Ranchi Students Thrilled After Visit To PepsiCo Bottling Plant UMA

With graduation just five months away, second year PGDBM students of Usha Martin Academy, Ranchi (UMA Ranchi) were given a feel of corporate life with an industrial site visit to SMV Beverages (a bottling unit of PepsiCo Jamshedpur).

With graduation just five months away, second year PGDBM students of Usha Martin Academy, Ranchi (UMA Ranchi) were given a feel of corporate life with an industrial site visit to SMV Beverages (a bottling unit of PepsiCo Jamshedpur).The idea of the trip, on the 1st of September, was to familiarise students with the workings of the compressor and the packaging units of the plant. The tour was a mixture of learning and fun, with refreshments thrown in.

Industrial gate passes were made prior to the visit and as the students arrived, they were divided in two groups of 15 members each. With their respective guides, one group went to the compressor department and the other to the packaging area to observe and gather information regarding the working of the two units. "The compressor department dealt with bottle making, filling of the product and tightening of the cap. The packaging area dealt with labelling and coding, packing in cartons and then despatching the cartons to the stock area. The cold bottle plant dealt with the washing of glass bottles in three stages: pre-rinsed, rinsed with caustic soda and then rinsed again with water," said Saurabh Dasgupta, a final year PGDBM (Marketing) student, who was thrilled with the plant visit. He was so fascinated by the bottling plant that he exclaimed, "Undoubtedly, I will work in the FMCG space in the health drink segment after I get my degree."

Apart from the theoretical aspects which the students learnt from observation, questioning and listening, they also learnt the practical aspects of the functioning of the plant by seeing the machines working at high speed. "I was extremely impressed to see the working of the machines. It was a great sight and this aspect attracted me the most," said Surabhi Goswami, another final year student who was all praise for PepsiCo for maintaining cleanliness in the plant and for the professional manner in which they conducted the plant visit. After the industrial visit, students were taken to Jubilee Park for lunch and on the way they enjoyed interacting with the faculty.

Once back at the campus, students gave a presentation to the faculty about the learnings they had gained from a very satisfying plant visit.