Chelan Fresh, an apple, cherry and pear supplier based in Chelan, Wash., announced plans to merge with Borton Fruit, Yakima, Wash. The merger brings together two industry leading companies and five generations of farmers. The addition of Borton Fruit also brings an immediate 47% volume expansion to Chelan Fresh’s sales and marketing portfolio, including organic offerings, early-season cherries, innovative plantings and new proprietary apple varieties.

Together, the group invested more than $235 million in state-of-the-art packing facilities and technologies, new storage facilities and production efficiencies. These investments, combined with more than 13,000 acres planted in young, high-density orchards with modern trellis systems, will drive innovation on a large scale.