Manufacturing Processes

This morning we had our last official excursion for the summer. It was a short bus ride to the outskirts of Sevilla to visit an Yvarra food processing and packaging plant. The Yvarra company was started in 1842 to produce olive oil which is still a mainstay for the company. The visit to their plant gave our students an excellent opportunity to see applications of process control and automation. (Follow this link for the Yvarra Photo Album.

Our tour guide, who works as a biologist/chemist for Yvarra, did not speak English. Dr. Inglis, who is the TTU Sevilla Center Director, served as our interpreter and did an excellent job. We received an in-depth presentation on the processing necessary to produce the variety of grades of olive oil, e.g. extra virgin olive oil.

It is standard procedure for all employees and visitors to wear hats in the plant. The hats given to us will make excellent souvenirs that I am sure will show up in Lubbock.

Material handling and packaging in an automated processing facility is always fascinating.

The plant is fully computerized with a centralized control center.

Computerized inventory control is also a critical element of the plant.

The visit to Yvarra was very interesting and we all appreciated their hospitality. Between the visits to the solar power center, Sevilla municipal water company, and the Yvarra food processing plant, our students have seen a wide variety of engineering applications and possible career options.