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High-precision work in the existing production facility: with a…

At the company VOIE VERTE in France, a washing line with three washing machines is achieving an optimal washing result and providing increased capacities in the production of ready-to-eat salads.

GROUPE VOIE VERTE, France

The GROUPE VOIE VERTE is a French family company that cultivates and sells lettuce, spinach, bean sprouts, pumpkin and squash. The company, which is based near the French city of Lyon, supplies supermarkets, its own stores, hotels, and restaurants with raw produce and ready-to-eat, namely cut and washed, products. Thanks to increasing sales in its five own shops, its growing business area of catering services and a high demand for fresh-cut products for catering establishments, VOIE VERTE now has two production locations in operation. 

To increase the capacity of its production facility for ready-to-eat salads, the company has now replaced its former processing line with a new, more efficient washing line comprised of a trimming table and three GEWA 4000 B PLUS HELICAL washing machines by KRONEN. When selecting the new processing solution for the GROUPE VOIE VERTE team, two particularly important requirements needed to be met: a gentle yet thorough washing process resulting in a ready-to-eat product despite the large amount of soil on the lettuce before washing and low space requirements for the machines given that they were integrated into an existing production facility. Furthermore, the project needed to be completed within on-sitetest possible time frame.

The teams from INDUSTRADE, KRONEN’s representative in France, and KRONEN achieved a particularly space-saving setup for the washing line and ensured that the machines were put into operation on time. “We are extremely proud of the quality of the machines and the work performed by the KRONEN and INDUSTRADE. The team of technicians worked in close cooperation with the different departments of our company to ensure that the product line was put into operation on time,” states José Carrion, Industrial Director of the GROUPE VOIE VERTE, with regard to the progress of the project.

The new washing line processes much larger amounts of different types of lettuce per day. For a particularly efficient washing process, the GEWA 4000 B PLUS washing machines are each fitted with an insect and fine particle removal system, a lateral fine particle removal drum and the water management system (WMS), while the two front machines also feature KRONEN’s water recycling system. As a result, the machines not only guarantee top-quality wash water but also reduce water consumption.

After just a few weeks of initial use, VOIE VERTE is already pleased with its investment in the new washing machines thanks to the excellent washing result, even in the case of heavily soiled lettuce. As a result, the family company can continue its successful growth curve and remain true to its corporate values of tradition, quality, freshness and closeness.