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Blue Mountain Growers Unveils New Cherry Packing Line |
For Immediate Release
Contact: Eric Patrick, 509-575-8770
June 3, 2007
Blue Mountain Growers Unveils New Cherry Packing Line
(Milton-Freewater, OR) - Blue Mountain Growers, Inc, has installed a new cherry line in its Milton-Freewater facility which will provide gentler fruit handling and increased production capabilities.
Blue Mountain Growers General Manager, John Wilcox said the company invested approximately $3 million for the new line, which was necessary to keep up with the demands placed on fresh cherries by today’s marketplace.
“To compete globally in today’s produce market, you need quality fruit and state-of-the-art equipment capable of efficiently packing the diverse range of consumer packs that are now available. Our cherry operation continues to grow and the time was right to invest for the future for Blue Mountain and our growers.” Stated John Wilcox.
The new line will improve Blue Mountains packing capacity by as much as 36% and also has significantly improved packaging capabilities. Packaging Aids Fresh Pac™ vacuum/gas flush bagging machines will practically triple last year’s production levels. Each box utilizes the View Fresh Modified Atmosphere bag and program which helps prolong cherry storage life and enables Blue Mountain Growers to ship a fresh product throughout North America and the world.
Red Pearl Optical Sizers feature the latest sizing technology and a unique ‘air cushion’ system which gently uses a puff of air to place the cherries in the proper package lane. Each cherry is photographed to ensure that cherries will be sized more accurately than ever before, resulting in a consistent pack for retailers and potentially increased returns for the growers. 32 filling stations allow Blue Mountain Growers the ability to pack a wide assortment of polybags, clamshells, bulk boxes and the newest idea in cherry packaging – Mesh Bag Cherries.
BMG has the first mesh cherry bag machine in the world, designed by Giro Equipment’s office in Yakima, WA. The mesh bag cherry is marketed by Blue Mountain’s Growers sales and marketing agency, the Grant J. Hunt Company.
“Retailers are always looking for new and improved ways to sell fruit to their customers. The mesh bag creates a fresh looking package, should reduce shrink and increase the ring at the register for the retailer.” States Grant J. Hunt’s Marketing Director, Eric Patrick.
Other highlights of the new cherry line include one of the largest in-line hydrocoolers in the Northwest. The hydrocooler helps maintain the critical cherry cold chain and brings cherries to the preferred temperature near 32 degrees F. Special, ‘shadow free lighting’ is placed above the triple rollover sorting tables. This combination allows sorters to quickly sort out defective cherries and the rollover tables allow sorters to view the cherries on each side without rolling them over by hand, alleviating a common source of bruising.
The cherry bin dumper is monitored electronically so the cherries begin the packing process at the proper speed. They are submerged in the water and float out of the bin, one of the gentlest ways to begin the cherry process.
The new packing line is so gentle in fact, the delicate Rainier Cherry can even run across the line.
“The Rainier cherries will bypass the first part of the line because of their delicacy.” said Plant and Project Manager, Alan Walker, “we have a separate flume that allows them to enter the line at the first sorting tables, they will then run through the hydro-cooler and be accurately sized by the Red Pearl Optical Sizers.
Blue Mountain Growers is celebrating its 80th year as a fruit marketing co-op. They produce approximately 500,000 boxes of apples, prunes, plums and cherries each year.
“The Blue Mountain Grower label, ‘Blue Goose’ has a strong following in the trade. This cherry line is just part of our ongoing investment in agriculture to ensure that we are creating sustainable agriculture for the generations to come. We are planting new orchards, new varieties and are being innovative in everything we do to compete in today’s ever-changing retail landscape,” states Wilcox.
A ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening will be held on Wednesday, June 20th from 11:30-1:30. The ribbon will be cut by Alan Walker, Plant and Project Manager.
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