When a company does one thing, it has to do it well.  In the case of West Pak Avocado, one of the largest packers of this healthy green fruit, their process has to do it with food safety strongly in mind. As Robert Salaski field manager for West Pak puts it, their goal is “safety, safety, safety.”

West Pak is a leading grower and shipper of California avocados, a produce that is growing in favor among health conscious consumers who recognize it as a source of monounsaturated fats.

Their current 29,000 sq ft state-of-the art packing facility in Temecula CA was built in 1992 to service their expanding customer base throughout the United States and Canada. Southern California has an asset that smart companies use to keep their HVAC/lighting costs down – fresh air and sunshine. With this state’s increasing energy consciousness, businesses are finding new ways to minimize their BTU’s more and more.

For their part, West Pak takes advantage of the outside weather while protecting their product quality by recently adding a Goff’s Bug Blocking powered rolling screen to their dock doorway. Summers can get quite warm in the area and those days when outside ventilation is used the facility can provide greater comfort to maintain worker productivity. Through this door thousands of pounds of avocados – delectable to the insects – pour into the plant every day to be weighed, packed, palletized and shipped.

For this heavy activity level some kind of rapid access door was necessary on their dock. Getting traffic in and out quickly is a must not just for fast traffic flow but to minimize the window of opportunity for the insects waiting outside to invade the building.

The Bug Blocking screen is powered by a low maintenance ½ hp motor that enables it to move along at opening/closing speeds of 36 inches per second. For this 8′ wide by 10′ high door that means, it is open as little five seconds, with the forklift shooing the bugs away as it passes through the doorway.

Damage to the door from this traffic would compromise the seal. The Bug Blocking rolling screen has a breakaway design to prevent damage to the door should it get hit from a passing forklift. The screen resets back into the track easily.

There are many fabric roll-up doors that can provide quick doorway access, but the Bug Blocker provides the added benefits of turning the doorway into both a vent and a window. The screen has a 65% shade factor to keep the facility cooler longer and has a 17 by 11 polyester scrim with openings too small for insects to penetrate, but fresh air and sunshine can.

The screen door blocks all entry points through the door way for insects. The Bug Blocking rolling screen has a unique “double baffle” valance panel to add an extra layer of pest protection, joined by EPDM Seals on Both Sides to ensure a tight seal at vertical edges. A rugged custom extruded guide track traps the rollers-wind can’t blow it out of the doorframe.

The door offers a shade/screen improvement factor to 65%, bringing greater comfort. Compared to the wide open door, the mesh screen dramatically reduces radiant sun heating while inviting in welcome air circulation.

The Bug Blocking rolling screen brings industrial ruggedness to the West Pak packing plant. The 18-oz. vinyl door is rot, tear and mildew resistant, standing up to the harshest weather. All seams are double-locked stitched for extra strength.

The screen is designed so the bugs just have no way into the building. The door’s Draw-TiteTM design enables it to stay in its guide tracks, withstanding winds up to 70 mph. A double baffle under the valence prevents pests from entering through the header.

Along with the door enabling fast traffic, preventing the entry of bugs into the food handling areas and requiring virtually no maintenance, Salaski credits the Bug Blocking screen with enhancing security.

“As a food handling company,” says Salaski, “food safety is at the top of our priorities and the Goff’s Bug Blocking rolling screen makes perfect sense.”

Thanks in part to the rolling screen, West Pak earned a higher score of 98% for a recent food safety audit.

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CAPTIONS

West Pak – closed – The Goff’s Bug Blocking door provides a full seal around the exterior doorway at West Pak Avocado.

West Pak – exit – The door’s high-speed operation minimizes the exposure of the processing plant to insect invasions.

West Pak – view thru the door – The mesh screen on the Bug Blocking door prevents insects from getting into the building while enabling fresh air and sunlight inside.

Please send inquires to:

Tony Goff

Goff’s Enterprises, Inc.

1228 Hickory St.

Pewaukee, WI  53072

Telephone: (800) 234-0337

Fax:  (262) 691-3255

Email: sales@goffscw.com

www.goffscurtainwalls.com

 

West Pak - closed
West Pak - exit
West Pak - view thru the door
When a company does one thing, it has to do it well. In the case of West Pak Avocado, one of the largest packers of this healthy green fruit, their process has to do it with food safety strongly in mind. As Robert Salaski field manager for West Pak puts it, their goal is “safety, safety, safety.”