Hardbite Potato Chips expands capacity to Meet Growing Demand for Its All-Natural Chips

Hardbite Chips is a producer of all-natural chips made from potatoes and other root vegetables, cooks its chips in small batches free from preservatives, GMOs, trans fat, gluten and cholesterol. The company believes that frying in small batches results in a chip with a superior crunch, as the process begins fresh with each new batch.

Hardbite recently moved its manufacturing operations into a new 43,000-square-foot production facility. The facility is located 40 minutes southeast of Vancouver in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

The Challenge

With a growing uptick in demand, as well as an increase in distribution coupled with the launch of new products, Hardbite needed to expand the production of its potato chips. The company was looking for a way to process more potatoes faster.

Kevin Wong, Operations Manager at Hardbite Chips:
 

"We see demand for Hardbite Chips growing at a rapid pace."

"With the introduction of new flavors and types of chips, as well as a move into global distribution and new markets, we needed to ramp up production as quickly as possible."

Because Hardbite had installed Vanmark equipment in the past after purchasing some older used machines from another food processing company, they knew the machines were reliable over the long haul. Based on that experience, the company turned to Vanmark to help it meet its current challenge.

The Solution

Vanmark worked with Hardbite to listen to its needs and carefully assess the situation before making equipment recommendations.

Hardbite purchased a Vanmark Floor Load Crate Dumper to unload product containers quickly; two Metering Hoppers to control line flow rates and provide accurate metering; a Hydrolift Destoner to separate rocks and debris; and an Orienting Roll to consistently feed product to slicers and cutters.

Vanmark managed to ship the equipment on a tight schedule to meet Hardbite’s needs. The dumper, metering hoppers, and hydrolifts were installed in Hardbite’s receiving/prep room. The orienting roll was installed in its process room.

The Results

With the new Vanmark equipment, Hardbite has been able to modernize its line in its new location, allowing for potential increases in capacity in the coming years.  

The Future

As Hardbite Chips continues to grow, Wong knows the company will turn to Vanmark to help meet its future needs.

Kevin Wong:
 

"We know we can rely on the Vanmark team to bring its team of experts and its suite of potato processing solutions to help us address our challenges and continue to manufacture quality products our customers love."