BC Tree Fruits marketing manager Chris Pollock (left) and marketing coordinator Paul Neufeld hold up a box of peaches courtesy of the new, state-of-the-art packing production line at the Oliver facility. (Lyonel Doherty photo)
Last year the closure of the Osoyoos packinghouse was quite concerning to many growers. But compensation is coming, according to BC Tree Fruits Cooperative.
Marketing manager Chris Pollock said Osoyoos growers who have to truck their fruit to the packinghouse in Oliver will be compensated for their travel.
After the packing plant in Osoyoos closed, there was hope that BC Tree Fruits would establish a drop-off location there so that growers wouldn’t have to deliver their product to Oliver during the busy picking season. But that idea never came to fruition.
Pollock said the board voted not to establish a drop-off point but did approve to compensate growers for their travel to Oliver. This compensation will be in place for two years.
Since the closure, the cooperative has used some equipment from the Osoyoos facility, which is now in Oliver, such as the de-stacker assembly unit. All in all, the plan is to realize long-term cost savings by having everything, and everyone, under one roof in the South Okanagan.
The de-stacker from Osoyoos is actually part of the new state-of-the-art packing and production line for peaches and apples.
Everyone at the facility is quite excited to show off the $3.5 million line that is now packing 300 peaches per minute.
According to maintenance and technical manager Kevin Barker, it’s the first hybrid packing line in Canada that handles both apples and peaches.
He explained the high technology involved, including a machine called Spectrim that automatically sorts every piece of fruit by size and quality. Multiple photographs are taken of each fruit, and these pictures are displayed on a computer screen that shows any imperfections the fruit may have. They are then graded and sorted accordingly. The machine can event pinpoint blemishes beneath the skin of apples.
It’s state-of-the-art technology that you don’t see anywhere else in B.C.,” said Pollock.
The new production line saw the first bins of fruit processed last weekend, utilizing some of the most efficient grading technology in Canada. Approximately 75 unionized workers are employed at the packinghouse.
We are excited to bring this technology to our grower members,” said Director of Operations Peter Hoffman. “This new packing line utilizes an optical sorter that has advanced machine-learning capabilities that revolutionizes the sorting process.”
Hoffman noted the results will allow them to colour map, grade and defect-sort fruit with increased accuracy.
Stan Swales, BC Tree Fruits chief executive officer, said the new line gives them the ability to continue to meet consumers’ expectations of premium fruit.
LYONEL DOHERTY
Special to the Times
