Mount Adams Fruit acquires Stadelman Fruit Pear assets

Mount Adams Fruit, a Bingen, Wash.-based family-owned and -operated fruit company, has entered into a deal to acquire the majority of the Oregon pear assets formerly owned by Stadelman Fruit Company LLC of Zillah, Wash., from the S.S. Steiner Company.

The acquisition adds pear orchards, packing and storage operations as well as a new receiving location for Mount Adams Fruit in the Hood River Valley of Oregon. As a part of the transaction, Mount Adams Fruit also expects to employ all employees in the division, the company said in a release.

Washington Fruit Growers — a sales partnership with Washington Fruit — along with Mount Adams Fruit and Roche Fruit, said it is excited about the opportunities that this expansion provides, including the addition of facilities, storage and access to additional high-quality pears that will help Washington Fruit Growers better serve its customers, according to a release.

“We are excited to expand our operations, bringing Stadelman’s experienced people and quality product under Mount Adams Fruit,” Don Gibson, CEO, Mount Adams Fruit, said in a release. “The combination of our two companies expands Mount Adams Fruit operations to Hood River, Ore., providing closer proximity to growers and operational efficiencies that will improve fruit quality.

“The additional fruit will enhance the surety of supply for our customers throughout the season, while fortifying our operations with more orchards, facilities and top talent from Stadelman’s operations,” Gibson added.

As part of the acquisition, Mount Adams Fruit will take ownership of all packing, storage and orchard facilities in Hood River, Ore., along with room for expansion in fruit growing capacity. Additionally, the new receiving station, fruit storage and packing operations in Odell, Ore. will enable better harvest management for Mount Adams Fruit, said the company.

“The additional pears from the Hood River Valley and enhancements that the new receiving location in Odell provides, fits in perfectly with our focus on delivering high- quality products to our customers,” Tommy Hanses, CEO of Washington Fruit Growers, said. “The area is known to have some of the best pears in the world and that’s exactly what our customers are expecting.”

The company said new volume will start with this year’s harvest in August.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Cascadia Capital has been retained to manage the transaction. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Mount Adams Fruit is a family-owned and -operated fruit growing, packing and shipping company with company-owned and grower-owned orchards based east of the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest. Since 1909, Mount Adams Fruit has offered apples, pears and cherries from its community of growers.

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