Tree Top facts for kids
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| Agricultural cooperative | |
| Industry | Fruit processing |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Founder | Bill Charbonneau |
| Headquarters |
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US
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Number of locations
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Wenatchee and Prosser, Washington, Woodburn and Medford, Oregon and Oxnard, California |
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Area served
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United States |
| Products | Apple juice, apple sauce, purees, fruit pouches, nectars, natural flavors, dried apples |
| Revenue | $345 million |
| Members | 1,000 |
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Number of employees
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1,008 |
| Subsidiaries | Northwest Naturals |
Tree Top, Inc. is a special company that was the first of its kind in the United States. It's owned by the very farmers who grow the fruit! About 1,100 apple and pear farmers from Washington, Idaho, and Oregon are the owners. Most of these farmers are from Washington.
Contents
History of Tree Top
Tree Top was started by a man named Bill Charbonneau. He bought a factory in Selah, Washington, that processed apples. This was after he moved there with his family.
How Tree Top Got Its Name
In the 1950s, Bill Charbonneau created his own brand of apple juice. He held a contest for his employees to pick a name. They chose "Tree Top" because people thought the best fruit grew at the very top of the trees.
Becoming a Farmer-Owned Company
In 1960, a small group of fruit farmers bought Tree Top from Bill Charbonneau. With this purchase, they also got the rights to a special way of making clear apple juice. This made Tree Top the first company of its kind owned by the farmers themselves.
Growing and Making More Products
By 2008, nearly 1,000 farmers from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho owned the company. Tree Top, along with a company called Sabroso Company, made many fruit products. These included Tree Top apple juice, apple sauce, and fresh sliced apples.
In 2010, Sabroso Company officially joined Tree Top. This made Tree Top a producer of a huge variety of fruit products from one source. They have eight factories in the western United States. These factories are close to the orchards where the fruit grows.
Tree Top uses fresh fruits like strawberries, apricots, and grapes. They make purees, fruit preparations, and nectars. Of course, they still make their famous apple and pear products. Tree Top's fruit products are sold across the Western United States. Other companies also help distribute them in many countries around the world.
