Dewitte Potatoes recently further specialized by adding the washing and sorting of industry potatoes. This Flemish family business was founded over 20 years ago as a potato retail business. It has since grown into a major player in exports, mainly to southern Europe but also to Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and the UK. "Exports remain our main business, but niche markets offer additional opportunities. We, thus, began washing potatoes and installed a new cleaning line and optical sorter for that," says co-owner Roderic Dewitte.
That activity started during the pandemic. "We already had to deliver a washed product for chip potatoes to the UK. We got to the point where we decided to do that ourselves." Along with the cleaning line, the company invested in an optical sorter, crucial for meeting industry requirements. The process involves removing dirt and stones, washing, drying, and sorting the potatoes. "We can now wash about 30 tons per hour, depending on the dirt load," Roderic says.
Exports and flexibility
Though washing and sorting offer significant value, exports remain Dewitte Potatoes' core business. "Washing is seasonal, but increasing climatic challenges make it more and more essential. Our service and flexibility, however, keep distinguishing us in exports. We do things like importing from the Netherlands, Germany, and France to give customers optimal quality."
The company does not cultivate potatoes but is considering starting again. "Growing your own can contribute to stable product availability, which is becoming increasingly difficult. Land prices in Belgium and France are rising, so growers sometimes choose to rent. That hinders volume expansion, but we're thinking about cultivation in Wallonia or northern France," Roderic explains.
Challenges and prospects
Besides these product availability issues, acquiring qualified staff is a major concern. "It's becoming more and more difficult to find good workers. That's why we're investing in automation: to reduce our dependence on manual work. That helps future-proof us. Despite these challenges, we're confident in the future. We focus on quality and customer satisfaction because word of mouth is the best marketing. If we continue like this, we can still make great strides."
This family business trades between 100,000 and 120,000 tons of potatoes annually and remains focused on innovation and service. "He who pays the piper calls the tune. As long as we keep investing in quality and customer focus, we see further growth potential, " Roderic concludes.
Roderic Dewitte
Dewitte Potatoes
Krombeekseweg 58
Poperinge, Belgium
info@dewitepotatoes.be
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