About Us | Facility
Cherry Growers, Inc. (CGI) was incorporated in May of 1939 by the shareholders of the defunct Cherry Growers Packing Company. The new company was organized as a farmers' cooperative. CGI prospered and became a major packer of both cherries and apples. In the mid-1960's CGI built the Grawn plant in addition to plants at Bailey and Hartford, Michigan. Unfortunately, this rapid expansion led to financial distress which caused the member shareholders to sell the physical assets of the company to the Duffy-Mott Corporation on July 1, 1968. CGI became a supply cooperative supplying raw product to Duffy-Mott.
When Duffy-Mott announced it would no longer continue to purchase raw product and process in Michigan, the Board of Directors in May, 1972 negotiated the repurchase of the Grawn plant.
In March of 1978, CGI purchased the assets of Bayview Orchards in Omena and began operating this plant seasonally during cherry pack. CGI accepted as members those growers who delivered to Bayview Orchards. The cooperative also accepted new members in the Benton Harbor area when an affiliated company purchased the Wilderness Foods pie filling label and plant in June, 1979. In 1986, the affiliated company sold all the Wilderness assets to Curtis Burns and became a share holder in Pro-Fac, the cooperative that supplies raw product to Curtis Burns.
In May, 1989, CGI along with the Michigan Blueberry Growers Association formed a partnership, Decatur Fruit Company, to purchase the former Huron Farms plant in Decatur, Michigan from Rich Foods of Buffalo, New York. Decatur Fruit processed blueberries, apples and cherries for the partners. The partnership was liquidated in 1996 due to changing markets for the products processed at the plant.
In May, 1990, CGI sold the Omena plant and simultaneously purchased the former Stanek and Sons, Inc. plant in southern Leelanau County. The Leelanau County plant processes cherries seasonally and stores frozen product in its freezer and apples in its CA rooms. The Grawn plant is situated on 434 acres and the Leelenau plant is on approximately 43 acres.
As you can see, CGI has been an innovator and leader in the fruit industry in Michigan. CGI's focus statement adopted by its Board of Directors on December 21, 1998, states:
Cherry Growers, Inc's goal, as a grower owned processing cooperative, is to respond to the needs of its customers by providing quality product through innovation, diversification and cooperation
History