COLUMBIA FRUIT PROCESSING

Project Description

Client: Columbia Fruit
Location: Woodland, Washington
Project Size: 16,649 sq. ft. processing addition
Owner: Columbia Fruit

Staying Ahead of the Curve

An Innovative Plan to Deliver Better Products

Situated on the rich farmland fed by the Columbia River in Southwest Washington, Columbia Fruit processes seven types of berries In addition, they process cherries and rhubarb. Columbia Fruit has worked with Fisher’s design | build team over the past 10 years to expand their processing and storage capacity. Their space nearly quadrupling for processing and storage.

Every hour of delay in cooling products from the fields can deplete freshness. Therefore, each component of the facility is designed to enhance the quality of Columbia Fruit’s products.

Firstly, Fisher installed a blast chill room to cool the harvest as it arrives. Using two large evaporators, fresh picked products are cooled to 35° quickly, maintaining their fresh picked flavor and improving processability. The chill room saves energy, and therefore dollars, by reducing fluctuation in temperature as new products are stored. Subsequently, allowing the -5° freezer to maintain optimum temperature.

The most recent addition, 16,649 SF processing area fits between the 40,000 SF cold storage, a blast chill room, and an 11,000 SF ambient temperature loading dock. The processing area is built to accommodate a flexible line set-up for processing and repacking Columbia Fruit’s variety of products.

When Fisher began working with Columbia Fruit ten years ago, Fisher created a plan for the site and the facility. This provided the ability to grow with Columbia Fruit’s future plans. The facility is built of structural steel, with insulated metal panel walls (IMPs) and a membrane roof.