Karragullen Cool Storage

OUR PROCESS

Karragullen Cool Storage owns and operates two major fruit storage and processing facilities one in Karragullen WA and one in Kirup WA, where fruit is stored, graded and packed and undergoes strict quality control. Our fruit processing facilities manage the storage and packing of in excess of 35,000 tonnes of fruit per season. Both of our processing facilities are both SQF and HACCP accredited. Fruit is packed in a clean, safe manner, which means our customers are rewarded with a world-class end product.

KARRAGULLEN PACKING AND GRADING FACILITY, located in the eastern hills region just 30 kilometres from the Perth CBD, Karragullen Cool Storage (KCS) has been grading and selling quality fruit since the 1960s.

KCS is part of the Casotti Group which owns and operates the largest private fruit growing, packing and wholesale operation in Western Australia.

KCS was established by Neil Casotti, who is deceased, and is currently managed by his son Mario Casotti. Mario has extensive experience in the pome and stonefruit industry having worked in the business since childhood. He is a member of various fruit associations including Fruitwest and APAL.

KCS has extensive storage facilities and operates a modern packing facility including a state-of-the-art fruit grader which will be installed in June 2021. This grader includes infra-red technology, which will detect both internal and external defects ensuring a consistent top-quality product.

The Karragullen facility is capable of grading over 10,000 tonnes of fruit per year. Fruit is graded in conventional cartons and in prepacked bags and punnets.

Production teams at KCS are managed by Steven Mortimer and Garry Wilson. Steve Mortimer has over 20 years’ experience in the industry and manages the operation on the production floor from fruit received to distribution. Garry has came to us 13 years of Produce Quality

Control experience

Our BLUEMOON PACKING facility, located in the heart of the fruit growing region of south-western WA, operates a state-of-the-art production process, where every piece of fruit is weighed and inspected by an automatic grader, which sends the fruit to a specific packing station. Suction caps are then used to efficiently package the fruit. Once the fruit is packaged, it is palletised and stored in the cool rooms from where they are loaded onto one of our trucks for delivery to our customers.

Bluemoon Packing has the capacity to store 7,000 bins, of which 6,000 can be stored in our fully brand new automated C/A (Controlled Atmosphere) cool rooms. Our storage facility is remotely monitored 24/7 to ensure the best results.

Steve Westcott manages the operations at the Bluemoon Packing Shed and oversees all processes to ensure consistent high-quality fruit is delivered to our customers. Steve’s extensive experience in the fruit industry and in-depth knowledge ensures the best outcome for growers’ fruit when being graded in our state-of-the-art facility.