Aldi Yorkshire potato supplier invests £1.65M into new tech

Based just outside York, family-owned Cockerill has supplied Aldi since the supermarket first arrived in the UK. Today, it provides a range of British fresh potatoes across bags (1kg and 2.5kg packs) and loose lines, including more than 16 million loose baking potatoes annually. Its partnership with Aldi has continued to grow, with the volume of potatoes Cockerill supplies to the store more than doubling since 2023. Cockerill says this sustained growth and long-standing partnership with the retailer has given it the confidence to invest; enabling a £1.65 million injection into new technology. It has also supported investment in regenerative farming practices, including the use of cover crops, alongside ongoing initiatives to reduce waste both in the field and across its packing operations. 'Over the last five years our focus has been on automating our grading and sorting facilities using Key Oculus optical sorting technology,' a spokesperson from the business told Food Manufacture. 'Reliability and consistency have improved considerably. The Oculus uses infrared cameras for the most effective identification of greens, and the latest digital colour cameras for exceptional accuracy of defect identification. Alongside the class 1 product going for prepacking, waste streams are segregated into secondary material and that only suitable for animal feed. 'The end of line robotic solutions are provided by LAN Technologies from the Netherlands. This equipment can alternate from filling merchandising units (MU) to trays, swapping packing heads autonomously. Again, consistency and reliability are much improved, especially in combination with the 'shaker plates' that the MU's sit on while they're being filled; regularly vibrating the whole MU to allow the flexible poly bags to settle down further to maximise the space available.' In the months ahead, the business is looking to increase levels of packing and stacking automation and upskilling its staff to oversee this. Further investment is also planned in tray erectors and palletising solutions, in an effort to increase productivity and so it can continue to offer a 'viable proposition' to its customers. Commenting on the investment news, Julie Ashfield, chief commercial officer at Aldi UK, said: 'It's fantastic to work with family businesses like Cockerill, who have been growing quality British produce for generations.' She continued: 'It's rewarding to see the business continue to invest in the local community as our partnership goes from strength to strength.'