and tools, two dwellings for employees and a workers’ colony made up of 27 houses and other auxiliary buildings.

Due to the refurbishment carried out in 1929, which modernised the mills and turbines, many of the original installations have not survived to the present day. Among those that have been preserved are a set of Fives-Lille model steam engines dating from 1889, as well as a pilé sugar mill of the same make and period.