Ulster-based salad and vegetable supplier Willowbrook foods is expanding into the potato-processing sector following a £400,000 investment.
The company said the investment in a production line and processing machinery, followed extensive market research and would create “fantastic potential” for the business and its clients in Ireland and the UK.
Partly funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the department of agriculture and rural development, the new equipment will see the firm offer a range of freshly-prepared peeled and chipped potatoes into the foodservice sector.
“Potatoes are sturdy vegetables, but it takes the right type of mechanical engineering and technology to replicate the style of produce which foodservice companies and consumers demand nowadays.
“For many years we avoided potato processing, preferring instead to concentrate on salads and vegetables. Latterly though, the technology has come a long way and this, along with extensive customer research, convinced us that the time had come to make the investment and put the Willowbrook brand on Northern Ireland’s most famous product.”
