Company visits

Today we visited our last three companies: HELA, Centauros, and Bosques del Mauco. The first company we visited was HELA, which produces tools and brushes. We got to see the production process: how the machines operate and the labor that goes into making the products. I was surprised to see how much manual labor actually goes into the process. They have a small assembly line that makes everything work more efficiently, and the workers put together all the final pieces.

After HELA, we drove to Centauros, which is a company that packages and produces many different kinds of food, including: tomato paste, ketchup, canned fruits, and some prepared meals. We got to try some of the ketchup and tomato paste and they even gave us each a can of beans to take home. It was interesting to see the process for making these products too. They had a lot of large machinery and used less manual labor than HELA, but people were still working in assembly lines. HELA makes their own containers that they package their products in, so it was cool to see how that was done too. What I found really interesting about Centauros is that they do not put preservatives in any of their products and guarantee freshness.

After this we went to an empanada place by the beach. It was so pretty and the empanadas were excellent! Mine had clams, shrimp, fish, asparagus, and mushrooms in it. This is Alana attempting to eat a sweet one:

Once we were all full, we went on the bus again and drove to Bosques del Mauco, which is a mushroom producing company. It was interesting to see the process of growing and packaging the mushrooms, although the smell was awful because they use horse manure for fertilization. Bosques del Mauco is the largest mushroom producing company in the country. We learned a lot about the process for making the compost, which is the most important step in the growing of the mushrooms. It was really cool to see the mushrooms growing in the sheds by the hundreds.

Tomorrow we have a spa day. I'm excited to relax and enjoy the weather and food!