Wiskerke Onions produces around 28 million packages of onions every year. In order to achieve such figures, the family business must be able to rely on its machinery. That's why they've been working with Symach for twenty years, ensuring that they can pack and palletize at top speed and with maximum efficiency.
Wiskerke Onions has been dealing in onions, shallots, and garlic for over 90 years. The Dutch family business sources its onions from over 10,000 acres of land. They package the harvest in all kinds of packaging, from 100-gram bags to large 25-kilogram bags for export. The onions are then sent to customers in 125 countries or end up in Dutch supermarkets.
Chayenne Wiskerke, the great-granddaughter of founder Jacob Wiskerke, is now leading the business as the fourth generation of the family. In 2013, Chayenne took over from her father, Jaap, who continues to contribute his experience and insight to the company.
Wiskerke Onions is committed to sustainable and safe business practices. Since 2017, for example, the residual heat from the adjacent potato factory has been used to dry their onions, and they have their own solar park. Their processes meet the highest safety and sustainability standards and certifications.
High standards
With 28 million packages rolling off the production line every year, the pressure is high. Wiskerke sets high standards for its machinery, especially in terms of efficiency and reliability.
For the past 20 years, Wiskerke has been relying on Symach for the stacking of bags and crates. Symach has also provided solutions for internal pallet transport. The collaboration between the two Zeeland-based companies began in 2006, when Jaap Wiskerke ordered the first palletizer. Symach had only been in business for two years at that time. The company was founded in 2004 by Johnny de Bat, Sacha Bakker, and Tony van Langevelde, who got to know each other as colleagues at a former employer.
Originally, they focused on the agricultural market in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France. In 2014, Symach became part of the global industrial technology company Barry-Wehmiller, which led to significant growth for the business. The Symach team now numbers around 100 people and serves both international industrial markets and agricultural companies.
Their portfolio, which started with a cleverly designed palletizer, has grown into a wide range of solutions for load securing, filling, weighing, packing, and internal logistics. Symach's latest technical feat is the Rotax palletizing head, which enables positioning speeds of up to 50 bags per minute.
© Wiskerke Onions
Partnership
Since purchasing that first machine, Wiskerke has bought eight more palletizers and related solutions, such as corner board applicators, strapping machines, and wrappers. They also invested in roller conveyors and shuttles for the internal transport of pallets from the packing line to the factory's dispatch area. These types of solutions make the workplace more efficient and safer, as fewer forklift movements are required.
'I would describe the way we work with Wiskerke Onions as a close partnership rather than a regular client-supplier relationship,' says Johnny de Bat of Symach. He points to the palletizer for crates as an example. This machine, which is specifically designed for stacking large quantities of crates, was developed in close collaboration with Bob Salm, technical manager at Wiskerke.
This "push-plate" palletizer for crates is now used by Symach customers all over the world, but Wiskerke still has the very first one.
Reliability
'Symach sticks to their promises, which is important to us,' says Chayenne Wiskerke. 'Their way of working is very personal, which we appreciate. For instance, their sales team comes to our factory in person to talk to the operators and assess the situation, so that they can tailor the set-up of the machines accordingly. That's unique: it's certainly not something you see at every company.'
And, perhaps most importantly, the machines always work.
'We can't afford any downtime, and with Symach machines we hardly ever have any malfunctions,' she says. 'If we carry out our scheduled check-up at the start of the season, that's enough to get us through the season without any problems. If we do encounter a problem, they get to work immediately and don't let go until it's solved.'
How would she summarize the collaboration with Symach?
'The biggest challenge in this business is to pack ever-increasing volumes with fewer people and in an increasingly efficient manner. Symach has helped us face that challenge from the get-go, and they continue to do so. That's why they will be involved in our future plans.'
© Wiskerke OnionsFor more information:
Chayenne Wiskerke
Wiskerke Onions
Tel: +31 113 382 210
Email: [email protected]
www.wiskerke-onions.nl
Fruit Logistica 2026 hal 3.2 stand A14
© SymachJohnny de Bat
Symach
Tel: +31 115 685 625
Email: [email protected]
www.symach.nl
Fruit Logistica 2026 hal 4.1 stand B34
