jul-aug-2019

Blue Diamond partners with the Salvation Army on community events that are supported through the cooperative’s community giving program. This long-time partnership was highlighted during the groundbreaking ceremony with a check presentation for Blue Diamond ’s sponsorship of the organization’s Kidz Day. The Salvation Army’s Kidz Day event is an annual fundraising event for the Red Shield Center that has served South Modesto since 1970. The Red Shield Center provides services to area youth and their families, such as after-school programs, sports and recreation, swimming and swim lessons, summer camp and gang intervention and prevention. Blue Diamond ’s participation in the Kidz Day event began in 2009. Gearing Up for Growth Blue Diamond is expanding on delivering on innovation with the construction of a new almond receiving warehouse at the Salida facility. The new bulk receiving warehouse will store an additional 50 million pounds of almond meats and bring the total number of bulk warehouses at the facility to eight. The cooperative commemorated the expansion with a special groundbreaking ceremony on June 19. Building on the success of the Bulk 7 warehouse, constructed in 2015, the new state-of-the-art warehouse will feature a number of enhancements to reduce the cooperative’s carbon footprint and meet Blue Diamond sustainability initiatives including increased energy efficiency, reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and stormwater recharge. The warehouse will have LED lights, an integrated truck scale and loading pit, and 2,400 feet of buried perforated pipe directing the stormwater to the soil beneath the facility. The unique design of the warehouse features 60-foot ceilings and extends 26 feet into the ground, increasing Blue Diamond ’s receiving capacity by 25 percent. Additional improvements to the design bring added benefits to grower-owners who deliver their crop to the Salida facility. Growers can expect gentle handling of the almond meats, enabling higher yield and throughput on the main production line, and separate areas inside for storing three different varieties of almonds. Working with Whiting-Turner, a valued partner of Blue Diamond , this project demonstrates investment and commitment to the continued growth of the cooperative’s business. The new warehouse is expected to be in operation for the fall 2020 harvest season. NEWS IN A NUTSHELL 1 6 A L M O N D F A C T S

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