Farm Frites Poland SA – the joint venture between Farm Frites and Aviko Potato – is expanding its production capacity in Lębork, northern Poland. The new French fries production line should be operational in 2023. The potato processor's largest customer is Poland.
Potato Pro website writes that Farm Frites Poland SA has plans to expand. The necessary financing should be in place at the end of the summer. A new production line for potato pancakes should be ready a year later. A year later – summer 2023 – the delivery of a new production line for chips is planned.
Joint venture
The factory is a joint venture between Farm Frites and Aviko Potato. In 1994, the Dutch companies settled in Lębork, near Gdansk. Production grew in that time from 40.000 tons to the current 250.000 tons. In addition to French fries, potato flakes and pancakes are produced. It is not known by how many tons the production capacity will increase as a result of the expansion.
The largest customer is McDonalds. The home market of Poland alone is good for 26.000 tons of chips on an annual basis. A total of 800 restaurants are supplied in 11 Central and Eastern European countries. In addition to Poland, these include the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria, but also Ukraine and Belarus.
Own cultivation
Farm Frites obtains the potatoes from the region around the factory. It also has its own large arable farm there with 3.500 hectares and almost 1.000 hectares of potatoes. The remaining potatoes required are grown under contract by 70 affiliated growers. It concerns about 5.000 hectares. The company's total storage capacity is 130.000 tons.