SELAH, Wash. – Innovation and technology, along with service have always been priorities for Rainier Fruit and Allan Bros. Fruits’ new packing line is no exception. This update is about efficiency allowing for demand-based packing that can easily transition to different customer’s needs.
Allan Bros. has been a Rainier partner since 1995, and specializes in growing premium apple varieties such as Honeycrisp, Envy™, Jazz™, and Pink Lady®. The company recently invested in a $35 million apple packing facility that includes a hybrid line which maximizes output by utilizing its capability of pre-sizing fruit. The new line allows for a reduction of fruit handling and labor which in turn avoids bruising or damaging the fruit. Additionally, the state-of-the-art technology also includes proprietary operational analytics software and Compac LED color and defect sorting, as well as near infrared internal imaging which helps gather additional information on every apple.
“Our new packing warehouse and line will equip us with predictive analytics and very precise handling of our fruit,” said Miles Kohl, Allan Bros. Fruits CEO. “We inaugurated the new facility and modern technology with the fall harvest and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the results that are yielding new efficiencies in our final outputs.”
This upgrade will allow Allan Bros., and in turn Rainier Fruit, to keep up with the needs of the ever-changing apple category and the demands for custom packs that drive retail sales opportunities. “This is just one example of how Rainier Fruit and our family of growers like Allan Bros. are looking ahead and utilizing technology to drive sales opportunities,” remarked Andy Tudor, VP of Business Development at Rainier Fruit. “Our customers around the world are asking for more on demand services and these past few years we’ve accepted that challenge to make capital improvements that are some of the best in the world and on-trend with the expectations of new packs and new varieties.”
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About Rainier Fruit
Rainier Fruit is a multi-generation, vertically integrated fruit company based in Selah, Wash. For more than 100 years, Rainier Fruit has cultivated a culture of stewardship that extends from their orchards to their communities that has made them an industry leader in the production of apples, pears, cherries and blueberries.
