Potato News from Idaho

Spudnik Equipment Company has reached an agreement to buy STC Trailers, according to a recent press release. Terms were not disclosed. Both companies are headquartered in Blackfoot, Idaho. The acquisition will go into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Ongoing studies at the University of Idaho’s Aberdeen Research & Extension Center seek to help seed potato growers avoid a chronically troublesome disease spread by aphids, called potato virus Y, writes John O’Connell in the Idaho State Journal.

The Idaho Potato Commission has found that the best way to communicate that potatoes are part of an active, healthy lifestyle is to show it. Therefore, the IPC sponsors several athletic programs and events that support and encourage folks to be active.

Giving away the original 6-ton replica Russet Burbank that once toured the nation on its Great Big Idaho Potato Truck is paying major dividends for the Idaho Potato Commission, according to Frank Muir, president and CEO of the organization.

NewCold, a specialist in automated cold storage, announced the opening of its $90 million, 180,000-square-foot facility in Burley, Idaho. French fry maker McCain Foods is NewCold’s largest Idaho customer.

A team of fresh Idaho potato shippers will soon head to Taiwan to develop new business relationships in the Southeast Asian market.

Monday, McCain Foods USA, a leading supplier of frozen potato products, celebrated the grand opening of its expanded facilities in Burley, Idaho with over 150 attendees including elected officials and grower partners.

North American potato processors either have or will be bringing at least 1.3 billion pounds of new processing capacity online between October 2018 and December 2019. In Potato Country, Bruce Huffaker of NAPMN discusses the impact.

European Frozen Finger Food manufacturer Frostkrone Group announced earlier this month it had completed the acquisition of the Idaho based company Rite Stuff Foods Inc., a manufacturer specialised in the production of potato snacks.

Potato grower and packer Wilcox Fresh has appointed Justin Reynolds as the company’s new CEO.

Idahoan Foods, LLC announced today that its Idahoan® Family Size Mashed Potatoes has been named Product of the Year for 2019, receiving top honors for the Side Dish Category.

McCain Foods USA is looking to buy a property for a 100,000 square feet facility in Caldwell, Idaho, for what we assume would be production plant for frozen french fries.