The Little Potato Company celebrates the construction of their US plant in a big way

The Little Potato Company made a big splash at the celebration of its first U.S. potato-packaging facility.

Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, The Little Potato Company celebrated construction of its first U.S. plant June 29 in DeForest. The new $20 million, 130,000-square-foot plant, which is being built by Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies, is scheduled to open in January 2017.

The plant will have the capacity to wash, pack and ship 17 million pounds of the company’s proprietary “little” potatoes, said Sanford Gleddie, vice-president of operations and global development for the company. The company’s line of fresh “creamer” potatoes are pre-washed and packaged in plastic bags that can be refrigerated for longer shelf life. The company also sells the potatoes with seasoning mixes and specialty trays in microwave-ready and oven- or grill-ready packages. The potatoes are sold to retailers across the United States and Canada.

The Little Potato Company will hire 50 employees at the DeForest plant through the next six months, and plans to have a total of 130 employees during the next three years, said Susan Vann, the company’s vice-president of human resources.

Growers earn premiums for little potatoes

Five Wisconsin potato growers are producing the little potatoes on a total of about 450 acres this year. They planted the potatoes in late May and will be harvesting in September. The Little Potato Company expects to work with additional Wisconsin potato growers next year. It will pay premiums for the little potatoes because they yield about one-third to one-half the amount of potatoes traditionally grown in Wisconsin. The Little Potato Company also seeks potatoes with high-quality skin.

Steve Diercks and his son, Andy Diercks, operate Coloma Farms Inc. near Coloma, Wisconsin. They are growing about 100 acres of the little potatoes this year. Their acres include two of the company’s four varieties – “Baby Boomer,” which has yellow skin and pale yellow-white flesh; and “Blushing Belle,” with reddish-pink skin and yellow flesh. The company’s other two varieties are “Perline,” with light yellow skin and flesh, and “Purple Prince,” with purple skin and yellow flesh with purplish lines.

The little potatoes are planted between 4 inches and 6 inches apart, compared to other potato varieties that are planted between 12 and 17 inches apart, Steve Diercks said. He was able to use an existing planter to plant the little potatoes, but this fall will use a special harvester made in Europe and supplied by The Little Company.

Bula Potato Farms Inc. of Antigo, Wisconsin, is growing 120 acres of the little potatoes this year. The Bula family also owns Heartland Potato Farms near Benton, Missouri. The Missouri farm has little-potato varieties in test plots this year, Lynda Bula said.

Wisconsin’s reputation for high-quality potato production, plus the state’s business climate and tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation were some of the reasons why The Little Potato Company was attracted to the state, said Tamas Houlihan, executive director of the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association.

The Little Potato Company is investing more than $20 million in the new facility, equipment and other initiatives – $11.7 million of which qualifies for tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

But what also attracted The Little Potato Company was the warmth and generosity of the DeForest and Madison communities, said Angela Santiago, the company’s co-founder and CEO.

Angela Santiago:
 

“The connections with Wisconsin’s growers and the community at large made us feel at home.”

Santiago and her father, Jacob van der Schaaf, established The Little Potato Company near Edmonton in 1996.

A Dutch immigrant, van der Schaaf was unable to find the small creamer potatoes of his youth. So he and his daughter began growing them.

They bought their first washing and packing plant in 2000 in Edmonton, and expanded five years later into their current production plant in Edmonton.

Angela Santiago:
 

“I never dreamed we’d expand into the United States”

“This is a big dream come true.”