“We'll Do It!“

A trip to France in 1994 was groundbreaking for Samsø Grønt. In France, a company had found an effective way to control the quality of the potatoes. It would be an expensive investment for Samsø Grønt to do the same thing - but could they afford not to?

In the weeks after his return Jørgen Christian Jensen, Chairman of the Board, could not let go of what he had seen. He and 30 other growers had been in Nourmoitier in France to learn more about controlling the quality of potatoes. Here he saw some effective machinery working at full stretch in a company that sold potatoes - just like Samsø Grønt.

The idea behind the machines was good. They washed and packed the potatoes before sending them out to consumers. When the potatoes were clean, it was easier for the staff to tell if they were of the right quality, and it was easier to weed out bad ones. Jørgen Christian Jensen thought it efficient. And he was not the only one to think that.

Handshake on Investment Samsø Grønt had - in cooperation with growers - worked hard to develop the best potato varieties since 1964. Therefore, Samsø Potatoes were popular among consumers in 1994, but with reservations. The difficult process of weeding out soil, rocks, and bad potatoes meant that mistakes were made during busy periods of the year. The dream was to create greater coherence between growers' work to cultivate quality potatoes and Samsø Grønt's processing of the potatoes.

Both the growers and the manager of Samsø Grønt agreed that the machines would support the growers' work to ensure the quality of Samsø Potatoes. But there was also consensus that Samsø Grønt did not have the means to invest in such expensive machines! They would cost about DKK 3 million, and that was a lot of money. Still Jørgen Christian could not let go of the idea that Samsø Grønt invested in the machines.

"Then, one day some weeks after the return from France, the chairman of the agricultural association, the manager of Samsø Grønt, and I were in the production hall of Samsø Grønt. It was after closing-time, and the staff had left. I don't think that any of us could completely forget the machines that we had seen. We kept turning back to that subject. Then we looked at each other and one of us said: "We'll do it!". And we shook hands on it," tells Jørgen Christian Jensen.

Exactly that kind of action has always been a characteristic of Samsø Grønt. No one wanted to give up, and there was short distance from conceiving an idea to acting upon it. This kind of commitment also made Samsø Grønt a reality back in 1988. Back then no one believed in the enthusiastic board members, who where fighting for the dream of establishing a company to process and sell Samsø Potatoes. A company with the name Samsø Grønt. But they succeeded in 1988, and now the same people shook hands on succeeding in improving the production of Samsø Grønt.

A Company to Believe in The decision was made. The next challenge was simply: where would the money come from? No banks wanted to finance the new machines. They liked the idea, but kindly rejected lending money to Samsø Grønt.

"It was a matter of borrowing DKK 3 million - a lot of money back in 1994. But we didn't give up. Instead we approached FIH Erhvervsbank. We had made a big presentation to show at the meeting, and we brought the accounts from the year before. But they were more impressed by our story: We had existed for 10 years - 30, if you count in Samsø Potato Grower Association - and our turnover increased a little bit every year. A company like that, they believed in," tells Hans Jørgen Buur, the manager of Samsø Grønt.

With a loan from FIH, Samsø Grønt was able to invest, and machines for cleaning and sorting were purchased.Now the old dream of extending the season could really come true, because Samsø Grønt was able to start processing small potatoes, baking potatoes, and other vegetables. Furthermore the company grew, as more growers wanted to join.

"I have often looked back on that day in the packing department, where we were shaking hands. It seemed so crazy, but looking at the functional and modern company we run today, it doesn't seem crazy at all. The investment helped us succeed in developing from a seasonal company only selling potatoes to a year-round company offering a lot of different produce. And I think we should be proud of that," concludes Jørgen Christian.