Belgian-Dutch optical sorting specialist Optimum Sorting has expanded its footprint in the United States with the opening of a new facility in Sacramento, California, aimed at strengthening customer support and demonstration capabilities in one of the company’s most important markets.

The new site, which officially opened on June 1, replaces Optimum Sorting’s previous facility in Turlock and is approximately 50% larger. The company said the relocation follows a year of record growth, with revenue rising to nearly EUR 40 million in 2025, prompting investments to increase capacity across several locations.

According to Optimum Sorting, the Sacramento facility has been designed to improve accessibility for customers while providing enhanced conditions for product demonstrations. The site includes dedicated demonstration areas where processors can test products using the company’s sorting technologies under commercial operating conditions.

Steve Raskin, CSO and co-founder of Optimum Sorting, said the facility will serve as a regional demonstration center for a broad range of food applications.

“The new facility will serve as a key demo center where customers can test their own products on Optimum Sorting’s sorting machines. While the primary focus is on nut applications, the demo center is fully equipped to support testing with a wide range of products, including vegetables, fruit and confectionery.”

The facility will feature two of the company’s flagship sorting systems, the Novus belt sorter and the Ventus free-fall sorter. Both platforms combine camera and laser inspection technologies to identify defects and foreign materials while maximizing product recovery and reducing waste.

For the potato processing sector, the investment is relevant because the demonstration center will also support testing of vegetable applications, allowing processors to evaluate sorting performance on fresh and processed products. Optical sorting technologies are increasingly used throughout potato processing operations to improve quality control, remove foreign materials and reduce product losses.

California remains a strategic market for Optimum Sorting, largely due to its dominant position in global nut production. The company noted that its Ventus sorter is widely used for almonds, pistachios and walnuts, where it can identify defects such as discoloration, shape deviations, foreign materials, stones, glass and aflatoxin contamination.

“Over the years, we have built a strong customer base in California,” said Raskin.

“Today, more than 20 processors across the state operate Novus or Ventus machines, often with multiple units per site. This clearly demonstrates the value our technology delivers in processing nuts, vegetables and fresh and dried fruit. These successful installations form a strong foundation for continued growth in this key region.”

The Sacramento investment builds on nearly a decade of activity in the United States. Optimum Sorting established its North American headquarters in Denver in 2018 and later opened a demonstration center in California’s Central Valley to bring its technologies closer to regional processors.

The company said the latest expansion is intended not only to support future growth but also to create closer collaboration with customers seeking to improve yields, product quality and operational efficiency.

“Our recent growth confirms that we are on the right track,” said Raskin.

“But for us, expansion is not simply about getting bigger. It is about creating an environment where we can work closely with customers to build better processes, achieve higher yields and deliver better products. The relocation to our new facility in Sacramento supports that vision. It gives us the space to continue innovating and to support our customers more intensively. That is precisely why California remains such an important region for us: it is where technology, ambition and industry expertise come together, and where Optimum Sorting can truly make a difference.”