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Good for you. Good for the planet.
Promoting Health through Organic Agriculture as a Leading Sustainable Organization
Organically Grown Co. is the largest wholesaler of organic fruits, vegetables and herbs in the Pacific Northwest. We are an employee/grower owned company comprised of 38 local organic farms that pack produce under the Ladybug label. We also sell a full line of Organic Produce that comes from California, Mexico, Arizona, and Hawaii, among other locations.
Our trucks move highly perishable items from farms, through our facilities, and out to accounts within days. We deliver Fresh Organic Produce 7 days a week along the I-5 corridor from Ashland up to Bellingham. These deliveries are conducted from 3 facilities in Eugene, Clackamas and Kent, WA. We currently have 34 pieces of equipment company wide ranging from 34,000 GVW refrigerated trucks to 53 foot tri-axle refrigerated tractor-trailers. In 2005, we put over 576,000 miles on our trucks.
With our company wide focus on being a leader in sustainability, we were happy to find a way to minimize the emissions of our vehicle fleet. Biofuels were a natural fit. We began using biodiesel in 2001.
Our experience of biodiesel has been positive. Understanding the properties of the fuel helped. When temperatures dropped to 34F and below, we noticed the fuel was more likely to start clouding, resulting in clogged filters. As soon as temperatures went up to about 40F there were no more issues with cold flow.
The only other issue we had to deal with was a small outbreak of bacteria in some of our tanks. This is a common problem for any kind of diesel fuel, not caused by biodiesel directly. It often occurs when condensation builds up within a tank, allowing water to accumulate. The bacteria live in the water. We were able to treat this with a common additive that solved the problem.
Both of these issues were quickly resolved, and we were happy to be there in the beginning as a leader for businesses using biofuels in the private sector. Company wide, we currently use about 8,000 gallons of B20 a month.
We are planning to switch to B50 in our Clackamas facility very soon. We also plan to conduct a test with one of our vehicles running B99.
Company wide, we currently use about 8,000 gallons of B20 a month.
We are planning to switch to B50 in our Clackamas facility very soon. We also plan to conduct a test with one of our vehicles running B99.
It feels good to know that we, as a company, are doing everything we can to move forward in reducing dependency on foreign oil, reducing Green House Gasses and other emissions, and working to strengthen the local/domestic economy by encouraging biofuel production.
We are working to form partnerships with other like-minded businesses who also have Sustainability as their primary focus.
Chris Petrick
Transportation Supervisor
Organically Grown Company
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620 SW 5th Ave, Ste. 1225 