Produce Tech offers ‘soup to nuts’ equipment for growing Ontario hazelnut industry

Olivier Noel and a manually operated $400 hazelnut cracker.

By Jeff Tribe

One size does not fit all, particularly when it comes to hazelnut farming.

But as the one company looking to source equipment for producers on a national level, Produce Tech Technical Representative Olivier Noel believes he can find the right piece for producers of all sizes.

“We have pretty small sizes for smaller guys up to large machinery. It’s important to have different sizes for different customers.”

Founded in 2013, 70 per cent of the company’s business is in the apple industry, 20 per cent represented by vineyard support, with the remaining 10 per cent divided between a number of crops including blueberries, strawberries and hazelnuts. 

“Our main goal is to find a solution for our growers,” said Noel. “The best solution at the right price but also help them to reduce labour costs and pesticide use.

“That is really important for us.”

Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia are the main Canadian provinces in terms of hazelnut production, Oregon the primary American state for the same. Produce Tech is the main North American seller of related equipment says Noel.

“We’re probably the only one for hazelnuts in Canada.”

The company’s approach says Noel, is responding when need arises to find solutions.

“We like to try new technology and bring new technology into the industry.”

The commitment to hazelnuts is an all-encompassing equivalency to the menu-based adage ‘from soup to nuts.’

“We start in the field and finish at the end,” said Noel, a description including ground preparation, planting, orchard care and harvesting equipment, along with processing machinery from cleaners through calibration and cracking.

Equipment is imported, 95 per cent of it from Europe, 60 per cent from Italy.

“We do have lots of companies that have good solutions and help us adapt to what we’re doing in Canada.”

For example, if a producer is looking to harvest 40 hectares of hazelnuts a day, Noel can hook them up with a range of sophisticated units costing somewhere between $200,000 and $500,000. At the lowest end of the scale, the company also sells simple roller baskets on a handle, hand-operated models running around $100. And for the small but growing producer, there’s a self-propelled unit converted from use as a designed apple ‘sweeper’, priced around $4,500 to $6,500 based on options. It can be powered by an attachment for an electric drill or an e-bike battery says Noel, variations offering 30-45 minutes of operation up to six to eight hours, respectively.

“Depending on the size of the battery.”

Its capacity is between one and two tons of apples per hour Noel estimated.

“For hazelnuts, probably half of that.”

A state-of-the-art calibration and cracking system might run into the hundred thousand dollar range or well beyond. But smaller producers can also get by with an all-manual system for around a grand, $400 of that being a small cracker.

“You don’t do like tons for that, but for a smaller producer it can work well.”

For years, planting and growing trees was the main focus for Ontario hazelnut producers. But with their maturation, a growing focus is on harvesting and processing, a good problem to have, but one still requiring solutions. That portion of the industry has begun to evolve organically. However, given the amount of investment required for large-scale operation compared to what have been to date, with the exception of Glenridge Hazelnuts near St. George, smaller operations, some form of collective investment or service may be an ongoing reality.

“I think a co-op can be a good way of doing it,” said Noel.

Regardless, as the industry continues to evolve, Produce Tech stands ready to service whatever level of need arises.

“It always depends on the size and what you want to do.” 