Almond Processor Blue Diamond Opens New Plant

Almond marketer and processor Blue Diamond Growers recently held a ribbon cutting event at its new 52,000-sq-ft manufacturing plant in Salida, CA after the company installed new pasteurization equipment and processing lines, the firm said in a release Tuesday. 

“It’s an exciting time for Blue Diamond as we continue to invest in our facilities here in Salida and cross the Central Valley to better meet the growing demand for our products worldwide,” the firm’s president and chief executive officer, Mark Jansen, said in a statement. “The new building design and innovative processing technology we’re developing provides the highest quality almonds to our customers and consumers.”

The company announced plans this June to construct a new bulk almond receiving warehouse at the same site in Salida that will increase its almond receiving capacity by 25%.

Blue Diamond’s planned manufacturing facility will include two natural pasteurization lines with Log5 technology. One line will be used for whole almond processing and the second will be part of an integrated line for dry roasting. A third line will feature “innovative design with custom features to produce the finest flour texture in the industry,” the company said in the release. 

A number of features were included to help Blue Diamond comply with food safety standards, including separate room enclosures for controlling environmental conditions and automated pressurized air. 

Automated process and packaging control systems were installed, as well as technology to monitor line performance, yields, and downtime. The site also includes an automated integrated processing lines to move finished products to cold storage and shipping areas. 

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More Blue Diamond articles:

Blue Diamond to Build Bulk Almond Receiving Warehouse

Blue Diamond Starts Processing Plant Expansion Project

Blue Diamond Completes New Almond Flour Processing Line