Sustainability, circularity, inclusion? Potato, potato! *

For a few months already, a WAAK Inhouse Enclave team has been deployed at Agristo, a world player in the field of potato products based in Wielsbeke in West Flanders. A story of a partnership between two companies for whom inclusion and sustainability form an integral part of their business strategy.

Agristo: from green fields to yellow chips

Agristo is a West-Flanders multinational that develops and produces potato products. Besides their headquarters in Wielsbeke, where they mainly produce chips, this world player also runs production plants located in Harelbeke, Nazareth, Tilburg (NL) and Uttar Pradesh (IN). For quite a few years already, the WAAK Grounds Maintenance Department has been looking after the grounds at the Wielsbeke site. In recent months, a WAAK Inhouse Enclave team has also been deployed there. This is a team of supported employees working on a customer’s shopfloor under professional supervision.

A perfect chip in the wrong bag

The cost of producing potato products has risen sharply as a result of inflation. For Agristo it is therefore important to lose as little ‘raw material’ as possible. However, errors do occasionally occur in the product packaging process (e.g. wrong date or faulty printing) which causes the product to be removed from the production flow. According to Ward Claerbout, Legal & External Affairs Manager: “A perfect chip ends up in the wrong bag, and our aim is not to lose that product.” Davy Roetjens, Assistant Manager Packaging agrees with him: “In the ‘Rework’ department, we repackage those high-quality products into the correct packaging to avoid them going to waste.”

Staff shortages a hot potato

Even though the Rework project went off to a flying start and improved ‘operational excellence’, staff shortages were throwing a spanner in the works. Davy Roetjens: “Before we had two Agristo teams working on this project full-time, but due to staff turnover and persisting labour market difficulties, we ended up with just one team.” Agristo was aware that WAAK also has an Inhouse Enclave team, and the company therefore decided to contact WAAK to solve the problem with the deployment of an Inhouse Enclave team.

WAAK takes care of everything

Agristo now employs 5 WAAK supported employees under the daily supervision of a qualified coach. We put the team together. As a supported employment company, we know exactly who is suitable for a particular job, we know their capabilities, but we have also flagged up potential stumbling blocks. Davy Roetjens: “During the first few weeks it was a matter of finding the best way of deploying the team, but with the expert guidance provided by WAAK, we actually adjusted pretty quickly. They take care of everything.”

"WAAK's workers show 200% commitment, our staff respect that" 

At first, we had to ensure that the supported employees found their workstations and also complied with all the health and safety procedures, but now they do that all by themselves.” WAAK Supported Employees Coach Bram Catteeuw confirms this: “Everyone got used to each other very quickly, and you notice that the supported employees work well together. In addition, in our daily operations I can rely on the extra support from Thomas Ghekiere, the Rework Coach at Agristo, who is involved in the project on a daily basis.”

Caring for supported employees

Whilst seeing to one thing and another in the Agristo chip department, Thomas tells us he previously had worked as a supervisor for a frozen vegetables company. There he became familiar with the concept of supported employment. When Agristo decided to launch a WAAK enclave, they could see that his experience was really a great asset: “I am responsible for the planning and administration, and I support Bram Catteeuw with the coaching of the WAAK enclave staff. We not only show them the ropes, but we also discuss any frustrations they may experience in their work, for example. By doing this calmly and quietly, in 99% of cases we can prevent the issue from escalating further,” Thomas says. Bram Catteeuw: “I think it is great that Agristo also makes an extra effort for our staff. Because our employees are on their feet for such a long time, Agristo has provided them with ergonomic anti-fatigue mats. In principle, as a company they are not legally required to do that, but for us it is important that people can work ergonomically, and that says a great deal about Agristo. They care for people who have difficulty in accessing the labour market.”

"WAAK professional guidance takes care of everything"

Bram’s colleague, Thomas, elaborates and says that this is firmly embedded into Agristo’s DNA: “The WAAK staff have the respect of the entire Agristo personnel. They often interact and they have their lunch together. They are treated the same as the rest of our staff. They always go the extra mile and show 200% commitment. They are just as good as the other Rework team members (Agristo staff). That commands respect!

Sustainability and inclusion

According to Ward Claerbout, External Affairs Manager: “Sustainability has always been important to Agristo, but two years ago this became firmly anchored into our company’s general strategy for growth. The term also covers the aspect of inclusion – giving people opportunities who would otherwise struggle to have any opportunities at all – as well as the circularity aspect. The Rework project covers them both. Making a conscious decision not to waste any food is not only good for our profit margin, but it also means opting for sustainability. In this way, you decide against wasting raw materials. Producing potato products requires large volumes of water. By bringing those products back into the production chain instead of producing them again from scratch, we save considerable amounts of water in the long term. The same goes for the energy we use in our production, and the environmental impact of growing our potato crops. The impact of this project is greater than one would think at first sight."  

A promising future

Despite the fact that the project has only been running for a few months, the future looks promising for the WAAK enclave. Davy Roetjens: “The project will of course be reviewed at the end of the year, but because everything is running so smoothly, I see no reason to change anything. On the contrary, we intend to further expand our plant’s capacity, so that will mean all hands on deck. We are therefore very keen to continue with this team.”

* Potato, potato [potayto, potahto]: expression meaning that even if two things seem different, they are essentially the same. The expression comes from the different pronunciation of 'potato'.