Lamb Weston/Meijer has announced plans to build a new chip factory, which will expand the existing production facility in Kruiningen. With an investment of approximately 200 million euros, the annual production capacity will be increased by 180,000 MT. The plant is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2023.

Innovation with a reduction of CO2 emissions as a sustainable result

The new state-of-the-art factory is designed to process potatoes with a minimum amount of water and energy. This is largely achieved through further optimization of the reuse of residual heat. Heat is thus recovered from the baking vapors for the drying process. An additional advantage is the odor reduction. The heat from the steam peeler is used to blanch the potatoes. There is also better monitoring of energy management, thanks to more measuring points in the production process. This optimization will ensure about 25% less water consumption and about 50% less gas consumption at our location in Kruiningen, with a reduction of our CO2 emissions as a sustainable result. The cleaned process water goes through the ditch to farmers in the area to be reused for irrigation during dry periods.

The new production facility enables Lamb Weston/Meijer to meet the growing worldwide demand for frozen potato products. The new factory will be built in addition to the three existing production lines at the Kruiningen site. It will be the most automated factory in the LW/M network. Kruiningen is a strong location for the supply, processing and distribution of frozen potato products. With this expansion, Lamb Weston/Meijer will create more than 50 new jobs for the company.

Marc Schroeder, CEO Lamb Weston/Meijer: "This new factory at our location in Kruiningen not only reflects our ambition to meet the growing demand for high-quality potato products in a sustainable way, it also shows our commitment to our customers and growers by continuing to to build on the benefits of this region. The state-of-the-art factory will use less water and energy and allow us to produce with fewer emissions. This is crucial to our sustainability strategy. This investment strengthens Lamb Weston / Meijer's global position and enables our growth ambition, new product innovation and improved customer service.”