Agristo's growth ambitions are clear. The potato processor is investing $450 million in a brand new factory and deep-freeze storage facility. It will be located in the American state of North Dakota. It is the second overseas adventure for this Belgian family business.
This investment of €436 million comes on top of the €650 million that the company released for a flake factory in India (where fries will also be produced in the future), a new factory in Northern France and expansion of the Belgian processing capacity. Agristo has made no secret of the fact that it has had plans for a factory in the United States for some time. This makes Agristo the first European fries producer to make the move westwards.
Fertile area
The factory will be located in the town of Grand Forks, which is a 2,5-hour drive from Winnipeg, Canada. It is located an hour north of the city of Fargo, where Case IH has an articulated tractor factory, and is truly a purely agricultural area. Grand Forks County is part of the Red River Valley. A fertile river delta with dark, humus-rich soil, which lies south of Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg. The potato area on the American side is around 30.000 hectares. This puts it in the top 5 of largest potato producers in the country.
The location was chosen strategically. Not only because of the good growing conditions, but also the proximity to the Canadian border is an advantage. For the deep-sea ports you have to drive a long way, given the central location. It is 2.400 kilometers to both the west and east coast, which is covered by rail. To put that gigantic distance into perspective: That is further than from Wielsbeke (where Agristo is located) to Kiev.
Knowledge
According to Agristo, it is well represented on the American market. Especially with its private label fries, which are available in supermarkets there. It has been working with growers in North Dakota for three years. It is testing whether European varieties also want to grow there. According to the Belgians, the region is ideally suited because of the cultivation knowledge that is present there. A location in Wisconsin is also mentioned in local media, but the knowledge and good rail connections were the deciding factors for North Dakota.
The construction of a French fry factory and cold store, which is scheduled to start this year, has been greeted with cheers in Grand Forks. The first French fries are scheduled to roll off the production line in the summer of 2028. 300 to 350 jobs will be created. Agristo itself does not mention processing capacity in its message. In the Grand Forks media, the local senator talks about 6.000 hectares of potatoes. Other reports even mention 9.000 hectares, with a growth ambition of up to 14.000 hectares by 2030. Calculated with the average production of this year (38,1 tons/hectare), you are talking about 228.650 to almost 540.000 tons of potatoes.
Competitive struggle
Agristo has to compete with other processors for access to potatoes. Cavendish Farms and JR Simplot are well represented there. There is also a factory in the city of Red River Potatoes, which makes dried potato products. Potato growers are positive. They see the competition as an opportunity for higher contract prices. Agristo has also arranged things well on the sales side. It has made a deal with supermarket giant Walmart for the sale of their products.
With their growth rate, Agristo has steamed into the top 5 of the world's largest French fry producers. Rival Clarebout is also in there, alongside the American JR Simplot and Lamb Weston. At the top is the Canadian McCain. It is striking that four of these five processors are family businesses.