Visit Kingdom of Chewing Gum
Planning for more than a month, today, I finally went to Wrigley Company in Guangzhou Development District. After the quit of friend, I had to start my road alone. There’s nothing in my head, didn’t expect anything, yet I received an accidental courage, it was come from mom. Today should be better than yesterday, and it is really better than that.
At the very beginning, I spent about two hour on my way to that place. The traffic was still OK today, I got on Bus 883 as planning, and then I should pass 36 bus-stops before I arrived at Wrigley Company. People are up and down, came and went, I still sit at the end of the bus continue my journey. When the broadcast said the next stop is the crossing of development district, I knew the termination of this trip was coming. After a few stop, it broadcast a stop named hospital of development district, yet when the bus started moving again, I picked up the Wrigley Company! What a pity, I missed it!!! Have no choice but got off the bus and went back by foot. You won’t lose yourself there, because the candy scent of Wrigley Company is very strong, first I smelled mint aroma then peach aroma. When you feel the scent becomes stronger and stronger, it means you are close to that company step by step.
Then the entrance of that company was funny too. I misknew one man was the one I contract, and stopped by the guard. I explained who I wanted to find then register. It’s very nice of that guard. Waiting for a while, a miss came to let me in. We went to the reception then that miss asked a female worker be my guide. The visit started, great!!!
Before enter to workshop, I had to put on white gown, headgear, earplug, and shoe cover, at the same time I had to take of my watch. Everything was standby, but I still had to wash and sterilize my hands before entrance workshop.
The workshop is amazing, with a great smell of candy. The first producing line I saw was producing Doublemint, undoubtedly, the scent of mint was fiercely, and my eyes even feel that strong mint.
The detail things I couldn’t speak out or I might leak the commercial secrets, yet as much as I know I couldn’t count the most important secrets absolutely.
At first, let me talk about the machines there. Most of the machines weren’t very large, but the quantity is vast, because they were making chewing gum, that thing couldn’t be very large. Of course, they also have huge tins to mix their raw material, such as glucose and chewing gum bases.
Then, it’s the turn of workers there. Most of workers are young men; they control a machine by themselves. The only female worker I just saw they were adding preservatives in little bottles of Extra. Before I came here, I heard there were not many workers in this workshop, yet compared with the food corporation I had visited, the amount of worker here is not the least. The most important reason is the producing line here isn’t huge, and the manipulative cell isn’t joined with pipe. For example, after making big pieces of Doublemint, they stored them in one place which is between the pieces producing workshop and the cutting and packing workshop. Another example, they make grains of Extra chewing gum in a big roller, yet they have to bag those particles in plastic pails.
Thirdly, I talk about the sign in those workshops. I could see the sign very clear about what’s input and output of one machine. Simultaneously, on wall of workshop I found the solution of their HACCP, the introduction of their products and where they will sell to. The deepest sign memory is come from the ground. They use different colors to divided area into what’s for walking and car driving (I mean electric flat car). If you walk in driving road, it just like you blocks in highway, meant low down others’ work efficiency and risk yourself. That’s the law of company, everybody should obey seriously.
This visiting let me remember a word of Dr. Ye, he said the undergraduate went to factory would look around everywhere, and asked plenty of questions, just like a mouse. I represented a little mouse today :)
Today, I went to kingdom of chewing gum, what I have brought back? A good memory and the scent of candy. The aroma of candy penetrates into my clothes just like the people of Wrigley give me keepsake showing I have got the paradise of chewing gum.
