Company to buy B.C. Tree Fruits Cooperative’s storage facility [Video]

A Canadian company says it’s buying one of the main cold storage facilities of the B.C. Tree Fruits Cooperative after the co-op fell into financial trouble. 

NOVEM Pharmaceuticals, which has offices in Edmonton and Kelowna, announced Friday that it’s buying the co-operative’s main cold atmosphere storage facility.

CEO Colin Davison says NOVEM is leasing the property, which can store up to 11 million kilograms of fruit, on an emergency basis until the deal is finalized so it can open up storage space for this year’s harvest.

“So that has been our focus,” Davison said. “That’s the number one thing that is required really right now is to get the fruit into storage immediately.”

The company’s announcement came after the B.C. Supreme Court ordered the sale of the co-op’s assets late last month.

The co-operative, which is made up of more than 230 farming families, previously provided storage and packing services …