CMI preparing for fruitful future
CMI preparing for fruitful future
CMI, one of Washington state's larger grower-shippers of premium-quality conventional and organic apples, pears and cherries, announced that one of its owners and growers, McDougall & Sons, has broken ground on a new state-of-the-art facility.
CMI's expansion project will be done in two phases and is projected to be open for business by Sept. 1.
CMI's expansion project is projected to be open for business by Sept. 1.The first phase will be comprised of 45,000 bins of controlled-atmosphere storage for harvested fruit, which equates to approximately 900,000 boxes of packed fruit, an 11-dock shipping area with setup space for 17 truckloads, and a racked storage room with capacity for over 80,000 boxes of packed fruit.
The second phase of the expansion project is scheduled to be operational in May 2014. In this phase, a state-of-art packingline will be opened, combined with an additional 8,400 pallets of racked storage for packed fruit, and an additional four loading docks. McDougall & Son's packingline capacity will double in this phase, in comparison to the grower's current Olds Station warehouse.
This new facility will offer the flexibility to fill multiple packaging types quickly and with care. The size of the shipping area will allow for consolidation of multiple shipments for customers so that trucks can make fewer stops, which helps get fruit on the shelves as quickly as possible and greatly assists in maintaining the cold chain.
The end consumer benefits when they receive the freshest fruit possible.
CMI's passion for continually advancing and growing its offerings is what has led to its growing business year after year.
"Our new facility has the production capacity to meet our customers' needs," Bryon McDougall, director of operations for McDougall & Sons, said in a press release. "It incorporates the best fruit handling and sorting technology available and the shipping and setup area is large enough to consolidate each load for one easy pickup."
