Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/705612
8 AUGUST 2016 Good Fruit Grower www.goodfruit.com E leven months to the day after a wildfire destroyed a packing house in central Washington, one of the Northwest's oldest grower cooperatives reopened to cherry pack- ing there with a new line that is bigger and more sophisticated than the one it lost. That speaks to the speed at which new technologies are coming to market on the packing side of the tree fruit industry — the $10 million line that burned was brand new — as well as the need to rebuild quickly to meet industry demand. The new cherry line includes a total of 42 lanes with three parallel sizers and 54 drops, up from the previ- ous line with 28 lanes and 32 drops. In addition, one of the sizers is 12 drops longer than the other two, which enables Blue Bird Inc. to pack organic cherries or Rainiers simultaneously with other varieties. An increased con- sumer packaging area allows the cooperative to pack Bouncing back bigger and better Packing house ravaged by wildfire last summer reopens with latest technologies just in time for early cherry harvest. by Shannon Dininny Photos by tJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower Edgar Salar drops boxes down a chute to workers at the new cherry processing facility operated by Blue Bird Inc. during a mid-June packing run in Wenatchee, Washington. The facility replaces a $10 million facility destroyed by a 2015 wildfire. Harvest