A devastating fire at Mount Adams Fruit of Bingen, WA has led to a new and improved operation for the company.
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. The operation packs all of the pears of Washington Fruit and Produce Co. of Yakima, WA.
A larger line consists of a 20-lane sizer capable of processing 500 bins of fruit per shift; a smaller line has 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 optical sorter. Once packed, robots will deliver boxes of pears to the cold storage rooms and place the product on an intricate racking system.