Admitting it failed to adjust to changing market conditions, Cherry Growers Inc. (CGI) filed for chapter 11 protection on Aug. 31, MLive.com reported on Friday. Headquartered in Grawn, Mich., CGI is a 78-year-old cooperative in which ownership is shared by 53 Michigan cherry and apple growers. The fruit processor employs about 75 workers who just completed processing this year's cherry harvest and will begin processing apples on Tuesday, Eric MacLeod, president and general manager, said on Friday. CGI has "fought to overcome setbacks due to a failure to recognize in a timely matter (sic) that a change in its core business model was necessary," according to a news release on Friday, Sept. 1. Their problems were "exacerbated by the 2012 crop failure and the necessary exit from processing apples after 2013," the company said. In its chapter 11 petition, the company said it had total assets of $8.1 million and liabilities of $16.8 million, including $9.4 million owed to secured creditors.
