It’s apple season, which means lots of fruit will be moving through packing houses and making its way to stores. Domex Superfresh has installed a new packaging line at its Cowiche, Washington facility. All of its nine facilities will undergo renovations. The renovation includes increased windows and skylights with a more open design, creating a brighter and safer work environment for employees. “It’s much more open. This line represents our ongoing investment in technologies and they’re designed to improve efficiency, quality and safety assurance,” said Mike Preacher of Domex Superfresh.
The new line features a high-tech internal and external defect sorter that ensures a more consistent product for our customers. Other features include easy-to-clean stainless steel and aluminum surfaces, as well as automated washing on sizer cups and dryer rollers. This allows us to deliver better quality to consumers, it allows longer shelf life, it allows better quality for the retailers; on our end it improves grower returns because of the efficiency we have from the equipment,” said Preacher. Improved lighting – including skylights and a more open design and larger windows and the layout is designed to reduce the amount of vehicles driving around the plant at one time.
Preacher says continuing to invest is critical, especially as crops become higher in yield and volume. “We’ve got a very aggressive growth plan over the next 5 years and in order to handle that we need to make these changes. We’re very excited about it.”
Increased packing speed means it’s better for the fruit itself and benefits the retailer. “It’s easier on the fruit; the fruit gets through the line quicker. The cold chain is maintained longer than it might have been on older lines,” said Preacher. Inspections of produce will also be streamlined with the implementation of an internal defect sorter. The line is built with optical technology that can look right inside the apple to look for any issues “so we can keep those apples out of the pack, which means a better eating experience. It also reduces any adjustments down the line or rejection from retailers.”
For more information:
Mike Preacher
Superfresh Growers
Ph: 509.966.1814