If you have taken the Summerland pregrade line virtual tour you may recall that all apples are separated into similar sizes and grades and carefully put back into bins. The apples in these bins are then packaged on the Summerland tray line or the Kelowna specialty line.

The specialty line does not have sizing capability. Therefore, bins destined for the specialty line have either been set aside from the Vaughan Avenue Mainline or pregraded on the Summerland Pregrade Line.

In the event of a surge in last minute orders for tray packaged apples, the specialty line can be utilized to quickly increase tray production to meet customer demands, providing, of course, that the set aside bins are available.

The specialty line has equipment that can be adjusted to meet various packaging requirements. In addition to tray packaging, the specialty line packages all the custom packaging for apples from both the Summerland pregrade line and the Vaughan Avenue, single-pass, mainline. That's why we call it the specialty line.

Here is a picture of fruit arriving at the Vaughan Avenue production plant from the Summerland production plant. This fruit is for the Specialty Line.

The Vaughan Avenue single-pass mainline and the Summerland pregrade line require significant advance planning in order to accommodate the required bin movement logistics. However, specialty line production schedules are driven by customer orders and change frequently, very frequently! Orders received by the production crew by 9:30 a.m. can often be completed by 3:30 p.m. Production requirements can be transmitted from the sales organisation, B.C. Tree Fruits Ltd., to a computer located directly on the plant floor.

The 9:30 a.m. deadline allows 30 minutes for the production crew to analyze the order, estimate required logistics, create a revised schedule, and distribute twelve copies of the new schedule to key production workers. The time from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. provides one hour for the key production workers to prepare for the new order. This includes locating the required fruit, locating the packaging supplies, scheduling the mechanics for any machine modifications, rearranging the employee teams, and reserving a place in the warehouse for the new product. Employees eat lunch from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. At 11:30 a.m. production starts on the new order.

Forklift loading the Specialty Line

Bins submerge, apples float

The forklift simply places a stack of bins on the line. The bins are automatically submerged under water, one by one. That’s how we get the apples out of the bins, by gently floating them!

How do apples leave the water? They use the elevator!

The Specialty Line Elevator

These apples were previously set aside by either the Vaughan mainine or the Summerland presort line. During transit from the Summerland plant or while in temporary storage the apples can attract dust. Before we put apples in a box we always wash them. That's how we ensure the fruit is clean.

Apples come from the orchard. Apples have a natural wax coating. This coating attracts soil and dust. Therefore the apples must be thoroughly washed. Unfortunately, washing also removes some of the natural wax from the apple. Therefore, once they are washed and dried, we replace the natural wax removed during the washing process with a vegetable based wax. One gallon of wax is enough to polish and protect five to eight tons of apples!  After washing, drying, and waxing, the apples enter the sorting table.

Thorough wash

Fan dry

Sorting McIntosh apples

Sorting Red Delicious apples

The apples are now moving across the sorting table. This sorting table allows traditional, manual sorting. Employees place defective apples on a belt that takes them to the process collection bins. Process fruit will be sold to companies making apple sauce, fruit leather, and apple juice.

Once the apples leave the sorting table, the packaging process will vary depending on the type of packaging requested by customers.

For trays packs the process is similar to the Summerland tray line. PLU stickers are applied immediately after the apples leave the sorting table. Trays are manually placed on a conveyer belt that will feed the trays under the apples. The apples will require manual positioning in order to ensure they are all in the correct location. The filled trays are carefully placed into boxes.

Tray Packaging

The boxes are sent down the packaging line to be stamped, sealed, strapped, and palletized.

Tray boxes are stamped, sealed, and strapped.

Left Specialty Line Red Delicious tray box, right Mainline Royal Gala tray box.

For small, consumer boxes, the boxes are volume filled shortly after the sorting tables. The boxes are sent down the packaging line to be stamped, sealed, and palletized.

Spartans 13.4 litre box

Tape sealing Spartans 13.4 litre box

For bagged fruit, the apples are sent to a large, rectangular table with a rotating belt system. This table will feed the bagging machines. Electronic monitors on the table will automatically turn off and turn on the packaging line before this table in order to limit the volume of apples on the table. Customer orders for bagged apples are typically 3, 5, 6, or 10 pound bags. For example: McIntosh 3 or 5 pound bags, Spartan 3 or 5 pound bags, Royal Gala 3 or 6 pound bags, and Red Delicious 3, 5 or 10 pound bags. Bagged apples are usually packaged in 38 to 40 pound boxes however, colorful cardboard bins are also available.

Table for bagged fruit

 

McIntosh 5 lb

Red Delicious 10 lb

 

Cardboard bin containing Spartan 5 lb bags

Since the apple bins feeding into this line contain similar grades and sizes of apples, a change in fruit into the line will require a stop in production in order for the team to quickly change production to a different product.

The team working on the specialty line chose to work there. They have chosen to work the custom orders, consumer packaging, and tray packaging. At times, the various packaging and changes in production can create a very hectic environment. Seniority is required to work this line.

After specialty product is palletized, it is cooled in the storage rooms before shipping to the grocery store warehouse. The Vaughan mainline tour includes a short tour of the shipping procedures.