The company held an Open House at its factory in Woerden, The Netherlands, this week with 60 customers travelling from all over the world to see the machine before it is shipped out to its customer.
Seven months to assemble
Shayne de la Force, group marketing manager, tna, told FoodProductionDaily, thanks to its merger with Florigo this year it wants to show customers how the two companies complement each other and this is a great example.
“This machine is in a league of its own. There are less than 10 fryers of this size in the world which can produce 25 tonnes or more fries per hour, the average is three or five tonnes,” he said.
“Florigo has got the application know-how on this kind of technology and tna can give them the platform to support their business and ship out their machines globally.”
The machine took seven months to assemble at its facility in Woerden and the factory includes tna’s first Food Technology Testing Centre, led by Arnaud Jansse, application engineer, Florigo.
According to de la Force, production has doubled at tna and it currently has 14,000 systems including Florigo and FOODesign in 120 countries.
He said the firm recently hired a new product marketing manager and is looking to expand to a bigger factory in Woerden over the next six months.
Looking to announce further acquisitions
“Florigo is a strong brand in Japan, India and Europe and now we are reintroducing it to the America’s. tna is 85% way through its geographical growth and we are looking to expand further across eastern Europe, Africa and Asia,” he added.
tna has acquired five companies over the last four-and-a-half years with manufacturing sites in Birmingham, UK (distribution and seasoning), Melbourne, Australia, (packaging equipment), Portland, Oregon, US (batch fryers), and Woerden (Europe).
Florigo, which employs 50 people, previously had four brands; H&H (engineering services, which are no longer used), K&K (washing blanching and peeling), Florigo and Ferguson (freezing and drying). tna is keeping Florigo and Ferguson.
“The snacking industry is our home turf but we are now growing in the French fryer industry as we move more and more into the processing world. We are no longer just a packaging company. Our vision is changing as a group but food is always going to be our focus,” said de la Force.