GLENNVILLE, GA - There are many aspects of life beyond our control, but Bland Farms is trying its hand at commanding those within our wheelhouse after announcing several new advancements to its state-of-the-art controlled atmosphere facility. Continuing its string of growth milestones, including the promotion of Troy Bland to CEO and the appointment of several other new leaders, Bland Farms is on a roll. With no signs of slowing down, Troy gives us the inside scoop on the new facility and how it will benefit not only the company but its customers.
“The new state-of-the-art facility is entirely controlled atmosphere, meaning the onions will remain in a controlled atmosphere from the time they come in from the field until they are loaded for delivery. This is a giant leap in the sweet onion industry,” explains Troy. “The industry has been sizing and packing in open-air buildings, and having a completely controlled atmosphere facility allows us to precisely manage the humidity, airflow, and temperature throughout every stage of the drying and packing process to deliver a better-quality sweet onion.”
Troy continues to tell me that with the facility’s atmosphere being monitored and controlled constantly, customers will begin to see more consistency in appearance as well as better overall quality and an improved shelf-life. Additionally, the new custom-designed workflow will also decrease handling which will, in turn, minimize damage and increase quality.
As if Bland Farms’ Vidalia® onions couldn’t get any better, the new facility updates will also ensure a consistently sweet flavor in the variety—who says you can’t improve upon perfection?
The inspiration behind the new facility updates came from years of wanting to continue improvements on the packing process to stay on the cutting edge of innovation. From start to finish, the project is expected to take a year to fully complete and will be ready before Vidalia season is underway.
“Bland Farms continues to grow and embrace innovation to meet our customers' ever-changing needs, and this is an innovative step to continue achieving this goal,” comments Troy. “We believe in being efficient and good stewards, and this state-of-the-art facility will improve our impact on the environment by reducing energy use and waste contributing to our sustainability efforts at Bland Farms.”
In line with its sustainability goals, the cooling and heating system for storage rooms in the facility will save Bland Farms time, labor, energy, maintenance, and downtime, while enabling the company to increase the quality of the pack. The entire facility will be computer-controlled, which will also help reduce energy use and waste. Last, but not least, all the new fork-lifts at Bland Farms will be electric.
How will Bland Farms’ new facility foray into further expansion and innovation? Stick with AndNowUKnow to discover what lies ahead for the company, as well as the latest news from across the produce industry.
