'to design the perfect berry picking tray'
US: Munger Farms Works With Intercrate Container

Blueberries are a potent antioxidant that fights aging, cancer and heart disease and are on the rise in sales and production across North America.  California produces 16 million pounds of fresh blueberries a year and Munger Farms is the largest grower in the state. The Mungers are a part of Naturipe Farms LLC.  Naturipe Farms is a grower-owned, producer and marketer of wholesome, good-for-you foods produced primarily by grower-partners and affiliated growers.  The Naturipe brand is known for their high standards in food safety and quality and their constant research in new, environmentally friendly growing techniques.
 
Munger Farms is personally involved in every step of their production process and were getting increasingly frustrated as they were experiencing ongoing problems with the various standard picking trays.  Some were too deep which was damaging the berries.  Others lacked adequate ventilation which would lock in the field heat. Some were continually breaking and had little resistance to damage.  Others were time consuming to clean as the soil got caught in the ribs and sharp angles.

Munger Farms had in fact tried several different picking trays, so they were open to trying the Intercrate 4.5 after seeing the company at an industry trade show.  It was immediately obvious that it was the right depth to preserve berry quality.  The position of the vent holes and double wall would force air through the berries and give rapid evacuation of heat.  The InterCrate also appeared to be much stronger and durable as it has a reinforced double wall.  This also meant that the outer surfaces were smooth which not only made it more comfortable to handle but it would be quick and easy to clean.

Intercrate Container President, Justin Elvin-Jensen said, “When Cliff Woolley called me to say they wanted to make some changes to make it the perfect berry picking tray, I was eager to hear their ideas.”  David and Kable Munger felt they could improve the base for cooling efficiency when stacked 20 high and modify the hand hold to prevent berries from spilling out.  After extensive design collaboration and months of tooling, the injection mold was ready and Munger Farms finally had the perfect picking tray for their berries.  “When you let an industry leader help you design your product you get the right container and a happy customer,” concluded Mr. Elvin-Jensen.

After the first season Munger Farms was also pleased to see how well it worked with the automated harvester, as they were able to carry twice as many trays due to the nesting design.  The hand picked process was not only more ergonomic for the workers, but the swing bars made stacking easy and secure and prevented the fruit from being squashed by a wrong move.  An additional bonus, as they did not originally intend on using the detachable label tag feature,  is that they can now print their own barcodes and easily attach to trays in the field, which has greatly improved their tracking and control system.  “Quality is paramount but improved handling and operations save money.  As CFO, this makes me very happy” said Cliff Woolley. 

As a family owned and operated farm since 1971, Munger farms is dedicated to producing healthy, high-quality food using innovative products and procedures, which is why they chose to add the InterCrate to their harvesting equipment.  It protects and preserves the fruit, is stronger and cleaner and makes economic sense.
 

Publication date: 5/4/2009
Author: Wim Geurts
Copyright: www.freshplaza.com

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