The Allan Brothers story begins in 1856 when Robert Allan emigrated from Scotland to Canada in search of a better life. After establishing himself as a farmer, Robert moved his wife and four children to Ontario, Canada. Within a few years, Robert and Elizabeth welcomed five more children. Seeking better farming conditions, the Allans left Canada for North Dakota in 1880.
With the appeal of rich, fertile soil and warmer winters in Washington, the first generation of brothers - Samuel, William, and Thomas (left to right) - moved their families to the Yakima Valley in the fall of 1901. They settled in Naches and began farming hay and row crops for their dairy cows.
Their focus remained on corn, wheat, oats, and potatoes for nearly twenty years until the second generation began farming tree fruit - Walt, John, Alex, Bob (left to right). The Allans planted four orchards of cherries: Royal Annes, Black Republicans, and Bings.
Following their expansion into cherries, Stayman Winesaps were the first variety of Allan Brothers apples planted. While the orchards grew to maturity, the family harvested corn and potatoes as a cash crop in between tree rows, not to waste any time or resources.
The Allans developed their orchards and successfully harvested fruit over the next decade. By 1949, they were well on their way and had completely replaced all cash crops with orchards. (Pictured is the family’s beloved terrier, Cesar.)
The 1950’s was a decade of modernization for Allan Brothers. In 1950, the family’s first apple packing and cold storage facility was constructed in Naches, Washington. The new facility extended the packing season from November to January and greatly increased capacity and efficiency.
In 1959, the Allans replaced 40 lb. wooden boxes in the orchard with much larger wooden bins that could hold approximately 25 boxes of fruit. These bins expanded their ability to pick, store, and stack fruit. The introduction of cardboard boxes a year earlier in the warehouse was equally groundbreaking and improved packing efficiency. (Pictured is Hope Allan, Bob’s wife.)
Modernization continued throughout the 1960’s with construction of controlled atmosphere storage (1962), cherry packing lines (1968), and other support facilities built to accommodate the growing business.
In the care of the third generation - Dave, Todd, George, Larry (left to right) – the company expanded even further to include shipping docks, multiple apple and cherry packing lines, quality control systems, new orchard plantings, and strengthened business relationships throughout the tree fruit industry. Larry oversaw machines, storage and refrigeration; Todd managed people and sales, George served as CEO, and Dave was the company’s horticulturist, overseeing the orchards.
In 1972, brothers George and Dave Allan started Yakima Valley Orchards (YVO) and began buying land across the Yakima Valley to plant apples, cherries, and pears. YVO later merged into Allan Bros., Incorporated in 2000.
During the 1990’s, Allan Brothers grew in size, capacity, and infrastructure. The company developed and executed strategic plans, expanded orchard acreage into the Columbia Valley, upgraded the cherry packing line (1999), and solidified relationships with its primary sales desk, Rainier Fruit.
The fourth generation of Allans joined the company in the early 2000’s, continuing the family legacy in the Washington state tree fruit industry. George’s son Tom (left) began working on the warehouse side of the business in 2000, and Dave’s son Travis (right) began working in the orchards in 2002.
Miles Kohl joined the company in 2007 as the first owner and CEO outside of the Allan family, taking over the role from George Allan. As a fourth-generation Naches tree fruit grower and the former Executive Director of Yakima Valley Grower-Shippers Association, Miles’ experience in agriculture, finance, and data analytics has strengthened and expanded the company’s position in the Washington apple industry.
With a reputation for growing targeted fruit, the company aimed to distinguish itself by investing in club varieties that motivate repeat purchases at the grocery store. In 2010 a partnership was formed with New Zealand-based Enza (now T&G Global) to grow JAZZ™, and in 2014, our flagship apple brand Envy™. Oppy™ is a long-standing partner of T&G and sells the majority of Allan Brothers Jazz™ and Envy™ apples.
Allan Brothers expanded its portfolio with the purchase of Sagemoor Vineyards® in 2014. With some of the oldest vines in the state, Sagemoor Vineyards is a leader in the Washington wine industry, providing premium wine grapes to some of the most renowned wineries and winemakers in the United States. Sagemoor® includes six vineyards across three AVAs in two states: Bacchus, Dionysus, Gamache, Sagemoor, Southwind, and Weinbau.
In 2019, the company completed a 300,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art storage and packing facility with a hybrid line capable of packing up to 6 million boxes. The new line provides options to pre-size fruit that is either stored or packed right away, along with world-class optical defect sorting and grading. It can pack 100 bins per hour, over double the company’s previous lines. The faster throughput and expanded technology help fulfill the packing needs of the company’s growers and increased acreage.
For over 100 years, industry-leading innovation has been the heartbeat of Allan Brothers. Solving today’s complex problems and empowering employees through automation, mechanization, and technology remains at the core of what we do, whether on the farms or warehouse. Additions of a robotic palletizer in 2019 and Aporo Fruit Packer machines in 2021 have improved efficiency and enhanced employee safety.
Phone: 509-653-2625
Email: info@allanbrosfruit.com
Address: 31 Allan Road • Naches, WA 98937
Monday-Friday
8am - 5pm
Saturday-Sunday
Closed
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