Washington Fruit & Produce Co., Yakima, Wash., announced plans to rebuild its operation after suffering from a devastating fire.
On Oct. 18, 2017, a fire burned two of Mount Adams Fruit’s pear packing lines, packed fruit storage and shipping facility, as well as its business offices, in Bingen, Wash. Mount Adams packs all of the pears for Washington Fruit markets.
Mount Adams replaced the losses with “the largest, most technologically modern pear packing, storage and shipping facilities in the world,” says Matt Miles, organic program coordinator for Washington Fruit.
The larger line consists of a 20-lane sizer capable of processing 500 bins of fruit per shift. A smaller line boasts 10 lanes and can run 250 bins per shift, allowing the company to adapt as volumes fluctuate.
An automated storage and retrieval system enhances the improvements.
Fruit will be delivered from the receiving dock to dump tanks via robot, then scanned, sorted and sized by an optical sorter. Once packed, robots deliver boxes of pears to the cold storage rooms and place the product on an intricate racking system.
Washington Fruit & Produce rebuilds from fire
On Oct. 18, 2017, a fire burned two of Mount Adams Fruit’s pear packing lines, packed fruit storage and shipping facility, as well as its business offices, in Bingen, Wash.
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