Potato processor to accelerate development with innovation centre

Lamb Weston/Meijer (LW/M) is a producer of potato products, particularly frozen types of fries. It supplies, among others, fast food chains and restaurants in more than 100 countries. Its products can also increasingly be found in large supermarkets. In the Netherlands there are factories in Bergen op Zoom (N-Br),Kruiningen (Zeeland), Oosterbierum (Friesland) and Broekhuizenvorst (Limburg).

For research and the development of new products, the company now uses the DAB innovation centre: the Delta Agrifood Business in the former sugar lab on Van Konijnenburgweg.

“We are outgrowing our space there,” said Godschalk. “Partly for that reason, the company is now building its own innovation centre opposite the Berg factory. But above all to increase and accelerate the power of innovation.

“This is where experiments with different potato varieties, cutting techniques, chip shapes and flavours will take place. If this is now done in the DAB with a few kilograms of fries at a time, Lamb Weston/Meijer can slowly scale up the new techniques and methods in the Innovation Center, from one to five hundred kilograms.”

LW/M said it will know much earlier in the process whether a new product or technique has a chance of success.

“Like cylindrical chips, for example,” said Godschalk. “The shape of such a product means less fat. Plus less of the potato is lost. In the past, we had to shut down and modify the entire factory for large-scale testing. That will no longer be necessary.

“The Innovation Center also offers opportunities to experiment with new, sustainable techniques. Like the electric pre-frying of chips. Our factories are still running on gas. We want to get rid of that eventually. In a test environment, it’s much easier to find out what works and what doesn’t.”

Lamb Weston/Meijer chose the Bergen op Zoom location as it is the region where the potato grows. The innovation center will offer plenty of jobs at various job levels, from cleaners, process operators and product developers to researchers.