Potato cooperative Agrico celebrated the official opening of its new quality center, built behind the company’s head office in Emmeloord, the Netherlands.

The purpose of this center is to monitor and increase the quality of its potato varieties. The inspections are performed to obtain greater insight into the internal and external quality and vitality of its potatoes. It will help Agrico identify the right destination for each lot and contribute to guaranteeing the quality of potatoes sold to customers. Agrico will also use this data to optimize how the potatoes are grown and stored.

Quality is monitored using equipment including a line of machinery custom-built for Agrico by RMA-Techniek. The quality center also has special climate chambers that provide insight into the quality properties of varieties under different conditions. The latest technology is applied to register all relevant data at the center and link this to Agrico’s information and management systems.

Activities at the new quality center already started at the beginning of the new season last August. The experiences until now are very positive. The center satisfies the expectations of the cooperative and its growers and customers.

Managing director Jan van Hoogen said: “The Agrico Quality Center has been operating for six months now. We have already processed more than 10,000 individual samples. Investing in this quality center represents a giant leap forward in innovation and digitization that prepares us for the future. This centrally located facility that uses the latest technology to monitor quality places us firmly at the cutting edge of our sector. The data registered and collected here gives us the tools to take our organization to an even higher dimension. It also signals significant advances along the road to the projected growth and professionalism of Agrico.”

The official opening ceremony of the Agrico Quality Center was performed in the morning by local mayor Harald Bouman, who activated the tare machine by discharging a lot of potatoes watched by a selected group of guests. In his speech the mayor complimented Agrico and her members with the decisiveness and entrepreneurship needed to realize this as a cooperative. In the afternoon Agrico held a well visited open day for its members and other invited guests.