US (CA): Tomra Sorting opens new facility following expansion plans
The company’s 50-plus strong team has relocated to a new purpose-built site which is over 30 per cent larger than its previous building in California.
The event was attended by city officials, employees and customers as well as senior figures from the company, including Tomra’s CEO, Stefan Ranstrand; Head of Tomra Sorting, Dr Volker Rehrmann; and Senior Vice-President and Head of Tomra Sorting Food, Ashley Hunter.
Attendees had the opportunity to tour the new facility and view a selection of Tomra’s machines in action, including its latest technology for sorting nuts, such as almonds, walnuts and pistachios.
Tomra Sorting’s US team has been based in West Sacramento, which has been labelled “the Silicon Valley of food”, for about 15 years and in California for more than 30. Tomra Sorting’s new West Sacramento facility and its site in Denver, Colorado, provides comprehensive customer support and manufacturing capabilities for the Americas.
Ashley Hunter, Sr. Vice-President and Head of TOMRA Sorting Food, said: “With extra space and better facilities, including test, demonstration and development areas, the new West Sacramento site will enable our US team to concentrate on developing solutions for the food industry in the region. The new premises will enable them to better serve their growing customer base in terms of sales and service.”
Summarizing the reasons for the upgraded and new premises, Mr Hunter said: “This has been triggered by our current and planned expansion. For example, our total revenue increase has averaged almost 40 per cent per annum in recent years in the US."
“TOMRA’s sorting solutions centres provide the ultimate experience and peace-of-mind for customers, who can stage trials using their own produce, and reflect the fact that their needs are becoming ever-more complex. The centres will also enable us to capitalize fully on our significant investment in research and development.”
Mr Hunter said the incorporation of a cold room in the test and demonstration area in West Sacramento allows for the easy testing of individually quick frozen (IQF) products by TOMRA’s new Blizzard sorter, which was designed specifically for this application. He said the sorting solutions centre also contained a laboratory, where tests for aflatoxins, which the company’s technology can identify, could be conducted.
The opening of the new West Sacramento site follows the successful relocation of TOMRA’s facility in Dublin, Ireland to accommodation more than three times the size of its former premises. In addition, a significant expansion has been completed at TOMRA Sorting Food’s global headquarters in Leuven, Belgium, while the company has invested significantly at sites in India and China.
For more information:
Penny Coles
Brand8 PR
Tel: +44 (0)113 394 4583
Email: penny.coles@brand8pr.com