CASE STUDY No. 9648
KEY WORDS APPLE ORCHARD CRATES
Prima Frutta Packing Co.
P.O. Box 438
Linden, CA 95236
Contact: Rich Sambado, vice president, Primavera Marketing, Inc.
Tel: 209-931-9420. Fax: 209-931-9424.
Summary
Wooden apple crates used to move fruit in bulk from the orchard to the packinghouse are replaced with high density polyethylene (HDPE) bins, reducing crate maintenance and replacement costs, increasing warehouse capacity, and reducing damage to apples.
Action
Prima Frutta Packing Co. grows and packs produce including apples, pears, cherries, and walnuts. Most of the apples are shipped to U.S. and Canadian markets, the remainder to overseas markets. Providing perfect apples, such as Granny Smith, Royal Gala, and Fuji varieties, is a matter of pride for Rich Sambado and his brother Tim, who operate the family-owned business. "We export more than 80% of the Fuji variety to Taiwan," Rich Sambado told Packaging Digest. "People are willing to pay a premium price only if the apple is of premium quality. The new bins allow us to assure that quality."
Previously, apples picked in the company's Northern California orchards were placed in 4 x 4 x 2 ft. wooden crates for bulk transport a short distance to the packing facility and warehouse. After a bumper crop of apples a few years ago required the purchase of hundreds of new crates, Prima Frutta decided to switch to a new crate that would last longer and cool the fruit better. Following experimentation and testing, the company settled on HDPE bins injection-molded by Macro Plastics (2250 Huntington Drive, Fairfield, CA 94533. 707-437-1200) using a specially developed Marlex HMN6060-01 resin from Phillips Chemical Co. (Box 58966, Houston, TX 77258. 713-669-3666). Prima Frutta has converted 100% to the HDPE bins for the apple crop. The large white containers hold 24 cases of fruit weighing 40-50 lbs. each.
Payback
Although HDPE bins of the same size cost $80 each compared to $60 for wooden crates, Prima Frutta anticipates long-term savings. The wooden crates required frequent repairs, deteriorated from exposure to the weather, and were more difficult to clean. In addition, with the price of wood rising, the difference between wood and plastic had been narrowing. After 3 years of experience producing HDPE crates, Macro Plastics says its bins will withstand 15 to 30 years of service depending on how they are handled.
The HDPE bins are stronger than wooden crates and are designed with rounded inside corners, providing better protection of fruit. This reduces the proportion of bruised fruit--"juicers"--and increases the proportion of apples acceptable for shipment.
Additional waste prevented
The HDPE bins have a rigid corner column design allowing these crates to be stacked
twice as high as the wooden crates they replaced. The new bins are strong enough to
withstand nearly 5 tons of compression weight, sufficient for an 8-bin stack. They also
are designed to interlock, making them less likely to topple over. These design features
have increased cold-storage capacity by 30% to 50%. In addition, built-in forklift guides
help avoid damage to the base of the plastic bin. The new bins are easier to sanitize than
the old wooden crates, which could absorb chemicals used in the orchard. Prima Frutta uses
the apple bins for pears and is working with Macro Plastics to develop additional special
bins for bulk handling of other fruit.