OUR PROJECTS WHAT WE DO CAREERSABOUT USCONTACT FOOD PROCESSING & COLD STORAGE, CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE, STRUCTURAL PRECAST Chelan Co-Op Project Outline AT A GLANCE Industry: Private, Commercial Markets: Food Storage & Processing, Controlled Atmosphere Services: Planning and Design, Construction, Precast Concrete Fabrication and Erection Type of Facility: Packing, Storage, Controlled Atmosphere, Distribution Size: 550,000 sq. ft. Location: Chelan, WA In August of 2016, a devastating wild fire destroyed nearly all structures of Chelan Fruit’s main facility. The team at Chelan Fruit was very concerned because hundreds of co-op partners relied on them for cleaning, storing, packing, marketing and shipping their apples to market. Without Chelan Fruits services they had thousands of acres of fruit with no way to sell to the end user. The timing meant that, unless they could get a new facility in an incredibly quick timeline, they would miss the next harvest and their business, as well as the farmers they served, could suffer greatly. Bethlehem was onsite the day after the fire began to see how we could help. With less than one year to demolish, haul off wreckage, regrade site, install new utilities, design and permit a new facility and then construct it to meet current building requirements, the task seemed impossible. Another contractor had told the owner it couldn’t be done to accommodate the 2017 harvest. We are from a community of agriculture and farmers, and we know how important the work that Chelan does is to our fellow community members, so we knew we had to find a way to work with them to get their new facility up and running before the 2017 harvest. Bethlehem knows tight timelines and knew that if we used precast and ran the project very tightly, we were probably the only company that could see this project done in time. Besides that we love a good challenge. This project included building multiple new facilities, including controlled atmosphere and warehousing. Our team worked with the owners at Chelan to prioritize the work, and we started with the controlled atmosphere storage, to ensure we had a place to store the fruit that was coming in on the front end of the project’s completion. This project’s biggest challenge was the high speed of construction needed to meet the tight timeline. But our team met every deadline and still ensured quality and gave attention to every detail along the way. Despite the challenges of working through the winter with snow, rain, and ice, our team used a strategic approach to keep progress moving forward and ensure that each aspect of the project was met in the right order. Chelan’s new facility is not only newer and bigger, but it is also more efficient, improving their operations and accommodating new packing lines and processes. We even included architectural precast details, such as a unique, custom-designed precast roof panel with an apple design cast into the underside of their front entryway awning. “The difference between Bethlehem Construction vs the others, is that Bethlehem is knowledgable from start to finish.” CHELAN FRUIT Solutions Controlled Atmosphere Structural Precast Architectural Precast Hollowcore Plank Insulated Sandwich Panels Get in Touch Have some questions about your project? Get in touch via email, phone, or simply fill out this form. (509) 782-1001 justin@bethlehemconstruction.com Name * First Name Last Name Email address * What number can we reach you on? (###) ### #### Anything we should know before we talk? * WASHINGTON OFFICE Telephone (509) 782-1001 Facsimilie (509) 782-4322 5505 Titchenal Way Cashmere, WA 98815 CALIFORNIA OFFICE Telephone (661) 758-1001 Facsimilie (661) 758-1009 425 J Street Wasco, CA 93280 FEATURED PROJECTS Seattle Sound Transit Monterey County Jail Chelan Fruit McDougall & Sons OTHER Testimonials Careers SOCIAL Learn More About Our Construction Solutions Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. SIGN UP