A cut above the rest
The Fry Factory begins construction on two new automatic fry cutting machines
Prince Edward Island entrepreneur Hamid Sanayie is continuing to make his mark on the french fry world with two new one-of-a-kind machines.
When starting The Fry Factory seven years ago, he focused on developing the first automatic fry cutting machine. Instead of cutting each potato manually, a 50pound bag of potatoes can be fed through the machine in under a minute, shooting out a spiral of beautifully cut fries.
The success of the original design caught the attention of many national and international restaurant chains. But for restaurants with more unique french fries, Sanayie’s machine would not cut it.
When Mary Brown’s Chicken was looking for a better way to cut its famous wedges, the business contacted him about making a new, state-of-the-art machine.
“Most of the Mary Brown’s locations are very, very busy, and they’ve been struggling to cut these fries,” Sanayie said.
After 12 months of research and development, the world’s first automatic wedge cutting machine was in production on P.E.I.
Each machine takes about 48 hours to build. With 13 already shipped, Sanayie said about 40 more still need to be delivered.
He has also built a second revolutionary machine to create crinkle-cut fries. It is currently being market tested by a U.S. chain, Nathan’s Famous, in one of its busiest stores in New York City.
Getting contracts with these restaurant chains throughout North America has not been easy. Convincing restaurant owners to change their cooking methods has always been a challenge. But after the success of his first machine, Sanayie said that the tides may be turning.
“The last six, seven years, I was chasing them. Now they are chasing me.”
“We are a unique company on the Island, and that’s advertising for the Island as well.” Hamid Sanayie
FRESH AND FAST
A former restaurant owner himself, Sanayie has been surprised by the number of Island restaurants that use frozen french fries instead of fresh. With trends shifting to healthier eating, customer preferences have also been changing.
“These days, everybody’s thinking of healthy eating; they want fresh. I can see, compared to seven years ago,
people are asking for fresh fries instead of the frozen ones.”
Hunter’s Ale House in Charlottetown is one of the many local restaurants that have switched to automatic fry cutting, thanks to Sanayie’s machines. Owner Jeff Sinnott said the popularity of fresh, home-cut fries is clear from tourists visiting the Island.
“If you ask a tourist if they want fries or home-cut fries, they’re going to say home-cut fries nine times out of 10,” Sinnott said.
While Hunter’s was making fresh fries before, Sinnott said that it nearly required having an employee cutting potatoes full-time. He said that making home-cut fries the traditional way compared to using the Fry Factory’s automatic machine is like “shovelling snow instead of using a snowblower.”
With the addition of the Mary Brown’s contract and needing to manufacture the two new machines, the Fry Factory is quickly outgrowing its current location in the West Royalty Business Park.
“To be honest, now that we have to make those wedge cutting machines, we need more space and more sources,” Sanayie said.
He is looking at expanding into the Stratford Industrial Park, as having the manufacturing space is good for both his business and Prince Edward Island.
“I’m really excited and proud of making those machines because, you know, nobody has ever made those machines. Those are unique,” Sanayie said.
“We are a unique company on the Island, and that’s advertising for the Island as well.”