CENTER, CO — Expecting to run 2 million hundredweight this year, Skyline Potato Co.has rebuilt two existing plants for additional capacity.

According to Rob Bache, who works both organic and conventional sales and oversees food safety operations at Skyline, the Horizon facility south of Center and the Purely Organic plant in town have both seen extensive refurbishing in advance of the new crop.

“At Horizon we have added storage for packed product and have also built new docks,” Mr. Bache said in mid-August. “Purely Organic was also redone, and three and four bins will now become the bulk division.”

Mr. Bache, who came on Rob Bache and Roger Christensen of Skyline Potato Co. in Center, CO, stand next to wrapped pallets in the main facility. The operation has refurbished two additional plants for storage.full-time in 2011, said the operation’s potato acreage is up over last year, and he added that more potatoes combined with market conditions going into the season could make 2012-13 “a year with challenges.”

Water shortages are also a big factor in the San Luis Valley potato industry, with Mr. Bache describing the subdistricting and metering of wells as major contributors to the cost of production.

“Water here is out of control,” he said.

But, he added, “We will be aggressive in our marketing.”

Working with Angela Diera, Roger Christensen, Bob Noffsinger and Glenn Stewart in sales, Mr. Bache said the group works individual areas and comes together as a team.

“I do the organic sales,” he said. “Bob does the foodservice.”

The majority of sales are to retail and wholesale, although foodservice contracts, largely with salad plants, account for 25 percent of the operation’s potato movement.

Russets are the primary spud, although the operation offers organic reds in its mix.

“We also have conventional yellows available,” Mr. Bache said.

With total capacity to run 12,000 hundredweight daily at its three sheds, Skyline is Primus GFS-certified as well as certified through California Certified Organic Farmers.

“We are also USDA-certified,” Mr. Bache said.

For traceability, the operation uses a tagging system that follows product from field to pack to store, allowing tracing forward and backward.

Mr. Christensen, who himself farms potatoes as well as working in sales, said growth at Skyline has been on the rise since he joined the company in 2010.

“I expect it to double,” he said.

The men agreed that the organic market has been steady, but Mr. Bache predicted it will expand significantly when the U.S. economy turns around.

And Mr. Christensen said the export market, particularly to Mexico, has been “dynamite.”