Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/473131
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER MARCH 15, 2015 15 Gardner and the owners checked into the options very carefully while designing the new facility. "We did a lot of homework," he said. "I think we visited about every warehouse there is. That's one of the nice things about this industry—it's not like any industry I've worked in. You would never get into another plant in another industry and ask them how much they paid for it and what they would do differently. That wouldn't hap- pen. We were able to ask questions, and I know they were answered honestly. By the time it got to making decisions, we were well informed." Delicate The new commit-to-pack line replaces a presizer and two packing lines installed in 1993 when Valley Fruit's variety mix was about 60 percent Red Delicious, 30 per- cent Golden Delicious, and 10 percent other varieties. Washington is now producing large volumes of variet- ies that are too delicate to take the additional handling involved with presizing, so there's been a shift away from presorting. Some of the equipment removed from Valley Fruit was used to upgrade the packing lines at Larson Fruit's Selah plant. Gardner estimates that the estimated payback period for the $17 million investment is five to seven years, compared with more than 15 years if one of the companies had done it alone. Merging the packing staff has enabled the company to avoid duplication, particularly in the areas of human resources and food safety, and match people up to the best positions. Gardner said the workforce may not be smaller, but productivity will go up dramatically because more fruit can be handled with the same number of people. Pooling their packing resources also means fruit can be packed where it makes the most sense. Legacy will use one of Larson's packing lines as a dedicated pear line. The two companies together handle about 280,000 bins of apples and pears annually. The new line will allow them to grow to 300,000 bins (about 6 million packed boxes). Both companies pack fruit for about 20 outside growers as well as fruit from their company orchards. With additional capacity, they hope to attract more out- side growers. The efficiencies should help minimize costs and keep their packing charges competitive. "We're going to be growing and, since it's one com- pany, we're going to be growing together and looking for growth opportunities with our current growers and new growers," Verbrugge said. Larson said the partnership has helped the company owners to learn from each other. "Peter does have a knack for being a visionary, for seeing opportunities, and that's not one of my strengths, so it's really cool that he's on our team now," he said. "I think we're going to be much more effective working together than working independently, because we both have skills." • are planted with the most popular seedling, semi-dwarf and dwarf varieties: Our Fields Prunus avium/P. mahaleb M.106/M.7/M.26/B.118 Prunus EMLA Colt OHxF Series Geneva® Series M.9 Clones We also grow a great selection of rootstock varieties for apple, peach, pear and plum including: Like our rootstock, our service will grow on you. All fruit tree rootstock is Oregon certified virus-free. MALUS ANTONOVKA MALUS DOMESTICA PRUNUS PERSICA 'LOVELL PRUNUS CERACIFERA PRUNUS MARIANA PRUNAS MYROBALAN PYRUS CALLERYANA PYRUS COMMUNIS PYRUS USSERIENSIS APPLE PEACH PLUM PEAR PROVINCE QUINCE CANBY, OREGON WWW.WILLAMETTENURS ERIES.COM ( 503 ) 263-6405 TOLL FREE: ( 800 ) 825-2108 888.638.1955 • www.cultivaipm.com • sales@cultivaipm.com Pomcho is a trademark of Cultiva. SureSeal is a trademark of Oregon State University. Always read and follow label directions. ©2015 Cultiva. By supplementing the cuticle of pome fruits, new Pomcho adds an extra layer of protection from environmental stresses. Pomcho forms a food-grade, transparent and tasteless barrier that has been shown to improve fruit finish, sizing and marketable yield. Pomcho is safe on fruit with no federal registration required. Just 2 to 3 applications starting at petal fall can help boost and protect your profits. Call Cultiva at 888.638.1955 to learn more. Another innovation from Cultiva, the people who bring you Parka ™ and BluGuard ™ . Cuticle care like never before. Improve Size and Finish Improve Size and Finish Introducing New Pomcho ™ from Cultiva ™ Introducing New Pomcho ™ from Cultiva ™ Dzǯ than working independently." —Keith Larson