Now it is Wednesday, I can’t believe how fast the days have flown by!  This morning we toured the Dos Pinos operation factory.  It was fascinating to discover how this 65 year old company started with only 20 employees to 5000 employees and distributes 554 different products.  It is now recognized as the number one dairy company in Latin America and is beginning to enter the markets in North America.

To begin with, Dos Pinos has a distinct connection its employees/suppliers as well as its community.   Dos Pinos is a private company and only allows suppliers to become shareholders.  These suppliers must hold an extreme high regard to quality and meet or exceed a quota.  At Dos Pinos, a strong relationship with the suppliers is everything.  Dos Pinos provides any type of support the suppliers need to meet the quota while maintaining quality.  These suppliers are able to repay Dos Pinos for the support they receive with the very milk that their cows produce.  On a side note, it is comical that some suppliers will play music for their cows.  Supposedly, the music makes the cows happy and they produce more milk.

Dos Pinos is also an active leader in sustainability.  Dos Pinos has a large recycling program that encourages schools to recycle their products, and in return Dos Pinos provides the schools with supplies like tables, paper and toys.  In addition, while we toured the facility many of us felt very warm and were quick to complain.  After a short while, our hostess explained that it is not necessary to cool large hallways with high ceilings because the employees only spend a fraction of their day in the hallways most of their workday in their cooler offices.  Wow, I think a lightning bolt struck all of us at the same moment.  No wonder much of the USA is in the midst of an energy crisis.  Would we be if we only cooled the smaller room that we spend 98% of our day, instead of cooling the largest rooms that we only spend 2% of our day? She continued to explain that the Dos Pinos building is specifically designed to allow a nice air flow throughout the large hallways without wasting precious energy.  The more time I spend in this mind-blowing country, I realize how much energy I waste and it is truly the small/large luxuries that I need to eliminate out of my vocabulary.