Stemilt Growers facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Fruit |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Founder | Tom Mathison |
| Headquarters | Wenatchee, Washington, U.S. |
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Key people
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West Mathison, President |
| Products | Cherries, apples, pears, peaches, nectarines |
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Number of employees
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1,500 |
Stemilt Growers is a family-owned company that grows, packs, and ships fruits like apples, pears, and cherries. It's located in Wenatchee, Washington, in the United States. They are known for being the biggest sweet cherry shipper in the world! They also grow and send out lots of apples, pears, and other fruits.
Some of their special apple types are Piñata, Honeycrisp, Gala, and Pink Lady. Stemilt is also a big producer of organic fruits. They grow a large amount of Washington's organic apples and the Pacific Northwest's organic pears. In 2008, the company shipped over 20 million boxes of fruit. About 1,500 people worked there full-time.
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How Stemilt Growers Started
The story of Stemilt Growers began a long time ago, in 1893. The Mathison family settled on 160 acres of land on Stemilt Hill. This area is near Wenatchee, Washington. In 1914, they planted their first 10 acres of apples, pears, and cherries.
A Family Business Grows
By 1947, Tom Mathison, who was a third-generation farmer, took charge of the family's fruit farm. He built a special building to pack fruit on Stemilt Hill in 1961. Then, in 1964, Tom Mathison officially started Stemilt Growers. He began packing fruit not just for his family, but for other farmers too.
In 1975, Tom Mathison built a new, bigger facility for packing and storing fruit. This new building in Wenatchee soon became the main office for the company. In July 2005, Tom Mathison passed the company presidency to his grandson, West Mathison. Tom Mathison passed away in 2008.
What Does "Stemilt" Mean?
The name Stemilt comes from a Native American word. It means "coming from the mountains" or "foothills to the mountains." Stemilt is also the name of the farming area near the Cascade Mountains and the city of Wenatchee, Washington.
More About Stemilt Growers
- Official website: http://www.stemilt.com/
