Peeling, Cutting and Frying: at Foodera Technologies Every Step of the Potato Process is a Specialism

You don’t peel potatoes with a small kitchen knife, as they know all too well at Foodera Technologies in Montfoort, one of the market leaders in potato processing. “There’s far more to it than simply removing the thinnest possible peel.”

26 May 2026

Keywords
Potato processing
Foodera Technologies
Industrial food equipment
Peeling and frying systems
Global processing lines

Anyone wanting to produce 25,000 kilos of chips per hour does not need thousands of potato peelers. Instead, they can order a production line from Foodera Technologies based in Montfoort in the Dutch province of Utrecht and one of the global leaders in potato processing machinery. In the production hall, Sales Manager Ton Hendrickx (59) pauses beside a giant machine called the Corda Invicta, loosely translated as “the invincible one”. It is only the fifth ever built and one of the company’s showpieces.

The stainless-steel colossus, 25 metres long, stands silent for now. But soon, a Chinese customer will use it to par-fry tonnes of chips every hour, around the clock. “What you’re looking at here is essentially one of the final stages in the potato-processing chain,” Hendrickx explains. In Montfoort, the company specialises in the entire process: washing, peeling, grading, cutting, drying, coating, frying and packaging one of humankind’s most important food sources.

With echoing radio music in the background, Hendrickx begins a walk across the 5,000-square-metre hall. All around, work is underway on the company’s stainless-steel equipment. The potato-processing sequence may sound simple, but here every step is a specialism.

Another manufacturer, for example, supplies the graders: intermediate stations that use cameras to detect inferior potatoes and chips at lightning speed – and remove them instantly.

Peeling Under Pressure

Eventually, Hendrickx stops at another of Foodera Technologies trump cards: the Strata Invicta. This machine is used for the crucial first step of peeling the potato. Inside its square housing is a vessel containing almost two cubic metres. When loaded with potatoes, the vessel is pressurised with hot steam. After eight seconds of rotation, the tank is rapidly opened. The pressure drops in an instant. Startled by the sudden change, the potato effectively pops out of its skin – the peel loosens immediately.

A potato peel is typically about half a millimetre thick. If the potato has not fully matured (“hardened off”, in industry terms), the peel may be as thin as 0.1 to 0.2 millimetres. Potatoes from “long-term storage” can have peels up to 1 millimetre thick. These figures matter: customers are extremely critical of peel residue. The thinner the peel, the more usable potato remains. For processors handling millions of tonnes of potatoes – such as suppliers of chips to major fast-food chains, this can make a significant difference.

Building potato-processing machinery is big business. Last year Foodera Technologies recorded a turnover of €130 million, more than double what it achieved five years earlier. That growth came at the right time: at the end of August the company announced that it had been acquired by international investor Investindustrial (a European private-equity firm with more than €17 billion in assets under management). The seller was Paul Oosterlaken, now retired, who began his career in Montfoort as a trainee draughtsman and ultimately became the company’s majority shareholder.

The new owner also purchased two American companies with which Foodera Technologies works closely: Idaho Steel and Reyco. These firms specialise, among other things, in shaping potato products and recovering oil after frying, helping ensure that par-fried chips can be frozen with as little residual oil as possible.

For the time being, all three companies will continue under their own names. “Preserving your company culture, and therefore your staff, is essential,” says Foodera Technologies Director EMEA APAC, Marcel van Huissteden (53). “Technical personnel are becoming increasingly hard to find in the Netherlands. We may even open another factory abroad, in addition to our existing plant in the United States, if we can find more technically skilled people there. For some customers, local production of machinery is a requirement – sometimes to qualify for subsidies, sometimes because it is mandated by local governments.”

Greater geographical spread brings further advantages. In the large open-plan offices adjoining the production hall, staff monitor fluctuating exchange rates and trade tariffs every day. A company delivering machines worldwide must plan carefully to minimise financial risks caused by market volatility. The route taken by components to reach the end customer can determine the profitability of an entire project.

The acquisition by Investindustrial brings major benefits, says Van Huissteden. “Of the roughly 7 million tonnes of potatoes produced annually in the Netherlands, around three-quarters are processed. In China, where around 100 million tonnes are harvested each year, only about 12 percent undergo processing. So the potential demand is enormous – particularly for larger processing lines.”

The final sale price of Foodera Technologies equipment often reaches several million euros. “These projects are becoming increasingly capital-intensive,” Van Huissteden explains. “It’s reassuring to be part of a financially strong group. They also bring extensive knowledge about sustainable, responsible business growth.”

Growth will not come solely from selling more of the current “invincible” peelers and fryers. The equipment will also need to become increasingly intelligent, Van Huissteden says. The focus will shift beyond ultra-thin peeling, lower energy consumption and reduced maintenance. “Depending on the characteristics of the potatoes being processed, operators currently adjust drying and frying times manually. These adjustments could potentially be automated. The opportunities for further improvement are endless.”

This article is an English translation of the original publication in de Volkskrant.