Our {story}
How a farm that had to make way turned into a blooming business.
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In 1989, Jozef Van Remoortel and his wife, Frieda Apers, faced an existential choice. The Port of Antwerp was expanding, and their farm in Verrebroek had to make way. Should they start over elsewhere as farmers, or begin something entirely new?
They went for the latter. Van Remoortel Potato Processing was born, supplying fresh fries to fry shops across the region. Small and local at first—but always ambitious.
Initial growth
In the 1990s, Van Remoortel NV experienced its first growth spurt. Demand for fries continued to rise, and both the machinery and the number of family members in the business grew along. Daughter An Van Remoortel joined the company together with her husband, Kris Thielman. A few years later, daughter Els Van Remoortel followed, along with her husband, Wim Lannoey.
The first biogas installation
The turn of the millennium marked an important milestone for Remo. After initial investments in machinery for peeled potatoes, construction of a new production site took off in 2001 in the Aven Ackers SME zone in Verrebroek.
The facility includes a biogas installation to convert potato peels into biogas, which is then used to generate electricity. At the time, this was a unique and highly innovative process. In 2002, the new site was officially inaugurated by Steve Stevaert, then Minister of Energy.
Continued growth
Alongside fries, demand for potato products in commercial kitchens also increased. To better serve this segment, Jozef commissioned the construction of a second production site in Verrebroek, focused on fresh, peeled, and pre-cooked potato products.
The decision led to another major growth spurt. First as a mid-sized company and later as a large enterprise, Remo received the Trends Gazelle title multiple times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015)—an award reserved for the fastest-growing companies in the region.
Meanwhile, the company commissioned a new biogas plant to meet its growing energy needs.
