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Built on Trust: Why High Trees Packers Chose Manter Again After 25 Years
High Trees Packers, a leading UK potato exporter, shares how 25 years of trust in Manter’s reliable packaging solutions led to a new investment in automation to boost efficiency, maintain quality, and meet growing export demands
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This interview was conducted with John Stevenson, Managing Director at High Trees Packers (HTP), to discuss the 25-year collaboration and the new packaging line, in conversation with Tom de Boer from Manter.
Why the name High Trees Packers?
We got the name High Trees Packers from the avenue that leads up to the farm, there used to be a line of tall trees lining the way in. It was a really distinctive feature of the farm and something that stuck with us, so when it came time to choose a name, High Trees just felt right. It connects us to the land and the history of the place.
When and how was HTP founded?
Our company was started by my father and grandfather in 1961. We were one of the first in the UK to wash potatoes, which set us apart early on.
What kind of business is HTP in?
At High Trees Packers, we specialize in supplying premium quality, washed, and pre-packed potatoes to regional wholesalers. We offer a variety of packaging formats, including cardboard boxes, cartons, plastic bags, and paper bags, to suit our customers’ needs. Our facility is equipped with two washing lines and a dry brushing pack line, which gives us the flexibility to cater to different market demands.
A significant part of our business, about 60%, is focused on exporting potatoes to the Canary Islands. It’s a market with very strict sanitary regulations, so we’ve built our processes around meeting those standards. Only potatoes from approved countries can be exported there, and they must be PCN-free, meaning the soil they’re grown in must be completely free of Potato Cyst Nematode. Every single field we use is tested and approved by the government before we can export, and each container is inspected both before it leaves and again when it arrives in the Canaries.
We’re proud to be one of the largest exporters to this market, and we also support the industry by playing a key role in training. In fact, APHA, the UK’s Animal and Plant Health Agency, regularly carries out training sessions at our facility.
Another advantage for us is our location, we’re close to the ports, which really supports efficient export logistics and helps us maintain a smooth supply chain.
What is the organizational structure of HTP?
We operate from a single site that includes the farm, storage, and packaging facility. Our packhouse consists of around 25 staff but with new fully automated Manter line we have been able to reduce staffing on our export packing line significantly, relocating staff to other valuable positions.
How did you start working with the company, and how has this developed over time?
I started working at the company after college and became Managing Director in 2001.
What does a typical year look like for your business?
We run our packing operations year-round. In July, we start the seasonal exports to the Canary Islands, working with the new English crop. Most of the harvest happens in September and October, with peak activity from September through November. During this period, we process and pack over 700 tonnes a week. Exports usually continue until March or April.
What are the greatest challenges for your company?
One of our biggest challenges is the unpredictable weather, which affects both our harvest and day-to-day operations. Another major issue has been the disruption in shipping to the Canary Islands since COVID-19. It’s still not as reliable or efficient as it used to be.
For products like salad and frying potatoes, speed is crucial. We used to ship in about 6 days, but now it can take up to 3 weeks. The shortage of vessels and irregular services have made things even harder. We work with Medite for shipping, but the global situation continues to be a challenge.
Our farm sits on heavy clay soil, which makes cultivation and harvesting more labor-intensive and costly. However, we’ve turned this into a competitive advantage. Thanks to our dry grading and brushing systems, we’re able to deliver potatoes with a clean, bright appearance. In fact, potatoes from our region of Essex are well known in the Canaries as “oro” or “gold” a testament to their exceptional quality.
For what reasons did you choose to automate your packaging process?
The main reason we automated our packaging process was to increase output. Labour shortages and rising costs made it hard to stay efficient with manual handling.
Automation boosted our production capacity, improved consistency, and reduced manual work. It also gave us better accuracy, meaning less overfill, and allowed us to move staff to more critical tasks. In the end, we nearly doubled our capacity while cutting labour and per-unit packaging costs.
What Manter machines do you currently have?
In addition to the existing packaging line, we have added a 2nd, more advanced line in the new hall at the HTP facility.
- MD10 XL – Multihead weigher with 10 large buckets
- AutoPack HS – Bulk bagging machine
- Solidtec ST30 – High infeed palletizer
This line can produce up to 16 bags per minute with 25 kg bags with the weigher as limiting factor.
Coincidentally the Manter 10000 which had already ran smoothly for 25 years broke down in the period of installing the new line. Manter acted fast and used a stock M10 L to replace the old weigher.
What other postharvest machinery do you have?
We have two washing and packing lines to handle both our UK and export production. Additionally, we have one dry grading, brushing, and packing line specifically for our Canary Island exports.
What products do you plant and harvest, when, and in what quantities?
At High Trees Packers, we grow a variety of potato types suited to both the UK market and the Canary Islands export market. Our warehouse has the capacity to store up to 10 containers of ready-to-ship pallets and can load up to 35 containers per week.
Potato varieties for the UK market:
- Orchestra
- Lanorma
- Maris Peer
- Mozart (a red-skinned variety)
Potato varieties for the Canary Islands export market:
- Picasso
- King Edward
- Ramos
- Maris Peer (especially valued for Papas Arrugadas, a traditional Canarian dish)
What types of packaging do you produce?
We provide a year-round supply of the following packaging formats:
- 15kg cardboard cartons with weight-graded baking potatoes for both UK & export trade
- 10kg cardboard cartons for salad potatoes for both UK & export trade
- 2kg, 5kg, 10kg retail plastic pillow packs for the UK trade
- 15-25kg hessian/burlap bags for Canary Island export trade
- 25t Jumbo bags for Canary Island export trade
- 20kg paper bags for the UK trade
Where do the products go, who are your customers / what countries?
For over 30 years, High Trees Packers has been a key player in the fresh potato export trade, with the Canary Islands being our main export destination.
In addition, we supply:
- Mainland Spain with both red and white potato varieties
- Scandinavia primarily with baking potatoes packed in cartons
What trends do you observe among your customers?
Customers increasingly demand traceability, sustainable packaging, and higher consistency in product quality and grading. Potatoes in general in the UK more popular with young people due to cooking influencers on Tiktok Instagram and YouTube.
Why did you choose to invest in Manter instead of other manufacturers?
We were drawn to Manter because of its robustness, simplicity, and ease of use. Our personal experience with the10000 weigher from Manter, which has been running for 25 years, further confirmed its reliability.
Dipacan S.L. our main customer in the Canaries has a similar packaging line to our new line in operation. The performance of this line was impressive and exactly what we were looking for.
Later, we visited FlevoTrade, a customer near Solidtec in Dronten. Seeing their four packaging lines and four Solidtec palletizers running smoothly after 8 years was very convincing. If this equipment has been working like this for so long, it’s clear that it’s top quality.
What is your opinion on Manter machines? (performance, build quality, software, service, safety)
We are very satisfied with every aspect of the machinery, including the Solidtec machines. They’ve met our expectations and have been a key part of improving our operations.
How was / is the collaboration with our Dealer Projx Services?
We needed to replace our old Manter system but couldn’t find a dealer, so we reached out to Jeroen and got in contact with Projx Services Ltd. Although we hadn’t heard from them before, we quickly discovered that they have a strong team: proactive, problem-solvers, and easy to work with.
They were instrumental in integrating our grading line seamlessly integrating with the new packaging line. They handled all the electrics and software connections.
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