DONALD, Ore. — An old hand is taking charge at Hazelnut Growers of Oregon but the processor’s business will otherwise carry on as usual under new ownership.

Troy Johnson, a former HGO executive, has become its CEO nearly two decades after leaving the company, which was recently divested from the Wilco farmers cooperative.

“HGO was strong in innovation and that’s what I want to continue to push,” Johnson said.

Johnson started at HGO in 1996, eventually rising to its vice president of sales and marketing, before leaving what was then a farmers cooperative after a decade.

Now at the company’s helm, Johnson said he’s eager to work with food manufacturers to develop new hazelnut products and markets.

“The beginning of the product life cycle are where the profits are gained because you have less competition and you’re selling to the early adopters,” he said.

Despite recently being acquired by a rival processor, HGO is keeping its name and landmark facility in Donald, Ore., which is intended to minimize disruptions in the hazelnut industry.

“We will continue to market separately from the other companies,” Johnson said. “Everyone’s got their own expertise. We’re using the companies and brands in the way we feel is best within the industry.”

Founded roughly 40 years ago, HGO later merged into the Wilco farmers cooperative, which this year sold the business’s assets to the owners of the George Packing Co.

The transaction has placed three of Oregon’s hazelnut processors — George Packing, Northwest Hazelnut and HGO — under the same ownership umbrella.

Rather than consolidate their operations, however, the parent company prefers for each subsidiary to retain its own identity and processing facility.

“They each have a different reputation in the marketplace,” said Larry George, president of the George Packing Co. “We’re able to optimize which varieties go into each market.”

Though some functions will be consolidated to save money, each facility will focus on particular cultivars and operations.

For example, the large storage silos at HGO could make it the best choice to process Oregon’s growing crop of Jefferson hazelnuts, he said.

Keeping the three processors separate will also spare their customers from having to endure changes to sales systems and other inconveniences involved in consolidation, George said.

“We’re trying to create stability,” he said. “By having it the same, we don’t disrupt the customers.”

Retaining three different processing facilities is likewise intended to help growers, as having some duplicate equipment will allow hazelnut processing to continue running smoothly even if there’s a power outage or other problem affecting one of the plants, George said.

“If you have multiple facilities, you protect the growers,” he said. “It’s just about diversifying the risk to protect the grower.”

Over the past decade, the state’s hazelnut industry has lost roughly two-thirds of its processors without encountering production bottlenecks, largely because it’s always had excess processing capacity, he said.

“We always need capacity,” George said, adding that it allows hazelnuts to be prepared for market quickly, without the crop piling up in inventory.

Hazelnut processors must track 35 varieties across a plethora of production processes, so it helps to have dedicated facilities to simplify the logistics, he said.

“This allows us to have multiple things going on at the same time,” George said.

The HGO facility is up and running this winter, shelling this year’s crop of hazelnuts, though the company is replacing, adjusting and moving equipment to improve operations and product flow through the plant.

For his part, Johnson said he’s “letting the experts handle the production side” and concentrating on adding value to the company’s hazelnuts.

The crop can help food manufacturers enhance the flavor and marketability of their products, boosting sales for HGO and the industry as a whole, he said.

“It is a commodity, but within commodities, there are different levels,” Johnson said. “The more we compete in the niche and premium side, the better off we’ll be.”

After leaving HGO, Johnson continued to work in the tree nut business, and he’s pleased to be interacting with familiar customers and growers upon returning to the company — or in some cases, their children as well.

“I’m very excited to be able to do that again,” he said.