Sept 13 – Coca Cola Plant Visit
Today was my visit to the Coca Cola Plant in Casablanca. We met in Classroom 2 to discuss the company and the different business aspects of Morocco. It took about a half hour to drive to the plant so I got to see more of Casablanca than I did before. It’s a very modernized city and isn’t much different from our cities at home. I sat with Lila on the bus and she is only a few rooms down from my cabin. We were in the same group for the tour and it was nice getting to know her. We received hair nets and ear plugs upon arrival – I got a kick out of it and of course saved them as souvenirs! We walked through the room where they purify the water which then goes to the bottling plant. There is also another process involving filtration, carbonation, and carbon filtration. It is a continuous process that lasts 7 days a week/24 hours a day and never stops.
We then moved into the room where the syrups are made. There are two kinds of syrups that contain different degrees of sugar. Simple syrup: sugar + water and Refined syrup: adds the Coca Cola mix. The machines are made in Germany, the formula comes from Atlanta, Georgia, and it is processed in Morocco – talk about international business. In Morocco there are only bottles of soda – you rarely see cans. They recycle the bottles so they can reuse them for more processing. The life span of a bottle is 5-7 years. The bottles get two washings and the machines take 200 photos of the bottles to check for safety and efficiency before packaging. The biggest bottling machine produces 24,000 bottles an hour. There are four bottling plants in Morocco and hundreds in the U.S. We could definitely see the difference between Moroccan and American business when given these statistics.
After our tour of the plant – it didn’t last too long – we were seated in a conference room with a big round table and comfy office chairs. Omar, the president of Coca Cola Corporate, gave us a presentation on Coca Cola Corporate and Coca Cola in Morocco. He discussed the different brands of Coca Cola in Morocco (13 total) and the community initiatives the company is taking. We were given a lot of information about the company and its marketing campaigns. The marketing campaign usually changes every three years depending on what works. Omar told us how important it is to adapt to the market where you are located. The Moroccan Coca Cola company puts high standards on environmentally friendly approaches and by 2012 they plan to have their products become water neutral. This approach means that they will put back every drop of water they use into the environment. Coca Cola is the 4th most admired brand in Morocco and many people desire to work there. The company gives the employees a lot of benefits and incentives for working there including insurance, health care, education for children, and higher wages. The company really works at doing as much as they can for its employees.
After our discussion on the actual company we were able to have a round table discussion on business: Americans in Morocco. We had three panelists who spoke to us and answered our questions: Omar (Coca Cola Corporate), Mendi (Moroccan lawyer who studied in U.S.), and Tim (President of SD Meyers in Ohio). Mendi told us how Morocco is working to bring American style law to the country. We also discussed how business in Morocco is different from America. The most common difference was cultural because Americans are used to speedy responses and in Morocco, communication takes a lot longer. We learned how important it is to adapt to the culture we are in and try our best to understand the way the people and country work. Personal contact is extremely important in Morocco as opposed to technological communication in the U.S.
The panelists gave us advice for a U.S. company coming to Morocco to do business. The biggest piece of advice was again to adapt to the culture. He way to be successful is if you immerse yourself in the Moroccan culture and build your plan around the way Moroccans handle business. Market research is also extremely important so you are prepared for the business transaction. The last topic we discussed was how things have changed in the last 10-15 years in Morocco. Omar commented that things are changing and many people are returning to the country after being abroad for a long time. Although things are evolving slowly, they are still evolving. It is obvious that Morocco is becoming more modern as time goes on. Lastly, we had a question and answer period in which the SAS students got to ask the panel questions regarding Coca Cola and Moroccan business. I asked a question regarding how women are perceived in Moroccan business. As soon as I asked the question, the entire panel remained silent for 10-15 seconds. It was pretty interesting to me because I think they were taken aback by my question. Omar took on the answer and explained that women are becoming more respected in Moroccan business. The head of marketing in one sector of Morocco Coca Cola is a woman which was great to hear. However, the way he described his answer beat around the bush and wasn’t as direct as I had hoped. Obviously, Moroccan women are not on the same drawing board as Moroccan men but I wanted to understand more about the progression of women in business including the struggles. It was difficult for me because I did not want to offend the panelists by being too direct or appear disrespectful so I did not further my question. It definitely left me something to think about.
After the round table discussion, we headed to the cafeteria for lunch. We received complimentary Coke products and I tried the new Moroccan brand Hawai – which was delicious! It was a juice drink with a soda kick and tasted like pineapple and coconut. Too bad they won’t be bringing it to the U.S. Lunch concluded our visit to the plant and we departed for the ship. Many of us wanted to spend some more time in Casablanca to shop because we had about two hours before Byron time (an hour before on-ship time so you know you won’t be late!). I decided to go around the market with Lila and let me tell you, she is the best barterer I know. We went to one shop and saw a bunch of jewelry that we liked. The shopkeeper said 70 dirham for each piece; Lila got it down to 10 dirham a piece and we bought a lot! I found a purse I fell in love with and bartered that down by 200 dirham! I was getting good. (The ratio from dirham to USD is about 8.14 dirham to 1 USD). Lila and I continued around the market and found a little secret market area that had the most beautiful paintings and mirrors I had ever seen. I wanted to take them home but no way would I fit it all. I decided that when I buy a house I’m going on another adventure around the world to find furniture and decorations! We said hi to a few Moroccan shopkeepers but didn’t go in their shops. They were so friendly and one brought out his little girl who was six years old named, Muna. Lila got her picture with her and exchanged addresses. It was a really neat experience with the Moroccans because even though we didn’t buy anything they still wanted a conversation. We made it to the ship in perfect time. By now I was exhausted and didn’t watch the ship leave because it was dark out. I had dinner then shared stories with the roomies and went to bed early! One week until Ghana!!!!
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