Peka Kroef

Family business Peka Kroef is located in Odiliapeel, in the east of Brabant. Since 1970, the company has specialised in the processing of fresh, cooled potato products. Peka Kroef is rooted in the historic Peel moorland region. The Kroef family, one of the very first Peel area pioneers, contributed to creating the ideal soil conditions for growing potatoes. Today, potatoes are sourced from contract growers, far and wide. Since 2022, crates are automatically filled and emptied using VHM machines.

The ambition

Cultivation Manager Jos Vossen has been working for Peka Kroef for more than twenty years: "For as long as I have been working here our most important ambition has been to optimally respond to the wishes of our retail and food service customers. Delivery reliability and optimal quality are crucial. We offer optimal service to all our customers."

The challenge

"The challenges we face are not unique to our region. The nitrogen issue is a key theme, and at the same time availability of sufficient good soil for cultivation is no longer always a given. Due to climate change, we’re seeing are longer periods without precipitation, affecting the growth and development of potatoes. Of course, everyone needs to deal with this."

"As a result of our company’s growth we now have some 50,000 tonnes of our own potato storage. Additional batches are supplied by the growers from their own storage. To improve quality and limit weight loss as much as possible, we switched from bulk storage to storage in crates a few years ago. After we some less-than-great experiences with rental machines from another supplier, we opted for VHM machinery."

The solution

"We now work with two buffer conveyors, two stackers/destackers, an emptying device and bunker filler from VHM. And that works very well. I really like these machines; they are easy to use, solidly designed, and do exactly what they are supposed to do. You don’t need to read a huge manual beforehand, everything is self-evident

"We have been working with the VHM machines for a few years now. Conversion is easy, too. We use fixed setups, so we don’t really need to do all that much. Working with buffer lanes gives peace of mind. Thanks to the VHM machines, far fewer forklift movements are required and loading in and out of the sheds is done at 120 tons per hour. That’s unprecedented! The boxes also last much longer and there’s less dust."

"We recently invested in a weight sorter so that we can sort potatoes by weight for special products, including hasselback potatoes and peeled products. We can link these to the VHM crate emptying machine with buffer track, allowing us to use the machines for multiple purposes. Together with VHM, we have ensured our production process runs even more efficiently. Cooperation is excellent. They are great guys, who are genuinely interested and go above and beyond for us. They’re also highly innovative and if any problems occur, these are solved correctly and quickly. Right now, they are working on a track & trace solution, which I am very interested in."