Consolidation on track:Tyabji


Asset sales and facility upgrades are sharpening B.C. Tree Fruits Co-op competitive edge, says CEO.


By Scott Trudeau I


t’s been a year since the B.C. Tree Fruits Co-operative began focusing on capital improvements at some of its facilities, and according to its chief executive officer these efforts have the organization moving in the right direction.


“We’ve turned the corner. It’s as simple as that,” said Alan Tyabji. The co-op has been consolidating its tree fruit packing and storage operations in the Okanagan Valley as part of a strategy to address financial challenges.


In November it closed a deal on the sale of a seven-acre parcel on Clement Avenue in Kelowna that housed storage and the co-op’s direct retail sales outlet. In effect, the sale will pay for about three-quarters of the $10 million worth of capital upgrades the co-op completed during the past year, said Tyabji. By identifying methods of re- engineering and facility upgrades and with about $4 million in government funding, it was able to transform its operations.


Tyabji noted that when earlier estimations for upgrades were in the $40-million range, selling off some of the co-op’s assets was an essential part of the restructuring. However, the critical need to sell assets changed when the cost for upgrades was trimmed by about $30 million. The work included renovations to its Winfield and Oliver plants. In the summer the federal government announced it was contributing $735,000 towards the cost of a $2 million computerized, soft-touch


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Winter 2013-14 13


defect sorter in Winfield. This


innovation means the co-op can match its competitors in Washington state. “We’re absolutely on track,” said Tyabji. “We have now become as efficient as the Washington


packinghouses in terms of cost and production.”


In addition to the Clement site negotiations are underway regarding


SCOTT TRUDEAU


As part of the B.C. Tree Fruits Co-operative’s move to consolidate its tree fruit packing and storage operations in the Okanagan, the co-op building on Dawson Avenue in Penticton will be going through some changes. The current location of Growers Supply on Okanagan Avenue east is listed for sale with future plans to move its business operations to the Dawson Avenue location.


sales of the Oyama and Naramata packinghouse sites.


Tyabji said discussions are happening on a sale of the Naramata facility with an Alberta-based company that has a specific use in mind for the property. The company is in discussions with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen to ensure the proposed uses are in compliance with current zoning


regulations.


The Naramata site is valued at $6.5 million and Tyabji said work to break apart the concrete foundations has begun.


The co-op’s Oyama property is currently listed at $2.5 million. A listing on another of its assets on Vaughan Avenue in Kelowna has expired but it’s doubtful it will be re-listed, said Tyabji.


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