Processes 450,000 tonnes of potatoes annually into frozen potato products such as French fries, chips and flakes
Agrarfrost GmbH
Wildeshausen (Aldrup) · OscherslebenNew on Amplifa
About Agrarfrost
Agrarfrost GmbH is a German family-owned company and one of the largest potato processors in the country. Since 1967, the company has processed potatoes grown domestically into frozen products such as French fries, croquettes, potato pancakes, potato specialties, potato chips and potato flakes for the food industry. Around 450,000 tonnes of potatoes are processed annually, of which around 300,000 t at the headquarters in Aldrup and around 140,000 t in Oschersleben. The integrated farming concept covers the company's own seed production, cultivation with contract farmers, and receipt, sorting, washing and further processing in its own plants. Pre-frying is done in purely vegetable oils, mostly sunflower oil, following a clean-label concept without artificial flavour enhancers or preservatives. Customers include food retail, foodservice and system catering, including McDonald's since 1985 as the largest single buyer. The group generated revenue of 247 million euros in 2018.
- Site
- Wildeshausen
- Processes
- Potato processing into frozen potato products (French fries, croquettes,, Production of potato chips and sticks, Pre-frying in pure vegetable oils (sunflower oil), Foodservice (out-of-home market), Food retail brands (Agrarfrost, Bördegold), own seed production and potato cultivation, processing of potato flakes for the food industry, Export
- Materials
- Potatoes (domestic cultivation), Sunflower oil, Potatoes from domestic cultivation
- Certificates
- DIN EN ISO 14001, DIN EN ISO 50001, ZNU standard 'Sustainable Business', ISO 14001, ISO 50001
- Founded
- 1967
- Industries
- Food retail, Foodservice/catering, System catering, Food industry
- 01
Seed production and potato cultivation (own farms, contract farmers)
- 02
Raw material receipt, washing and sorting
- 03
Processing (cutting, shaping, cooking)
- 04
Pre-frying in pure vegetable oil
- 05
Freezing and storage
- 06
Packaging and distribution (food retail, foodservice, export)
Raw Materials & Processes
Potatoes from domestic cultivation
Main raw material from certified cultivation in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, controlled from seed breeding to the end product.
Sunflower oil
Pure vegetable oil for pre-frying products for retail.
Sites
Wildeshausen (Aldrup)
DEProcessing plant and administration (headquarters); French fries, potato flakes, specialties
- Lot size
- High-volume series
- Materials
- Potatoes, sunflower oil
- French fries production line
- highly efficient energy center (CHP, approx. 90 % own electricity)
- refrigeration center
- bio-energy plant (600 kW)
- photovoltaic system (600,000 kWh/year)
- potato hall, storage capacity 225,000 t
- deep-freeze warehouse (12,000 pallet spaces)
Oschersleben
DEProcessing plant; potato chips, sticks, wedges, French fries from the whole potato
- Lot size
- High-volume series
- Materials
- Potatoes
- 3 chip lines
- lignite dust power plant
- potato storage
Products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potato processing into frozen potato products (French fries, croquettes,Food processing | – | – | 450,000 t of potatoes per year | – | Potatoes, Sunflower oil |
| Production of potato chips and sticksFood processing | – | – | – | – | Potatoes |
| Pre-frying in pure vegetable oils (sunflower oil)Food processing | – | – | – | – | Potatoes, Sunflower oil |
7 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machine for the production of French fries (used, historic, from the company's founding in 1967) | – | 1 | – | – | Aldrup, Wildeshausen |
| Chip line | – | 3 | – | – | Oschersleben |
| Combined heat and power plant / highly efficient energy center | – | – | – | – | Aldrup |
| Lignite dust power plant | – | 1 | – | – | Oschersleben |
| Refrigeration center (one of the most modern in Europe) | – | 1 | – | – | Aldrup |
| Bio-energy plant | – | 1 | – | – | Aldrup |
| Photovoltaic system (600,000 kWh/year) | – | 1 | – | 2022 | Aldrup |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality & Certification
Environmental and energy management are anchored in the management system; the environmental management system has been certified to DIN EN ISO 14001 since 2004, and the energy management system to DIN EN ISO 50001 since 2013. As the first German potato processor, the company was certified in 2014 under the ZNU standard 'Sustainable Business'.
| Evidence | Wildeshausen (Aldrup) | Oschersleben |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 14001 | ||
| ISO 50001 | ||
| ZNU standard 'Sustainable Business' |
History
- 1967
Founded by Reinhold Stöver with five employees in Aldrup; production of pre-fried potatoes.
- 1972
Founding of the subsidiary Agrarfrost; entry into the production of frozen goods.
- 1974
First export of 1,500 t of frozen French fries to Australia.
- 1985
McDonald's becomes a customer and to this day the largest single buyer.
- 1989
Acquisition of Weser Feinkost.
- 1992
New plant in Oschersleben.
- 1999
New potato hall in Aldrup; storage capacity rises to 225,000 t.
- 2007
The brand name 'Agrarfrost' becomes the company name.
- 2014
First German potato processor certified to the ZNU sustainability standard.
- 2016
New highly efficient energy center in Aldrup; approx. 90 % own electricity; third chip line in Oschersleben.
- 2018
World record 'Longest French Fries in the World' (27.5 cm, RID).
- 2020
Expansion/modernization of plant areas covering 5,000 m², investment of approx. 20 million euros.
- 2021
Introduction of the Nutri-Score on packaging.
- 2022
Awards from McDonald's (Global Resiliency Award, Assured Energy Award); 30 years of the Oschersleben plant; photovoltaic system with 600,000 kWh/year.
- 2024
Federal Prize of Honour; integration of raw material receipt from Golden Geest and Börde EZG.