Puur Patat Tielt (BE)
The ambition
For Mathias and Jasmien, everything is about progress without losing sight of their roots. At Puur Patat they look to modern technology to further professionalise their family business while continuing to cultivate the traditional skillset. “For us, efficiency doesn’t mean a loss of craftsmanship. It’s all about working smarter”, says Mathias. “That way we make time for what really matters: achieving the best possible quality.”
Mathias and Jasmien run the company together, with a permanent team of seven employees. Their goal is clear: to grow in efficiency and quality without losing the feel of a family business. “We want to be a modern company that offers the feel of belonging and continuity. Automation helps us to cope with peak demand, but also to make work more enjoyable for everyone.”
The challenge
Puur Patat grows its crops on around 200 hectares of land, 130 hectares of which are potatoes. The harvest season is the most labour-intensive time of the year: The fields have to be cleared of the crops within twenty days. “Anything that saves man-hours during the peak weeks will eventually pay off”, he says. “When every minute counts you don’t want to waste time with forklift manoeuvring or cumbersome box filling work.”
With the construction of a new warehouse for box storage, Puur Patat wanted to improve product flow and better preserve the quality of the potatoes. The next step was to automate the filling and loading process to increase capacity and availability. To that end they teamed up with VHM.
“The line is really fast, user-friendly and reliable. One operator can control everything!”
About Puur Patat
Puur Patat is a family business based in Tielt (West Flanders) in Belgium, run by Mathias Van Hulle and Jasmien Ysebaert. They grow potatoes, onions, carrots and Belgian endive on 200 hectares of land. The potatoes are packaged in-house and delivered directly to more than 100 supermarkets, butchers and local shops in Belgium. With a keen eye for quality, sustainability and taste, Puur Patat stands for natural, home-grown products, delivered directly from the grower to the shop.
The solution
The chosen Fully Automatic Street is now at the heart of the new crate logistics. The line destacks, fills, stacks and loads boxes automatically. One operator can control the complete installation. The extension with the Turnr + EvenFlow makes it possible to unload boxes or load trucks without manual work or unnecessary forklift movements. “The line works quickly, conveniently and reliably,” says Mathias. “One operator can operate everything and that makes the work so much more relaxing.”
The fact that VHM is located in Ens in the Netherlands – more than 300 kilometres away – is not a problem at all. “The distance doesn’t matter”, says Mathias. “If there’s a problem, VHM simply check online. It’s a service that gives us peace of mind and confidence.”
The Result
Met de nieuwe lijn kan Puur Patat minimaal 80 ton aardappelen per uur verwerken. Volle kisten erin, volle kisten eruit – klaar voor bewaring, verpakking of verlading. De workflow is niet alleen sneller, maar ook veiliger en rustiger. Minder heftrucks op de werkvloer betekent minder risico’s en meer overzicht. Zo combineert Puur Patat het beste van twee werelden: familie, vakmanschap en vooruitgang – met VHM als betrouwbare partner in de groei.
