Vanmark and Grote Company: Hydrocutting potatoes. But what about pickles?

Vanmark, an industrial potato and produce processing equipment manufacturer, announced a collaboration with Grote Company, a manufacturer of reliable, top-quality food slicing and assembly equipment, that resulted in a solution for the pickle industry, projected to be a USD 10.6B industry by 2025.

Vanmark and Grote collaborated to design, manufacture, and automate a turnkey pickle processing line, marking the first time the three sites have worked together to develop a solution tailored to meet a customer’s specific needs.

Vanmark Creston contributed receiving and washing equipment, Vanmark Boise brought its Lamina Hydrocutting System, and Grote Company tied it all together by programming the control system to automate the solution.

The new system automatically loads totes of cucumbers, thoroughly washes them, then precisely cuts them into spears before gently transferring them for jarring and pickling. The solution is designed with stainless steel components and minimal moving parts to ensure sanitation and reduced maintenance. It eliminated three manual processes, more than doubling capacity.

Bob Grote, chief executive officer, Grote Company:
 

"When you look at trying to expand your market penetration in the food processing industry, you begin to examine parallel industries. A new parallel industry that popped up related to our french fry business has been pickle processing. We’ve now approached that marketplace with a complete hydro cutting solution developed specifically for its needs."

Grote Company acquired Vanmark in 2007, as well as GME, which merged with Vanmark, in 2012. The collaboration is the first of many to come, Grote says.

Bob Grote:
 

"This project marks a culmination and a validation of our vision to provide more complete solutions for our customers. One of the most exciting elements of this is how it sets us up to tackle projects holistically so we can come to customers with turnkey solutions to fit their needs."